United Kingdom : Intelligent Energy Holdings, the global clean power systems company, announced that IECHP (UK and Eire) Ltd., a joint venture company formed in partnership with Scottish and Southern Energy, the FTSE 100 utilities company, has met with all mutually agreed milestones, triggering a further £3.7million investment from Intelligent Energy Holdings (IEH), Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and Scottish Enterprise (SE).

The joint venture combined Intelligent Energy’s fuel cell and hydrogen generation technologies with Scottish and Southern Energy’s considerable customer base and servicing business, to form IECHP (UK and Eire) Ltd., a company which has been developing fuel cell combined heat and power (CHP) systems for the residential, commercial and light industrial markets in the UK and Ireland since its creation in 2008.

Having invested an initial £1.3million, the companies pledged to make a further series of phased investments once certain milestones had been reached. By surpassing all mutually agreed milestones, IECHP (UK and Eire) Ltd. has now triggered a further £2.7million investment from SSE and IEH.

IECHP (UK and Eire) Ltd also welcomes Scottish Enterprise as a shareholder through a phased investment of up to £1million via its Scottish Venture Fund which invests alongside private sector partners to encourage greater levels of risk capital investment in early stage Scottish companies.

Dr Mark Lawson-Statham, Board Member of IECHP (UK and Eire) Ltd., commented, “This is an important step in the development of our business. The further investment from SSE and IEH serves to underscore the strong commitment of both companies to bring clean CHP technologies to the market. We are also delighted to be able to welcome Scottish Enterprise as a shareholder and look forward to playing a central role in the development of the hydrogen economy in Scotland.”

SSE has also strengthened its relationship with Intelligent Energy by purchasing shares in Intelligent Energy Holdings.

Ian Marchant, CEO, Scottish and Southern Energy, explained, “SSE is committed to the development of new low-carbon technologies in the distributed heat and generation sectors. It is our intention to offer our customers the best solution that provides the energy they need in a sustainable way. This investment is further evidence of our support for new technology development through investment and strategic partnerships with leading players in the clean technology sector. We look forward to continuing our support for this exciting development and our relationship with Intelligent Energy and Scottish Enterprise.”

Neil Ross, head of Scottish Enterprise’s Scottish Venture Fund, commented, “Scotland’s transition to a low carbon economy is already underway. For Scottish Enterprise, the transition is both about reducing emissions and exploiting new global economic opportunities through supporting innovative and ambitious young companies like IECHP.”