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January 2007


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THE TOP 50 LOW-CARBON PIONEERS

The technologists, the visionaries, the backers – who's who in low emissions

21 JOSÉ M. ENTRECANALES DOMECQ
LOCATION MADRID, SPAIN
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR UTILITIES
PRESENT CEO JOSÉ M. ENTRECANALES DOMECQ
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 $7.11 BILLION
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $11.28 BILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION Entrecanales is a visionary alternative-energy investor. Acciona makes wind turbines and is building 30 wind parks, 23 of them in Spain, four in France and two in Germany. Acciona bought Energí­a Hidroeléctrica de Navarra, one of the largest wind players, three years ago and then CESA early last year.
22 - 3M
LOCATION ST PAUL, US
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR CONSUMER GOODS
PRESENT CEO GEORGE BUCKLEY
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 $56.88 BILLION
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $58.05 BILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION Develops carbon trading businesses based upon the reforestation model under the UN Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Carbon Capital has raised €450m to produce carbon credits, timber and biofuels in Africa, Asia and South America. It employs 5,000 people in projects totalling 800,000 ha.
20 CARBON CAPITAL LTD
LOCATION LONDON, UK
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR FORESTRY AND CARBON TRADING
PRESENT CEO STUART CLENAGHAN
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION The maker of Scotch tape and stickies saved 12.8% in CO2 emissions between 1990 and 2003 and more than $190m in energy costs through conservation measures. Notably good at involving employees, the company has evolved a fully fledged environment policy including a biodiversity drive.
23 ARUP GROUP LTD
LOCATION LONDON, UK
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR ENGINEERING
PRESENT CEO TERRY HILL (CHAIR)
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION Peter Head is director of sustainability at this employee-owned private company. Arup turns away eco-unfriendly projects and is putting vast energy into Dongtang, the 'eco-metropolis' planned for Chongming, Shanghai. Arup has just joined the Climate Group to show its mettle.
24 ABB GROUP
LOCATION ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR ENGINEERING
PRESENT CEO STUART CLENAGHAN
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 $15.8 BILLION
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $32.6 BILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION Power and automation technology leader is going big on variable speed drives inside electric motors. By only running at the speed needed for the application, energy consumption can be cut by 50%. 65% of global energy use is by electrical motors driving plant in industry, so the implications are huge.
25 ABU DHABI FUTURE
LOCATION ABU DHABI
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR ENGINEERING
PRESENT CEO SULTAN AL JABER
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION The Abu Dhabi government launched the $250m Masdar Clean Tech Fund in Sept 2006, in conjunction with UK company Consensus Business Group and Credit Suisse who placed $50m and $100m respectively. A pioneering move straight out of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
26 CLIMATE EXCHANGE PLC
LOCATION LONDON, UK
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR CARBON TRADING
PRESENT CEO NEIL ECKERT
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 $154 MILLION
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $309 MILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION Formerly an insurance man, Eckert has cornered 80% of the European carbon trading market. In 2005 the company traded 95 million tonnes of carbon, rising to 257 Mt in the first eight months of 2006. Market Cap has shot up by a quarter this year and Eckert's 5% share is valued at over €12m.
27 CLIMATE CHANGE CAPITAL
LOCATION LONDON, UK
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR CARBON TRADING & ADVISORY
PRESENT CEO MARK WOODALL
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION James Cameron played a role at Kyoto before founding CCC, which presides over a €1bn private carbon fund as well as an advisory arm devoted to climate change and energy security. The private company doesn't disclose financials, but its head count has more than doubled in the past year.
28 CLIPPER WINDPOWER
LOCATION CARPINTERIA, US
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR WIND TURBINE DEVELOPMENT
PRESENT CEO JAMES DEHLSON
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 $319 MILLION
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $1.05 BILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION Rapidly growing Californian wind power tech firm listed on London's AIM since Sept 2005. Main business is patented range of wind turbine for power generation. It describes this as a $9bn-a-year sector growing globally at 15–25% per annum.De�nitely one for investors to watch
29 SOLAR WORLD AG
LOCATION BONN, GERMANY
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR SOLAR PANEL TECHNOLOGY
PRESENT CEO FRANK ASBECK
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 $1.77 BILLION
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $3.05 BILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION Solar World, a German solar energy company took over Shell's solar technology arm a year ago, making it the largest solar specialist in the US, and third in the world, trailing only Sharp and BP. A tremendously successful example of Germany's world leadership in this particular alternative energy sector.
