Clean tech VC makes first German investment

by ClickGreen staff. Published Wed 13 Jan 2010 21:17, Last updated: 2010-01-13

The Torqeedo are rated as a top green buy

European clean technology venture capital firm WHEB Venture has announced that it has invested €3 million in Torqeedo, an award-winning developer of electric outboard motors.

The investment, the first by WHEB Ventures’ Munich office, was part of a €4.7 million investment round. The Brose Trust AG and other existing investors also participated.

Torqeedo, established in 2005 and headquartered in Starnberg in Bavaria, develops and manufactures electric outboard motors for the marine market. The motors are lightweight, powerful, quiet, highly efficient and clean. The motors provide a viable and environmentally friendly alternative to the sub 10hp combustion engine outboard market.

Joerg Sperling, Partner at WHEB Ventures said: “Torqeedo has developed, commercialised and proven a highly differentiated clean technology. In less than five years the CEO and his team have taken Torqeedo from product concept to €5million in revenue. They have also succeeded in growing sales by 25% in 2009 despite the extremely difficult economic conditions in the marine industry.”

“We believe that international territories represent a very large and fast growing addressable market for Torqeedo’s products. As in Germany, these markets will be driven partly by increasingly strict regulation prohibiting the pollution of lakes and rivers by noise as well as by oil."

Dr Christoph Ballin, CEO of Torqeedo, added: “We welcome this investment from WHEB Ventures. Their expertise in building companies internationally will be invaluable to Torqeedo over the next few years as we ramp up sales and enter new market segments with new products.”

Torqeedo’s motors are consistently rated as a “top buy” by industry analysts due to their superior drive train technology, advanced electronics which include accurate range displays, state of the art propellers and high performance lithium manganese battery cells. The motors require virtually no maintenance or servicing and, due to their extremely low environmental impact, are becoming increasingly popular with the environmentally conscious consumer keen to make green purchases.

Torqeedo’s growth will also be fuelled in part by regulation of pollution and noise control. Greener regulatory regimes at both national and local level are increasingly turning lakes into “green lakes” where petrol driven internal combustion engines are banned in order to decrease pollution and noise levels.

Torqeedo is well positioned to take advantage of such existing and future regulation. Each Torqeedo motor is powered by an electric battery which means there is no risk of oil or coolant leakage as is often the case with the traditional petrol fuelled internal combustion engine. It is also extremely quiet when running. Furthermore, when charged with renewably generated electricity, the Torqeedo motor produces zero emissions.

WHEB Ventures’ investment in Torqeedo will not only help the company to maintain its growth momentum in its current markets but also allow it to expand into new territories and develop new and more powerful motors.