Atlantic Hydrogen raises another $4.8 million
Funding Firm attracts capital to further develop its clean natural gas technology
Reid Southwick
Telegraph-Journal
Published Wednesday September 5th, 2007
Appeared on page B1
FREDERICTON - Atlantic Hydrogen Inc. will announce today it has secured nearly $4.8 million
in its second round of equity financing, a development that will allow the Fredericton-based firm
to field test and commercialize its technology.
The second round, brokered by Nova-Scotia-based Acadian Securities Inc., saw the first
commercial investment in the clean technologies company, bringing total investment to $5.4
million.
Atlantic Hydrogen's principal technology, the CarbonSaver, removes carbon from natural gas and
replaces it with hydrogen. The final product, coined hydrogen-enriched natural gas, significantly
reduces emissions.
"We're in a pretty hot sector," president David Wagner said Tuesday. "We've got what I would say
is a leading-edge technology. We're continuing to meet milestones, and we're encouraged by the
progress we're making in our lab."
The new funding ensures Atlantic Hydrogen's plan to run field tests in early 2008 at a natural gas
refuelling station and a micro-turbine electricity generator. The locations for these field tests have
not yet been decided.
The company will start taking customer orders toward the end of next year.
Atlantic Hydrogen's second share offering was over-subscribed by 20 per cent in a bid that saw
the company sell 1.8 million shares at $3 each.
The lead investors in the multi-million-dollar deal were the New Brunswick Innovation
Foundation and Kyoto Capital Partners Inc., a Vancouver-based company that focuses
investments on private firms in the clean technologies sector. Other investors include private
shareholders.
Damien Reynolds, chairman and chief executive of Kyoto Capital Partners, has been appointed to
Atlantic Hydrogen's board of directors. He was unavailable for comment Tuesday.
Paul Guedes, Kyoto Capital Partners' vice-president of investment banking, said Tuesday that
Atlantic Hydrogen's technology possesses significant growth potential.
"We believe their technology is on the cutting edge of the hydrogen market," he said.
Guedes said the technology has the potential to serve that market, currently in its infancy, as it
matures.
"It will be a technology that will help bridge today's limited technologies to tomorrow's more
advanced technologies," he said.
Guedes said Altantic Hydrogen has put together a "first-rate team," led by Bill Stanley, the
founder of the former telephone giant Fundy Cable, and Wagner, former president and chief
executive of Unisys Canada Inc.
Calvin Milbury, vice-president, business development with the New Brunswick Innovation
Foundation, echoed Guedes' comments Tuesday.
"Bill Stanley and David Wagner pack a powerful punch," he said. "There is a lot of trust flowing to
the management team to be able to take this to the next level."
Milbury said Atlantic Hydrogen has produced an important technology in an emerging sector.
"This area has the greatest amount of potential in the marketplace right now," he said.
"It's a great fit for New Brunswick, as well, with the renewed emphasis on energy. There is a lot of
potential in this particular market."
The multimillion-dollar deal represents the third major venture capital investment secured in
New Brunswick this year. Software developer AnyWare Group raised $5.75 million, while
Radian6, a web-based technology developer, attracted $4.4 million.
Both Kyoto Capital Partners and the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation say Atlantic
Hydrogen's latest round of funding signals venture capital investment opportunities are growing
in the province.
"We're definitely seeing an untapped resource here, and we're excited about the opportunities,
there's no doubt," said Guedes.