30 ECOSECURITIES
LOCATION DUBLIN, IRELAND
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR CARBON MANAGEMENT
PRESENT CEO BRUSE USHER
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $404 MILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION Floated on 19 Dec, 2005, Ecosecurities has made its business from sourcing, developing and trading carbon credits. It owes its existence to Kyoto: carbon emission reduction schemes generate credits, mostly in the developing world, which can then be sold to mostly developing world companies.
31 LOW CARBON ACCELERATOR
LOCATION GUERNSEY, CHANNEL IS.
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR LOW CARBON FUND MGE
PRESENT CEO MARK SHORROCK
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $87.83 MILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION The first listed private equity fund dedicated to businesses that reduce carbon emissions. Low Carbon Acclerator was floated on AIM in Oct 2006 raising £44.5m (€66m). Its biggest investor is ABM Amro. Steve Mahon is the CIO and has helped locate 50 pre-qualiï€�ed investee companies.
32 CAMCO INTERNATIONAL
LOCATION JERSEY, CHANNEL IS.
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR CARBON MANAGEMENT
PRESENT CEO TRISTAN FISCHER
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $144.92 MILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION Similar business model to Ecosecurities; Camco advises companies on how to originate carbon credits but has become a market leader in the Russian and Chinese markets and is pushing hard in Africa and the CEE. Floated on AIM in Apr 2006. Fischer previously worked for Shell's wind division.
33 IMPAX GROUP PLC
LOCATION LONDON, UK
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR ASSET MANAGEMENT
PRESENT CEO IAN SIMM
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 $7.04 MILLION
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $38.96 MILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION A pioneer in this field, Impax was launched in 1994. Funds under management grew from €338m to €600m between Nov 05 and Aug 06. Central player in the creation of the IMPAX ET50 clean tech index, an index comprising 50 of the largest 'pure play' environmental markets companies from 14 countries.
34 CERES POWER HOLDINGS
LOCATION LONDON, UK
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY
PRESENT CEO PETER BANCE
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 $134 MILLION
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $274 MILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION Developer of solid oxide fuel cells (see entry for Siemens) AIM-listed since Nov 2004 at £1.20; rose to £3.33 currently £2.44. Unique technology has roused a lot of investor curiosity but products not yet to market so highly speculative as an investment. Quite likely to be bought out if successful.
35 ERSOL SOLAR ENERGY AG
LOCATION ERFURT, GERMANY
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR SOLAR PANEL TECHNOLOGY
PRESENT CEO CLAUS BENEKING
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 $503 MILLION
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $602 MILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION Develops, markets and makes photovoltaic products. Vertical integration has allowed it to buy its erstwhile suppliers and begin production of ingots and wafers (ASi GmbH) and the fabrication of solar cells (ErSol AG). Most of the value in the value chain is in these more complex processes.
36 THEOLIA
LOCATION AIX-EN-PROVENCE, FRANCE
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCER
PRESENT CEO JEAN-MARIE SANTANDER
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 $240 MILLION
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $138 MILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION France's only listed wind company. France's renewables sector is on the verge of rapid expansion, backed by firm EU targets, based on the Kyoto Protocol. But French law also compels electricity providers to buy wind power at a fixed tariff, explaining why Theolia has no fossil fuel portfolio.
37 ZENERGY POWER PLC
LOCATION LONDON, UK
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR SUPER CONDUCTORS
PRESENT CEO JENS MÃœLLER
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $78.12 MILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION Zenergy is a global manufacturer and developer of high-temperature superconductor (HTS) applications. HTS was discovered in 1986 and its large scale commercialisation is almost upon us, with vast implications for saving energy in elecrical devices.
38 RENESOLA
LOCATION BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR SOLAR PANEL PRODUCTION
PRESENT CEO LI XIAN SHOU
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $414.78 MILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION Formerly the Zhejiang Yuhui Solar Energy Source Co Ltd, ReneSola listed on AIM on 8 Aug, 2006. Doubling output this year to 800 tons/year or 100 MW in power generating terms. ReneSola's USP is that it makes its silicon wafers out of scrap silicon that it recycles, with an 80% reclamation rate.
39 PROMETHEUS
LOCATION SEATTLE, US
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR LIQUID GAS PRODUCTION
PRESENT CEO KIRT MONTAGUE
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 $110.99 MILLION
COMPANY INFORMATION US company listed on AIM in Sept 06; Prometheus is a global leader in 'distributed fuel' production, integrating small-scale purification and liquefaction systems that generate fuel near the end user, in particular from waste products producing methane, leading to distributed LNG production.
40 WINDSAVE
LOCATION GLASGOW, UK
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR MICRO WIND TURBINES
