Aramco Ventures, Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, CDP Venture Capital and Progress Tech Transfer make transformational investment in HT Materials Science’s energy efficiency solution
HT Materials Science (HTMS) is the developer of Maxwell™, an innovative heat transfer fluid additive that reduces energy consumption in commercial cooling and heating systems by up to 15%
- HTMS’ blue-chip clients include Saudi Aramco, Johnson & Johnson, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Swire Pacific and Ericsson
- EU, US and UK governments have all recently announced targets and initiatives for improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions in real estate
HTMS has secured US$15,000,000 in Series A funding from such world-leading investors as Aramco Ventures, the venture arm of Saudi Aramco, Barclays, via its Sustainable Impact Capital portfolio, CDP Venture Capital SGR, through its corporate venture capital fund, Corporate Partners I and Progress Tech Transfer fund, to fund the global deployment of Maxwell™. With its innovative product line of heat transfer fluids, HTMS is well-positioned to support a significant cumulative reduction in the carbon footprint of commercial real estate and process cooling applications globally.
Global energy demand for space cooling alone is expected to triple by 2050 as the world warms. HTMS’ products offer a significant step forward for businesses wishing to drive down energy use, increase system capacity and meet regulated energy efficiency targets. This is against the backdrop of legislated government targets from the UK and the US for reducing energy consumption and improving energy efficiency, especially in the built environment. This year the EU is also expected to increase its 2030 energy efficiency targets (currently 32.5%). Today, 12% of global energy supply goes towards space cooling alone, making the cumulative impact of widespread installation of Maxwell™ very significant. Maxwell™ has a total addressable market of €50BN in the US and Europe alone.
Simple to install in most HVAC systems, with no downtime or new equipment required, Maxwell™ is an environmentally friendly (non-toxic, non-corrosive and recyclable) ‘drop in’ additive. Maxwell™ helps companies to reduce their energy usage and carbon footprint simply and effectively, thus helping to achieve corporate sustainability goals.
Thomas Grizzetti, CEO of HTMS, said: “This investment helps us to build on our success and grow our market reach to a truly commercial scale. We are excited to have the backing of Aramco Ventures, Barclays, CDP and PTT. This support from major industry innovators serves as a strong endorsement for our technology and vision. Thanks to the ease of installation, and use in both new and existing HVAC systems, we believe that, at scale, Maxwell™ can have a material impact on energy usage and the carbon footprint of a broad range of industries and sectors.”
Mahdi Al Adel, CEO of Aramco Ventures, said: “For Aramco Ventures this investment into HTMS is very strategic. The application of the HTMS technology in cooling systems can help save energy and reduce emissions in Aramco facilities and the Kingdom, all of which are very positive outcomes. Aramco Ventures is immensely proud of its partnership and relationship with HTMS, and we look forward to being part of their future success and achievements.”
Waliyoddin Asaad, Manager of the Energy Transition Engineering Department at Saudi Aramco, said: “The performance improvement of Maxwell™ in our chillers facility in Dhahran were verified and exceeded our expectations. The product offered one of the best overall energy performance enhancement, cost savings, and carbon footprint reductions.”
Gavin Chapman, Co-Head Principal Investments, Barclays said: “As a full-service bank with a global footprint, we are very aware of the challenges that our customers and clients face in reducing their energy consumption, both to reduce their carbon footprint and their costs, and Maxwell™ has the potential to play a significant role. We are excited to be on this journey with HTMS as they expand their reach and increase impact.”
Enrico Filì, Partner of the Corporate Partners I Fund, CDP Venture Capital said: “We are thrilled to have become part of HT Materials Science’s growth journey. The company is an example of excellent researcher intuition, executed to become a product, which answers to a growing need across industries. From real estate to industrial processes, to data centres, maximizing heat transfer efficiencies is a key tool to lower cost, increase sustainability and lower CO2 footprint. Our network has responded enthusiastically to HTMS’ value proposition and look forward to seeing more companies reduce their energy consumption with Maxwell™.”
Alberto Calvo of Progress Tech Transfer said: “HTMS is one of our first investments and has been growing steadily ever since, both technically and commercially. The quality of the technical solution proposed by the company is testified by the prominence and prestige of the pool of investors who have decided to join forces in this financing round. We’re looking forward to having them onboard for a new chapter of the journey and will keep on supporting HTMS in the future.”
About Aramco Ventures
Aramco Ventures is the corporate venturing subsidiary of Aramco, the world’s leading fully integrated energy and petrochemical enterprise. Headquartered in Dhahran with offices in North America, Europe and Asia, Aramco Ventures strategic venturing program invests globally in start-up and high growth companies with technologies of strategic importance to its parent, Aramco, primarily supporting the Company’s operational decarbonization, new lower-carbon fuels businesses, and digital transformation initiatives. Aramco Ventures also operates Prosperity7, the Company’s disruptive technologies investment program.
More information about Aramco Ventures is available at: www.aramcoventures.com
About Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital
As part of the firm’s broader commitments, Barclays will invest £500m of its own capital, led by the Principal Investments team, in fast-growing, innovative, environmentally-focused companies whose values are aligned with those of Barclays and which target the goals and timelines of the Paris Agreement. These investments are strategic to Barclays, its clients and the communities it serves, with clear scalable propositions that deliver both environmental benefits and economic returns.
For further information please visit our website: https://home.barclays/sustainability/addressing-climate-change/financing-the-transition/sustainable-impact-capital/
About CDP Venture Capital
CDP Venture Capital is an asset management company (70% owned by CDP Equity and 30% owned by Invitalia) with over €1.6 billion of assets under management. It aims to make Venture Capital a strategic pillar to Italy’s economic development and innovation, creating the conditions for a comprehensive and sustainable growth of the Venture Capital ecosystem. It operates through a series of funds that aim to support start-ups in all their life cycle stages, making both direct and indirect investments.
The Corporate Partners I fund is a multi-sector corporate venture capital fund, involving leading Italian and international companies, collaborating and investing in start-ups operating in the energy, services, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors.
For more information about CDP Venture Capital please visit https://www.cdpventurecapital.it/cdp-venture-capital/en/home.page
About Progress Tech Transfer
Progress Tech Transfer is a VC fund specialized in sustainable technologies arising out of the research of Italian universities and public research organizations, start-ups, spin-offs, and visionary entrepreneurs.
For more information, visit https://progressttfund.it