The company’s combined technology has the ability to reduce carbon emissions by up to 50 per cent, or one ton of CO2 per household per year, while also shrinking energy bills for residents.

 

Heat network technology providers Evinox and Minibems are merging, and receiving growth capital from SET Ventures. This capital injection enables the two companies to cement their leading position in smart heat network technology ensuring enhanced energy efficiency and cost savings for heat network operators and residents.

Also known as district heating systems, heat networks supply heat to one or multiple buildings from a central source, such as a boiler or heat pump. Such systems are becoming increasingly popular to decarbonise heat. However, they can be inefficient and costly to operate.

Smart heat interface units and optimisation technology

Evinox provides a full range of equipment and services to heat network operators. The company has pioneered remotely connected heat interface units (HIU) designed for easy installation, operation and maintenance. Evinox has supplied over 15,000 units for projects across the UK, including prestigious developments such as Battersea Power Station (pictured), London City Island and Riverlight. 

Minibems has developed advanced control technology that optimises the operation of heat networks in real-time, using algorithms to predict and optimise the flow of heat to meet demand. By vastly improving network efficiency, energy consumption, carbon emissions, and costs for heat network operators and residents can be reduced by more than 50 per cent.

Driving down energy use, carbon emissions, and costs

"This is a powerful step to address the pressing needs of our industry for effective decarbonisation solutions," said Terry Mahoney, Managing Director of Evinox. "By combining our expertise and technology, we can offer a truly comprehensive range of products and services that guarantee energy efficiency. We are looking forward to the opportunities this merger will bring for our customers and for the industry as a whole."

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Evinox to offer a complete solution for heat network operators," said Minibems CEO Simon Gunter, who will continue as Executive Chairman of the combined entity. "Combining Evinox smart HIUs with Minibems optimisation technology will help heat network operators to maximise efficiency and reduce the energy bill to residents.”

Solving the conundrum of how to heat buildings

“Since our original investment in Minibems in 2019, we have been excited about the magnitude of the problem to solve in how we heat buildings,” said Anton Arts, Managing Partner at Amsterdam-based SET Ventures – an investor in companies developing and offering digital technologies for sustainable solutions. “This business combination creates the undisputed leader that will boost the efficiency of heat networks and achieve emission reductions at scale. We are pleased to support these visionary management teams to achieve their ambition together”.

This partnership ensures that heat networks can fulfil their commitment to decarbonise heat, by reducing the carbon intensity by one ton per apartment each year in existing networks, alongside enabling the use of heat pumps as a low-carbon source of heat. In the UK alone, over £500 million in government funding has been made available to drive adoption to 20 per cent of building stock.

The combination will trade as Evinox Group and has over 100 employees, working from offices in Chessington and Bournemouth in the UK, and a manufacturing facility in Brasov, Romania.