Wasabi Energy raised US$7.6m in secondary listing on AIM

Kalina geothermal power plant, Húsavík, Iceland (source: flickr/ ThinkGeoEnergy, creative commons)

Alexander Richter 22 Ara 2010

Earlier this month, “Australia-based cleantech investor Wasabi Energy has completed its secondary quotation on AIM and the shares ended the day at nearly double their placing price, on December 3, 2010.”

“ASX-listed Wasabi, whose main interest is in a business commercialising waste heat technology using the Kalina Cycle, raised £4.9m (US$7.6m) at 1.1p a share prior to joining AIM. The share price on ASX has risen since the placing was announced and was A$0.033 (2.05p) at the close of trading on 2 December.

On AIM, the share price opened at 1.5p but soon moved up to 2.4p. The closing price was 2.13p.

The Kalina Cycle process uses ammonia mixed with water so that the boiling point is lower. The technology can be used to create power from geothermal sources or from waste heat from cement plants and other industrial sites where waste heat is significant. This means that between 10% and 50% more power can be generated from the same heat input as other technologies.

At the end of 2008, Wasabi’s subsidiary Global Geothermal issued a licence to the Kalina Cycle technology to Shanghai Shenghe New Energy Resources Science and Technology. This government backed organisation intends to roll out the techno logy to cement plants and other businesses where waste heat can be used. Global Geothermal will receive a royalty based on the size in MW of each plant.

Longer-term, Global Geothermal intends to build and operate its own plants because this will provide a higher return for its cash.

Wasabi’s other two main investments are a 50% stake in Aqua Guardian Group and 23.3% of ASX-listed Australian Renewable Fuels.

Wasabi’s executive chairman John Byrne used to run Cambrian Mining, and says that “Wasabi has enough cash for its needs.”

Source: ShareCast