Wirral renewable power specialist snapped up by UK industrial and energy firm
SIMEC, part of Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, has accelerated plans for the deployment of its biodiesel generators through the acquisition of Wirral-based Fleetsolve.
Neston company Fleetsolve is an award-winning company with 17 years of experience developing, operating and maintaining biofueled combined heat and power (CHP) generation equipment.
In a deal agreed this week, London-based SIMEC is taking full ownership of Fleetsolve and its sister company Fuelsolve. The transaction, for an undisclosed sum, will bring well-established engineering expertise and market-leading technology into the group.
Fleetsolve won the Merseyside Innovation Prestige Award in 2018, in recognition of its cutting-edge approach to renewable power generation.
SIMEC, through Fleetsolve, will launch a nationwide campaign to identify customers who will benefit from carbon-neutral energy coupled with the resilience of having on-site power or combined heat and power generation.
Combining SIMEC’s portfolio of compact containerised generators with Fleetsolve’s expertise, the CHP units range from 250kW to 18MW in capacity and can operate continuously for 24 hours a day at customer sites, delivering clean and reliable power for industrial and commercial users.
The GFG Alliance is committed to protecting the environment and has pledged to focus on innovation in sustainability across all aspects of its businesses.
In terms of biofuels, SIMEC will target end-of-life waste oils and residues. All of SIMEC’s fuels will have International Sustainability Carbon Certification (ISCC) ensuring that they have been independently assessed and verified as sustainable.
Under the arrangement, Fuelsolve will manage the supply and logistics of the biofuels needed to power the generators, which will be placed with corporate and public sector clients requiring an intensive supply of energy at a competitive price, produced from sustainable sources.
Jay Hambro, GFG’s chief investment officer and SIMEC’s chief executive, said: “Biofuel CHP generators are ideal for large energy users such as data centres, manufacturers, public buildings, hospitals, transport hubs and district heating schemes and large retail stores.
“These compact modular generators only require a small footprint and they can deliver not only resilience, but also significant carbon reductions.
“We’re delighted to welcome Fleetsolve to the group. It’s an entrepreneurial business which brings industry-leading expertise and capability in developing new sources of biofuel generation.”
Keith O’Connor chief executive of Fleetsolve and Fuelsolve, said: “We are delighted to be joining SIMEC and to be part of its vision and commitment to a sustainable future. Combining Fleetsolve’s cutting-edge technology and fuels with SIMEC’s commercial success and global presence, the new venture will revolutionise the current low-carbon CHP model.
“New and existing clients will be able to achieve their low-carbon energy needs while benefiting from a different utility model of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).”
He added: “The ability to pay on a pence per kilowatt (megawatt) basis, together with 17 years’ experience of significant renewable energy successes will assure customers our proposition is not only well-established and innovative, but financially attractive and resilient.”
