ADB Ventures backs Nuventura’s SF6-free switchgear
Berlin-based switchgear developer Nuventura has announced that ADB Ventures (the Asian Development Bank’s venture arm) participated in a second closing of Nuventura’s seed investment round.
Nuventura aims to help reduce the use of the highly potent greenhouse gas, SF6, amid global growth and the continued acceleration of climate action.
ADB Ventures joined existing investors, including Cycle Group, Future Energy Ventures, Doen Participaties, IBB Ventures, and several well-known investors.
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Qiyong Cao, Senior Investment Specialist at ADB Ventures, commented in a statement, “Nuventura has developed a game-changing solution with clear benefits to both grid operators and climate. We believe that the company’s proprietary tech and unique licensing model will put it in a very competitive position in a growing $26 billion market while leading the transition towards a more environmentally sustainable electrical grid infrastructure.”
The collaboration with ADB aims to help Nuventura make important steps toward the product’s industrialization and expansion into Asian markets.
Nuventura develops medium voltage (MV) gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), replacing SF6 with dry air. Through this technology, the company’s goal is to help tackle annual SF6 emissions, equivalent to the yearly CO2 emissions produced by approximately 100 million cars.
Commenting on the investment from ADB Ventures, Manjunath Ramesh, nuventura’s CTO and Co-Founder, stated, “we are delighted to welcome ADB as one of our investors and strong supporters. We believe that ADB will be a vitally important partner as we actively expand our focus to Asian markets.”
The investment decision comes as more companies have started making a push towards decarbonisation. Many are looking to develop alternatives to SF6, which is one of the most potent greenhouse gases and one of the six targeted in the Kyoto Protocol.
Other examples of projects to develop SF6 alternatives include Enedis leading SF6 alternative development for next-gen substations and National Grid Electricity Transmission funneling funds into replacing SF6 with a low carbon alternative.
