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Cleantech magazine, a Cleantech Investor publication
AIM Listings - June/July 2007 PDF Print E-mail

AIM continues to appeal to newer players in the sector:  Comment on Vectrix Corporation, AFC, Plantic Technologies and Modern Water

First published in Cleantech magazine. June/July 2007 © Cleantech Investor Ltd. 2007

 



Vectrix Corp. (VRX)


Rhode Island (US) based electric scooter manufacturer, Vectrix Corporation, listed on AIM in May. The listing price of 52p per share valued the company at £134.9 million. Vectrix’s Maxi Scooter is the company’s first mass produced product. The bikes are assembled at the company’s factory in Wroclaw, Poland.

The Vectrix electric scooter can be recharged at any household socket. Remote charging points are being rolled out in cities such as London. However, the company’s primary focus is on the important Italian market.

Vectrix raised £33.7 million through a placing by HSBC. The funds will be used for marketing, to develop the dealer network and for funding of future research and development.

Modern Water (MWG)


Modern Water plc was admitted to AIM on 12 June. The company raised £30 million (gross) through a share placing of 25.2 million shares at 119p, implying a valuation at the listing price of £70 million. KBC Peel Hunt is Nomad and Broker.

Modern Water is building a portfolio of rights to water related technologies and plans to own and/or manage water projects which can be fitted with these technologies. It has made three investments to date: Surrey Aquatechnology, Poseidon Water and Cymtox. Surrey Aquatechnology Limited has developed processes for the osmotic treatment of water. Its desalination technology requires less energy for the desalination of sea water than conventional processes. Poseidon Water Limited has a sewage treatment process designed for the treatment of domestic waste water to European Waste Water standards. The innovative aspect of Poseidon’s technology is that it incorporates the use of sea water, in contrast to most sewage treatment technologies which require fresh water.

Cymtox Limited has a new technology which monitors water toxicity, based on the science of bioluminescence.

Plantic Technologies (PLNT)


Environmentally friendly plastics company Plantic Technologies listed on AIM in May, raising £20 million (gross). The offer price of 64p valued the company at £50.9 million. Its shares traded as high as 81.5p on the first day of trading. Plantic’s Nomad and Broker is Libertas Capital.

Australian based Plantic is developing a range of starch based biodegradable plastic products which function as a substitute for some synthetic plastics. The starch is sourced from corn. Potential applications include rigid packaging and flexible films.

Plantic’s first product, the Plantic R1® rigid tray was first used by Cadbury in the packaging for the Milk Tray product line in Australia. Other customers include Nestlé and Lindt & Spruengli. The company aims to develop the range of products and applications for various industry sectors. Plantic has entered into joint ventures with major plastics and packaging companies including Amcor Limited, Orica Limited and Visy Industries Pty Ltd.


AFC Energy (AFC)


Low cost alkaline fuel cell company, AFC Energy, was admitted to AIM in April. The company raised £3 million (gross) through a placing of over 13 million new shares. With 87.68 m new shares in issue after the placing, the company was valued at £20.2 million. AFC’s fuel cells are based on existing technology which has been used by NASA (in the Apollo space missions) and the Russian Navy. The company has improved the processes and reduced the number of components required in an alkaline fuel cell.

AFC plans to provide fuel cells to industries which produce large amounts of waste or by-product hydrogen. It has received an order from Akzo Nobel and should start to deliver fuel cells to the Akzo Nobel Bitterfield site during the first quarter of 2008. The fuel cells will generate clean energy from the waste hydrogen from chlorine production plants.

AFC is working on the development of a 200kW system with Akzo Nobel. This system is expected to be completed by 2009.

The potential for power generation from waste hydrogen in the chlor-alkali industry is estimated, by AFC at 3,000 MW per annum – or a £1 billion market. In addition to the chlor-alkali industry, applications for the company’s fuel cells (of varying sizes) have been identified in the domestic and light industrial power supply, marine, remote locations and emergency/back-up supply markets.

AFC’s Non executive Chairman is Tim Yeo, Member of Parliament for South Suffolk. Yeo, who served as Minister of State for the Environment in the Conservative Government prior to 1997, has been Chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee since 2005.
 
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