£5m investment secured from US energy market giant
UK-based Navetas Energy Management has secured £5m in strategic investment from Sensus, a utility infrastructure company offering smart meters and communication systems for the electric, gas, and water industries.
The investment deal will see Sensus acquire a 15% stake in Navetas and an exclusive licence agreement for Navetas technology in the United States market.
Navetas will use the investment from US-based Sensus to make further advances in its patented energy disaggregation technology and integrate this into the next generation smart meters produced by Sensus for the US market, due to launch in 2013.
Sensus and Navetas will also work together to identify opportunities to grow the Navetas business both by acquisition and organically through the launch of new energy management data analytics systems and services in the UK and Europe.
Navetas, founded in 2008, has already raised £7m in previous funding rounds from Swarraton Partners, Naxos Capital and the University of Oxford to transform a concept from the University of Oxford into an intelligent technology that can uniquely monitor, from a single point how much energy is being used by different appliances in the home, providing consumers with intuitive energy consumption information through itemised bills and added value energy management services. Several trials of this disaggregation technology are currently under way with energy providers in the UK.
Chris Saunders, CEO of Navetas Energy Management (pictured), comments: “The pace of change in the global energy market is rapid and this investment will allow Navetas to develop internationally, specifically in the US, and to deliver new and innovative technologies that will address the emerging market dynamics. The investment from a big, global player such as Sensus is testament to the value our technology and intellectual property brings to the energy market.”
The Navetas technology has recently been highlighted as an example of British design-led innovation in a campaign led by The Design Council. The campaign showcased Navetas as a British innovation success story in its Design for Growth paper and videos, launched in parallel with the Government’s Innovation and Research Strategy for Growth in December.
Matt Zafuto, Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Business Development, Sensus, comments: “The global energy and water utility markets are constantly looking at the future value to be gained through applications that ride on smart utility networks. Our investment in Navetas will enable Sensus to leverage energy management applications that deliver information and added-value consumption data to our customers in the US and beyond.”
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