NORWAY - Northzone et al. back ChapDrive with NOK 52m

The three returning investors provided a combined NOK 18m of the total, while StatoilHydro contributed NOK 15.6m from its LOOP Industrial Supplier Development programme and Innovation Norway provided grants amounting to NOK 18m.

The financing comes as a result of an industrial research and development agreement (IFU) between StatoilHydro, Innovation Norway and ChapDrive, which will see Innovation Norway invest NOK 315m throughout 2009 to facilitate the development of new services, products and processes between customers and suppliers.

Trondheim-based ChapDrive was founded in 2006 based on research from the Department of Energy Process Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The company's technology creates more cost efficient wind turbines by reducing the weight in the nacelle, which simplifies installation and reduces operation and maintenance costs. The recent capital injection will finance the development of 5 MW hydraulic transmission for wind turbines, which is expected to reach the market in three to five years.

The incumbent backers initially invested NOK 14.3m in the business in a first funding round in 2007, before returning for a NOK 30m second round in August 2008. The company has also previously received funding from the Norwegian Research Council as well as government-owned Enova.

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