Verdane, the European specialist growth buyout investment firm, has made a significant majority investment in Konvekta, the global leader in high-performance energy recovery technology for ventilation systems.
Konvekta’s closed-loop tailor-made systems extract energy in the form of cold or heat from the exhaust air of buildings and return it to the incoming air supply with proven efficiency. This high efficiency is achieved using Konvekta’s application-specific heat exchangers, extensive optimisation and advanced control software.
Konvekta’s sophisticated mathematical modelling software uses a digital twin method that allows Konvekta to design systems that can save more than 90% of a building’s energy and the corresponding CO2 emissions.
Customers of Konvekta include Harvard University, Frankfurt Airport, BMW, Yale University, Deutsche Bank, UBS and MIT along with leading hospitals and clinics as well as most of the largest chemical and pharma companies worldwide.
Konvekta has delivered over 1,000 energy-recovery projects globally across all climate zones. Its systems now reduce more than 530,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
The partnership between Konvekta and Verdane will allow the company to scale its offering globally and further expand its expertise in the complex high-performance energy recovery space.
Dr. Erich Becker, Partner at Verdane, said: ”We are excited about our partnership with Konvekta and the growth journey ahead of us. Based on our bottom-up thematic research, Verdane identified energy efficiency as a highly attractive area for growth investments with substantial emission reduction potential. Konvekta is a proven market leader in high-performance energy recovery systems which combine an economically sound customer value proposition driven by substantial energy cost reductions in heating and cooling buildings with high emission reductions. Existing buildings in need of energy efficiency improvements as well as new buildings will benefit from Konvekta’s offering while contributing to emission reduction targets in the built environment.”
Hanspeter Pfenninger, a member of Konvekta’s Board of Directors and the son of Konvekta founder Walter Pfenninger, said: “Konvekta has been family-owned for generations. After many years of growth and with an eye on the excellent prospects in the climate market, it was important for me to find a financially strong and industry-experienced partner to support the company in its next growth phase. I am pleased to have found this partner in Verdane.”
Joachim Lennarz, CEO of Konvekta, said: “Konvekta has always been proud of its leading energy recovery technology that delivers significant results economically but also ecologically. The partnership with Verdane will lift the Konvekta success story to a completely new level allowing us to intensify our presence both in current as well as new markets worldwide. We are thrilled to open this new chapter together with Verdane.”
Verdane is a pioneering sustainability investor, backing more than 40 sustainable businesses since 2003. It has developed an industry-leading framework for measuring carbon avoidance, available in a whitepaper on Verdane’s website, and carries out a comprehensive sustainability assessment for all Idun portfolio companies.
The partnership with Konvekta follows a nine-year history in the DACH region for Verdane. Verdane and its co-investors have invested close to €1 billion in the region and have made 20 core investments in the DACH region since 2016, backing businesses such as Hornetsecurity, momox, Fiskaly and Cropster.
About Konvekta
Since its foundation in 1949, Konvekta has evolved into the leading manufacturer of complex high-performance energy recovery systems, combining tradition with state-of-the-art technology. In 1975, Konvekta started the development of its software for the energetic and economic optimization of energy recovery systems, enabling Konvekta to implement detailed calculations in the Digital Twin approach with high precision in the shortest possible time. Today, the Konvekta Controller is able to perform demand-based control, provide proof of energy recovery, and ensure continuous function monitoring of the entire system. Konvekta employs [90] employees across its core regions DACH, USA and Asia with its headquarters and production facility in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
About Verdane
Verdane is a specialist growth buyout investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable businesses that help to digitalise and decarbonise the European economy. Verdane funds have the most flexible mandates in the industry. The firm can invest as a minority or majority investor, replacement or growth capital, in single companies or in portfolios of companies.
Verdane has over €8 billion in assets under management and its funds have made more than 200 investments in fast-growing businesses since 2003. Verdane’s team of over 150 investment professionals and operating experts is based out of Berlin, Munich, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, and combines deep sector expertise with deep local networks and presence in core European markets.
Verdane is also a certified B Corporation, the most ambitious sustainability accreditation globally. The firm only backs businesses that pass its 2040 test, which indicates whether the company can thrive in a more sustainable future economy.
Verdane is partly owned by the Verdane Foundation, which is focused on two areas: climate change and more equitable and inclusive local communities.
