Aker Horizons Acquires Stake in SuperNode
Aker Horizons, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norwegian industrial investment company Aker ASA, has acquired a 50 percent shareholding in SuperNode.
SuperNode, headquartered at NovaUCD, designs and delivers superconducting bulk power transmission products to enable the future growth in large-scale renewables and the achievement of a decarbonised energy supply based on renewables.
This acquisition is part of Aker Horizons’ transaction to acquire a 75 percent stake in Mainstream Renewable Power, in a deal which values Mainstream at €1 billion (including a potential earn-out of up to €100 million in 2023 and subject to customary adjustments). This agreement paves the way for a rapid acceleration of Mainstream’s global expansion plans to bring 5.5 Gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar assets to financial close by 2023.
Mainstream Renewable Power and SuperNode were both founded by Dr Eddie O’Connor.
“The next big challenge on the road to decarbonisation, is to deploy the new power transmission technology that is needed to connect the renewable power plants and move bulk energy cost-efficiently around the European and global electricity markets. SuperNode will be at the forefront of that venture,” said Dr Eddie O’Connor.
Dr O’Connor will remain a key shareholder in SuperNode and contribute to the development of its proprietary subsea superconducting power cable technology in partnership with Aker Horizons.
“Aker Horizons’ capabilities complement ours. Together we will accelerate the development of SuperNode’s proprietary subsea superconducting power cable technology and our capabilities in delivering game changing transmission technology for the integration of large-scale renewables in Europe and beyond,” said John Fitzgerald, CEO, SuperNode.
“Aker Horizons’ mission is to invest in renewable energy and technologies that significantly reduce emissions – what we call planet-positive investment. The partnership with Mainstream and the investment in SuperNode are important milestones on the road to achieve our ambitions. Combining SuperNode’s cutting edge technology with the industrial domain expertise of the Aker group will accelerate the development of SuperNode,” says Kristian Røkke, Chief Executive Officer of Aker Horizons.
Aker Horizons is a wholly-owned subsidiary of industrial investment company Aker ASA. The Group had a total turnover of approximately €8 billion in 2019, and a workforce of approximately 37,000.
Click here to read Aker ASA’s stock exchange release on the transaction.
ENDS
22 January 2021
For further information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, UCD Research and Innovation, NovaUCD, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie, t: + 353 1 716 3712 or John Fitzgerald, CEO, SuperNode, e: john.fitzgerald@supernode.energy.
Editors Notes
For further information about Aker Horizons visit https://www.akerasa.com/en/investments/aker-horizons
For further information about SuperNode visit https://supernode.energy/
At NovaUCD, the hub for new ventures and entrepreneurs at University College Dublin, we nurture and support new high-tech and knowledge-intensive companies as part of UCD's mission. At NovaUCD we provide purpose-built, state-of-the-art incubation facilities alongside a comprehensive business support programme for client companies such as SuperNode. NovaUCD has been funded through a unique public-private partnership that includes AIB Bank, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Enterprise Ireland, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers, UCD and Xilinx. www.novaucd.ie