Innovation Recognised at Water Industry Awards
2nd December 2011

The Institute of Water Welsh Area Innovation Awards were presented at a lavish ceremony on Wednesday 23 November at the Holland House Hotel in Cardiff. The Awards were open to everyone working in the water industry in Wales and this year judges received strong entries from all parts of Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, its partners and supply chain.

 
The Process & Systems Award went to C M Ventures Ltd who have developed a unique low carbon disinfectant system which produces ELIMBAC, a highly effective Mixed Oxidant used for the disinfection of wastewater. ELIMBAC is a sporocidal high performance anti-microbial that eliminates and future proofs against all types of pathogens without generating environmentally harmful chemistry.

 
Tim Williams, Head of Asset Strategy & Planning at Welsh Water and the Institute of Water’s Area President in Wales said: “This is our sixth year hosting these Awards and the standard of entries has remained exceptionally high. This is testament to the wealth of talent that is out there in the water industry.”

 
Tim continued: “With the continuing economic challenge, we have to deliver better service and improve the environment but at the best value for our customers. Innovation is one way we can do this, and these Awards serve to recognise original ideas and talent.”

The winners of these Awards together with other regional finalists will go forward to the Institute of Water National Innovation Awards, sponsored by Northumbrian Water. Professor Martin Cave will present these Awards at the Institute of Water President’s Dinner on Friday 18 May 2012. Entries are currently open for a number of other regional awards. Please contact Lyndsey Gilmartin on 0191 422 0088 or e-mail: lyndsey@institutofwater.org.uk for details on how to enter, or to book places at the National Awards Dinner.

Brussels approves job support schemes

THE EMPLOYMENT and Investment Incentive scheme, which is replacing the Business Expansion Scheme, has received state aid approval from the European Commission.The Seed Capital Scheme has also received the green light from the commission.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan yesterday welcomed the commission’s decision and said the incentives would ensure that tax relief is fully targeted at job retention and creation.

Dublin Chamber of Commerce also welcomed the approval of the EII scheme, saying that it will enable a much broader range of companies to access investment capital, as it is more flexible than the BES scheme.

Two new EII funds were unveiled yesterday in the wake of the commission’s decision. Davy and BDO will launch a joint venture to provide EII funding to companies on November 30th, while BVP Investments has launched a simple.ie green fund which will be a designated EII scheme fund.

The EII scheme provides tax relief of 30 per cent on investments of up to €150,000 a year in companies. Additional relief is available if jobs are created, or the company uses the capital raised for research and development.The Seed Capital Scheme incentivises the establishment of new companies by providing tax refunds to individuals who start their own venture.

The commission has granted approval for both schemes, subject to a small number of changes being made to the relevant legislation. Mr Noonan intends to provide for these changes in Finance Bill 2012.
BES relief will still be available for shares issued on or before December 31st, 2011, but the scheme will then come to an end.

The EII and SCS incentives will be available in respect of eligible shares issued from yesterday to the end of 2013.

Fund looks to green firms for growth

THE RADICAL shift in Government policy on climate change, which involves a proposed climate change Bill being long-fingered, will be positive for green investment funds, according to backers of the simple.ie fund.

Earlier this month, Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan said he would concentrate on other initiatives and policies rather than setting statutory targets for emissions reductions, the preferred option of the previous administration.

“On the surface, this could be seen as negative for our funds’ prospects, both current and future. In reality, we believe it is positive,” said Elliott Griffin of BVP, the investment managers, which yesterday launched its fifth Business Expansion Scheme (BES) fund which will focus on backing green technology firms.

The first four simple.ie Green BES funds have raised €4.8 million from investors and BVP said they are providing indicative returns of 20 per cent annually.

“Looking beyond legislation, there is a business rationale for each of the companies we have invested in,” said Mr Griffin.He cited CM Ventures, one of its portfolio companies, which disinfects water at 50 per cent of the cost of existing systems which are heavy users of electricity, and EFT Control Systems, which allows smaller firms to start managing their energy costs.

