IBERDROLA takes part in $12M round of investment in US robotic technology developer for renewable generation facilities, QBotix

• This company develops robot technology to reduce the costs involved in developing and operating renewable generation facilities
• This transaction was carried out under its corporate risk capital scheme, Perseo, which was set up in 2008 and allocated over €70 million for investment in technologies and new business models

Bilbao, Spain, 03-6-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Via its Perseo corporate risk capital scheme, IBERDROLA has taken part in a $ 12 million round of investment in the U.S. firm QBotix, which develops robotic technology for renewable generation facilities.

The Group was joined in this round of investment by German company E.ON, as well as the previous investors in QBotix, the U.S. venture capital funds New Enterprise Associates, Firelake Capital Management and Draper Nexus.

The products developed by this company based in Silicon Valley apply robotic technology to significantly reduce development and operation costs in renewable projects. This is in keeping with IBERDROLA’s efforts to promote sustainable and competitive energy models for the future.

To quote Agustín Delgado, Director of Innovation in IBERDROLA, “this is yet another example of our collaboration with start-ups that are helping to meet the challenges faced by our sector in order to guarantee a sustainable energy model for the future”.

The company’s acquisition of this stake in QBotix is an example of the activities undertaken under its corporate risk capital scheme, Perseo, which was set up in the year 2008 and allocated €70 million for investment in technologies and new business models that will guarantee that the Group can remain at the forefront of the energy sector, by providing access to the most advanced and sustainable technologies.

This is the second incursion by Perseo in a U.S. firm in recent months, following the investment of €15 million (along with General Electric and the Angeleno Group venture capital fund) in U.S. firm Stem Inc., which is also based in Silicon Valley and specialises in the development of distributed energy storage systems.

Support for entrepreneurs

This stake in QBotix ratifies IBERDROLA’s firm commitment to promoting new industrial initiatives and providing support to entrepreneurs. In this regard, and to reinforce the activity of the Perseo scheme in Spain, the company entered into an agreement with the Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI) as part of the Innvierte programme.

Under the terms of this agreement, which was signed in June 2012, IBERDROLA plans to invest a further €25 million on a joint basis with the Spanish Government over the next five years, in supporting Spanish technological start-ups in the energy sector. The first deal to support these initiatives was signed last May with the company’s support for Salamanca-based firm Arbórea Intellbird.

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