PRESENT CEO DAVID GORDON
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION Gordon is a serial entrepreneur who is just cresting the wave of a public revolution in distributed energy production in the UK, via micro-wind turbines designed for domestic household use. He has just begun to sell them through major retailers B&Q.
41 CARBON NEUTRAL COMPANY
LOCATION LONDON, UK
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR CARBON MANAGEMENT
PRESENT CEO JONATHAN SHOPLEY
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION Formerly Future Forests. Sue Welland was the founder and a true pioneer. The company has grown very rapidly in the past year from offering carbon offset through forestry projects to full advisory services to over 200 companies. Helped create the very concept of carbon neutrality 10 years ago.
41 EX'TENT
LOCATION AUSTERLITZ, THE NETHERLANDS
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR GREEN VENTURE CAPITAL
PRESENT CEO ECKHART WINTZEN
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION See profile of Wintzen elsewhere in this issue. Passionate and iconic Dutch tech entrepreneur now behind his vision of the low-carbon economy of the future. Projects range from car sharing (Rotterdam-based Greenwheels) to video conferencing innovator Ex'ovision (to cut travel).
43 GREEN SEAT
LOCATION ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR CARBON MANAGEMENT
PRESENT CEO NIELS KORTHLAS ALTES
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION Aimed primarily at the aviation market and carbon offset market, including ordinary consumers. Dutch version of Carbon Neutral Co, started three years ago. Chief exec saw a huge uplift in business interest in 2006 and believes the company is on the verge of 'explosive growth'.
44 CARBON CAPITAL MARKETS
LOCATION LONDON, UK
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR CARBON TRADING
PRESENT CEO LIONEL FRETZ
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION Fretz notes a doubling of turnover in the second year to of CCM's operation to €180m but has no plans to list. His main investor is well known Portugese industrialist Horácio Carvalho, whose Grupo HLC offers a natural synergy via waste, energy and renewable power generation. One to watch.
45 BIODIESEL INTERNATIONAL AG
LOCATION GRAZ, AUSTRIA
OWNERSHIP PUBLIC
INDUSTRY SECTOR BIODIESEL PRODUCTION
PRESENT CEO WILHELM HAMMER
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION Listed in Frankfurt on 25 Sept, 2006. Europe's leading biodiesel plant manufacturer including the first biodiesel fuel pipeline at Lobau, Vienna. Orders from Spain and Denmark for plants since flotation confirm the strategic position of the company to benefit from a rich biofuel European future.
44 CARBON CAPITAL MARKETS
LOCATION LONDON, UK
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR CARBON TRADING
PRESENT CEO LIONEL FRETZ
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION Fretz notes a doubling of turnover in the second year to of CCM's operation to €180m but has no plans to list. His main investor is well known Portugese industrialist Horácio Carvalho, whose Grupo HLC offers a natural synergy via waste, energy and renewable power generation. One to watch.
46 ARGENT ENERGY
LOCATION NEWBRIDGE, UK
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR BIODIESEL PRODUCTION
PRESENT CEO ANDY HUNTER, DOUGLAS WARD
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION Operates a 50,000-ton biodiesel plant in Scotland; plans two larger plants in England and New Zealand. Partners with Austrian leaders BDI (see previous entry) but uniquely only uses recycled oil sources from animal and vegetable waste. Believed to be considering a flotation in 2007 to accelerate expansion.
44 CO2E
LOCATION LONDON, UK
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR CARBON MANAGEMENT
PRESENT CEO STEVE DRUMMOND
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION A divison of broking company Cantor Fitzgerald, CO2e was founded in 2000 with a team of three, and today has 40+ staff and global offices. Just did a deal with the UK government to offset the entire carbon emissions generated by the Foreign Office. Strong in financial structuring and related brokerage services.
48 RADIO TAXIS GROUP LTD
LOCATION LONDON, UK
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR TRANSPORT
PRESENT CEO ANDREW HERBERT
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION A pioneer in this sector, the company best known for its black taxi cabs in London set about achieving carbon neutrality two years ago and claims to have greatly increased its new business as a result, particularly concerning large account holders. The challenge now is to get a green fleet.
49 NEW EARTH SOLUTIONS
LOCATION WIMBORNE, UK
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR WASTE MANAGEMENT
PRESENT CEO BILL RIDDLE
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION Bill Riddle is a serial entrepreneur who has developed an innovative waste recycling and composting plant on an industrial scale, founding his company in 2002 and recently raising a capital base of over €6m to fund expansion premised on EU and UK government laws.
50 CONNECTIVE ENERGY
LOCATION LONDON, UK
OWNERSHIP PRIVATE
INDUSTRY SECTOR LOW CARBON HEAT SOLUTIONS
PRESENT CEO ANDREW WORDSWORTH
VALUE 1 Nov, 2005 N/A
VALUE 1 Nov, 2006 N/A
COMPANY INFORMATION Too early to call. The UK government funded Carbon Trust is belatedly and slowly trying to commercialise solutions to global warming and has spawned Connective Energy, a three-way joint venture with Mitsui Babcock Energy and Triodos Renewables, a supplier of low-carbon heat solutions.

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Alternative energy, Carbon Emissions

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