The fund will be managed by a subsidiary of Sigma Technology Group, an AIM-listed fund management company that also owns Sigma Technology Investments, an investor in the fund. The European Regional Development Fund, Fife Enterprise and a group of private investors are also investing in the fund, which will have an initial value of up to GBP6 million. The ten-year fund will have an investment period of three years.
SSE expects that its investment will yield business development opportunities in technologies which have the potential to help the UK meet its targets for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide while being capable of generating significant amounts of electricity. It will gain access to a wide range of ideas and initiatives of direct relevance to the energy sector, which may be currently distant from market but which are worthy of support to establish whether they are capable of technical and commercial success, the utility says.
SSE will also have the opportunity to earn a return from investments where the companies prove to be successful, and will be able to establish direct commercial relationships with investee companies.
SSE is involved in a wide range of leading-edge projects with the objective of meeting demand for electricity while reducing emissions of carbon dioxide. I hope that this new fund will give us opportunities to work with a variety of companies to help projects which are technically and commercially viable to become successful, says Ian Marchant, chief executive of SSE.
