ESB Novusmodus, the corporate venturing fund formed by Ireland-based utility ESB, has invested for a second time in UK-based radar technology company Aveillant.
ESB, alongside technology development firm Cambridge Consultants, from which Aveillant is a spin off, and DFJ Esprit invested a total of £6m ($10m). This is the second time ESB, DFJ Esprit and Cambridge Consultants have invested in Aveillant, after providing it with $10m in series B financing in 2013.
DFJ previously invested a reported £1m ($1.7m) of series A funding in 2012. Aviation Investment Fund Company, a venture backed by wind energy developers including SSE, RWE npower and Falck Renewables, initially provided debt financing to Aveillant at the same time, but has since converted the debt to equity.
The money will be used to support the recent commercialisation of Aveillant’s 3D holographic radar product, which was successfully trialled in Scotland and the US last year. Some of the investment will also be set aside to grow the company’s customer support infrastructure and supply chain.
Headquartered in the UK, Germany and Munich, ESB Novusmodus is a €200m ($277m) cleantech fund that specialises in smart energy, smart meter, wind, electric vehicles, biomass and other core utility investments.