Low Carbon Accelerator invests

Guernsey-based

(LCA) has invested £2.5m in

to help develop water reduction and energy efficiency technologies for bioethanol production.

LCA is leading a £11m funding round which has also included investment from Volvo Technology Transfer, Emerald Technology, BDC Capital and Fonds d’investissement en développement durable.

The investment will be used to commercialise Vaperma’s Siftex membrane-based ethanol dewatering system, as well as expand its commercial operations and accelerate the growth of its membrane business.

Siftex, deployed in cartridges, extract water during the refinery of bioethanol and can achieve energy savings of up to 40 per cent in the bioethanol dehydration markets and up to 30 per cent savings in the total life cycle costs of natural gas dehydration.

‘With clean energy, many people focus solely on primary technologies,’ said Dr Stephen Mahon, chief investment officer at LCA. ‘However, it is background process technologies such as this that can add real value, regardless of feedstock. This investment represents an important addition to our clean energy portfolio.’

LCA will receive an initial 13.64 per cent equity stake with a commitment to invest a further £1.2m, dependent on performance. This will take the total equity ownership to 16.73 per cent.