Press release

Novus Modus/ESB Novus Modus

Novus Modus today announces the opening of its London office and the launch of ESB Novus Modus in the UK. Novus Modus is adviser to ESB Novus Modus, the €200m cleantech and renewable energy investment fund established by ESB, the leading Irish utility group. ESB is the sole investor in the fund.

Novus Modus now has offices in London in Dublin and has a team of around 10 investment professionals led by Michael Aherne and Richard Nourse. Novus Modus provides capital, support, and knowledge to the clean energy and energy efficiency sectors.

The fund is seeking to make investments in Ireland, the UK and North West Europe. The investment brief is wide and will include investments in companies, projects and management teams involved in:

• The generation of electricity and heat from renewable resources
• The technologies behind renewable generation
• Energy efficiency and smart grid technologies and infrastructure
• The support and financing of these areas

Individual investments are expected to be between €2m and €20m and the fund will generally seek an appropriate level of influence through board seats.

Today the fund also announces its investment in Airvolution Energy:

• Airvolution Energyis a UK based developer, constructor and operator of sub – 10 MW wind farms
       o The company focuses on opportunities on brownfield sites, where the
          generation capacity can be embedded with an offtake customer.
          Airvolution Energy has an exclusive arrangement with Savills, the
          leading UK property consultancy, for the identification and securing
          of sites and for achieving planning consent.

Previously the fund has also invested in Nualight:

• Nualight, is an Irish based manufacturer of LED lighting arrays for the retail sector
       o These arrays are primarily used in supermarket fridges and freezers
          where they replace neon lights, leading to significant energy savings
           through reduced requirement for chilling. The company focuses on
          opportunities on brownfield sites, where the generation capacity can
          be embedded with an offtake customer.

Commenting on the goals of ESB Novus Modus, Richard Nourse of Novus Modus said: “We have a high quality team assembled and are looking forward to providing capital and support to entrepreneurs and innovators, the changes we will see in the next 10 years will be as profound as those experienced in the industrial revolution. The investment opportunities these changes provide will be immense.”

Michael Aherne of Novus Modus added “Novus Modus has direct access to a wealth of technical knowledge and engineering and commercial expertise held by ESBa leading national, vertically integrated utility with an 80 year operating history. We will bring that to bear with the investments we support, differentiating us from other funds.”

Speaking at the launch, Bernard Byrne, Group Finance Director of ESB and Chairman of the fund’s investment committee said: “We see a global transformation being brought about by a large scale transition to a low carbon economy. This will affect utilities and the customers they serve because radical and innovative solutions on a vast scale will need to be developed and introduced rapidly and cost effectively. The structure that we have adopted with Novus Modus will allow ESB to provide capital and support to a sector - much of which is in its infancy and characterised by entrepreneurial activity.”

The fund is part of ESB’s response to the twin challenges of climate change and energy security. ESB plans to invest over €20bn by 2020, largely to enable the transition to a low carbon economy.




Unique partnership: Novus Modus believes in building up true partnerships with the management teams of portfolio companies. Its team’s sector expertise, industry contacts and deep relationship with ESB allows it to provide an unparalleled level of support and assistance and to add significant value to investments.

Long-term investment horizon: Novus Modus is a patient investor. It allows portfolio companies appropriate time and resources to achieve their strategic goals and deliver long-term value creation through development of truly successful technologies and projects.

Investment characteristics: Novus Modus seeks to make early stage and growth capital investments ranging from €5 million to €20 million in equity and equity-like instruments. Whilst each opportunity it reviews will have a unique set of features, portfolio companies will all share a few common characteristics.

• Exceptional management team: Novus Modus partners with talented, passionate and dedicated management teams with demonstrable track record of technical know-how, operational expertise and commercial acumen. It will support management teams that have shown clear ability to combine entrepreneurial drive and a strong alignment of their interests with their companies’ shareholders.
• Clear growth strategy:  Novus Modus will invest in companies with a clearly defined strategic vision underpinned by a credible, well documented, delivery plan. For earlier stage investments, it seeks a clear path to commercialisation of emerging technologies and positive cashflows. For later stage, growth capital investments, it is looking for sustainable growth and well defined strategy to develop critical mass for a successful exit.
• Attractive business niche: Novus Modus will invest in differentiated opportunities that benefit from competitive advantages and capitalize on clearly identified subsectors of the renewables and cleantech space that present a compelling risk/reward balance.

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