Clare Spottiswoode admits that she was “a bit straightforward” about her views on the micro combined heat and power (CHP) industry when she first met Adrian Hutchins, the chief executive of AIM quoted cleantech group, Energetix (LON:EGX). For the former director-general of Ofgas and FTSE 100 company board member (G4S (LON:GFS) and previously Tullow Oil (LON:TLW)), earlier experiences of a new generation of domestic boilers had been disappointing. On the invite of Energetix’ then chairman, Alan Aubrey of IP Group, Spottiswoode visited the company’s Capenhurst base with, what she describes as “no interest at all in micro CHP”. That was until she saw one of the company’s boilers in action. Shortly afterwards she took over as non-executive chairman in May this year and is now helping the company to commercialise its technology.

Energetix floated on the stock market in August 2006 with plans to develop alternative energy products using IP acquired from one of the largest R&D groups in the US. It found that ‘scroll’ technology – which is usually found in the refrigeration and air conditioning markets – could be modified to get the results it was looking for. The result was Genlec, a division that has taken a standard boiler and, using readily available components, turns waste heat into electricity – which is the crux of what micro CHP applications do. That puts it in a similar space to other AIM listed players like Ceres Power (LON:CWR) and Ceramic Fuel Cells (LON:CFU) but with a very different approach. Its second business, Pnu Power, uses the same technology to create back-up power supplies as an alternative to traditional, and problematic, lead acid batteries.

Energetix is currently preparing to distribute at least 50 of it Kingston boilers to be tested this winter. The results from that trial should see the company begin commercial negotiations with potential customers next year. Pnu Power, which is already live on trials with the National Grid (LON:NG.) in the UK and the US, is eyeing longer term commercial agreements in the near future.

Earlier this week, Stockopedia caught up with both Adrian Hutchings and Clare Spottiswoode to find out more about developments at the company.

Adrian,…

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