Tecogen forms new joint venture company with Tedoma.s.
Tecogen Inc., a next-generation manufacturer of natural gas-fueled, engine-driven, combined heat and power (CHP) products, has formed a 50/50 joint venture corporationwith Tedoma.s., one of Europe’s largest combined heat and power (CHP) manufacturers. The new company, TTcogen LLC, will offer a complete package of 27 CHP modules that are fully capable of running on a variety of fuel feedstocks, including renewable natural gas (biofuel). Ranging in size from 35 kW up to 4 MW, the full product portfolio will quadruple Tecogen’s addressable market for CHP.
Tedom, headquartered in the Czech Republic, has spent 25 years pioneering the manufacture of equipment designed for the effective and environmentally friendly utilization of energy fuel resources. Similar to Tecogen’s long history of cogeneration innovation and expertise, Tedom has refined the packaged CHP concept in Europe with a product portfolio that stretches across size range and fuel category.
“Tedom has been trying to identify a strong partner in the United States and when we met with the leadership at Tecogen, we knew that our organizations would align well,” said Josef Jelecek, Tedom General Director. “Tecogen’s proven track record in the U.S. market, long term experience with cogeneration, along with its strong service offering and sales network made it a logical choice,” he added.
John Hatsopoulos, Tecogen director and Co-Chief Executive Officer, noted, “This joint venture is a significant milestone for Tecogen and the result of months of tireless management effort. I am thrilled we have found such excellent partners in Tedom and look forward to working together to build a long and profitable partnership collaboration.”
The newly formed Delaware registered limited liability company will utilize Tecogen’s sales and service network to bring Tedom’s efficient cogeneration equipment to the United States market. Offering complimentary CHP technologies, the combined product portfolio of the two companies will better position the joint venture corporation to address a wide array of customer needs and significantly expand the opportunity for CHP in the United States. TTcogen will operate out of Tecogen’s Waltham, MA headquarters and initially employ several sales and engineering specialists, with further personnel expected to be added as the business expands. In addition to equipment sales and servicing agreements, the joint venture partners will also look to collaborate on manufacturing, engine technology, development of new products, and improvement of existing products.
Speaking about the joint venture, Tecogen Co-Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Locke added, “TTcogen really will be the thought leader in the North American CHP space. Backed by the oldest and most established names in the packaged cogeneration industry from both Tedom in Europe and Tecogen in the United States, the new company will be well positioned to deliver a full suite of clean power solutions, vastly expanding the potential market for our technology.”
In 2012, the White House issued an executive order committing to add 40 GW in new cogeneration capacity in the United States by 2020. This joint venture creates a strong product offering in the North American CHP space that will provide a complete range of efficient and cost effective clean energy solutions to meet the demands of customers in almost every category. Most notably, Tedom’s specialized line of cogeneration equipment has the power to operate on biofuel, a renewable energy source with a rapidly growing market. In addition to biofuel capabilities, the joint venture will also bring Tedom’s smaller Micro T35 35kW combined heat and power (CHP) unit to the U.S. market as well as Tedom’s line of larger Cento and Quanto units. This will greatly expand Tecogen’s market reach, which is currently limited to pipeline natural gas and propane and to installations in multiples of its 75 kW and 100 kW CHP modules.