The Minister said he believed environmental protection and a competitive economy were complementary, not competing.
Mr Griffin said his firm has a very similar view and invests where it finds there is a sustainable market for the product, the company is attractive in terms of technology, potential return and sustainable competitive advantage and has “a great team”.

The fund closes at the end of the year.

The Minister for Finance, Mr. Michael Noonan, T.D., announced today that state aid approval has been received from the European Commission for the Employment and Investment Incentive (EII) and the Seed Capital Scheme (SCS).

The Minister said “I am delighted to have secured the necessary approval from the European Commission for the new Employment and Investment Incentive and Seed Capital Scheme. It is clear that businesses, particularly small and start-up companies, often experience difficulty in accessing early stage development capital and that there is a shortage of such finance in the pre and early start up phases of new enterprises.

These new incentives will ensure that tax relief is fully targeted at job retention and creation while ensuring that more companies can qualify for the schemes. The incentives will come into effect in respect of eligible shares issued, from 25 November 2011 to 31 December 2013 in line with the terms of the approval obtained
from the European Commission under State aid rules.”

The Minister also took the opportunity to announce the end of relief under the Business Expansion Scheme. The latest date for tax relief under this scheme will be for shares issued on or before 31 December 2011. The Minister stated “November and December of each year are traditionally the peak months for raising investments under
the BES. This investment pattern is expected to continue with the new scheme.

In view of the extended time frame that has been involved in achieving the approval of the European Commission, I have decided to allow for both schemes to run concurrently up until the end of this year. This will facilitate those that have already subscribed for shares, or who wish to do so, in a BES qualifying company, to receive
tax relief at BES rates, provided the associated shares are issued before the end of the year.”

During negotiations with the European Commission in relation to the approval of the new incentives, the Irish authorities undertook to introduce a small number of amendments to the legislative provisions governing the schemes. The Minister intends to provide for the necessary amendments, including those providing for the
commencement of the schemes from 25 November 2011, in Finance Bill 2012.

Full details will be set out in that Bill but the changes are essentially that as and from 25 November 2011:
• A qualifying company must carry on relevant trading activities from a fixed place of business in the State;
• Removal of the requirement for a minimum percentage of the company’s expenditure, in relation to its trading activities, to be made in the State in order for it to qualify for the scheme.

TECHNICAL NOTE – Background Details
The Employment and Investment Incentive (EII) provides a tax incentive to private investors to invest medium-term equity capital in companies, which would otherwise find it difficult to raise such funding. Such companies would instead, usually have to rely on loan finance, which in turn can be difficult to obtain.

Provided an investor holds his or her investment for a minimum period of 3 years, the EII provides individual investors with tax relief of 30% in respect of investments of up to €150,000 per annum in companies. Where it has been proven that additional jobs were created or the company used the capital raised for expenditure on research and development, an additional 11% relief isavailable at
the end of the holding period. This additional relief will not be subject to the high earners restriction.

The aim of the Seed Capital Scheme (SCS) is to encourage individuals currently or formerly in employment to establish new business ventures. The scheme provides a refund of tax paid in previous years to individuals who start their own business. The amount of relief is restricted to the amount of the investment.
Therefore the value of the refund depends on the amount of the individual’s investment and their effective income tax rate. For any particular year of investment, the refund is limited to the tax the individual has paid in the previous six years, subject to certain limits and conditions.

European Commission approval for the schemes has been granted subject to a small number of amendments being made to the legislation governing the schemes. The Minister intends to bring forward these amending provisions in Finance Bill 2012. The schemes will be operated by the Revenue Commissioners with immediate effect Approval from the European Commission was required under Article 108 (3) of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union.

Other investors in this round include the Simple.ie Green BES Fund, Enterprise Ireland and private investors.

Ikon Semiconductor is a fabless semiconductor company developing solutions for the LED lighting industry. It has developed a single-chip power converter, which resides within the bulb and powers the LED light while improving efficiency, cost, power factor, dimmer compatibility and size.

Ikon is focused on the residential and commercial LED bulb replacement market which is expected to grow from 80 million units in 2011 to 430 million units by 2013.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/0909/1224303758105.html

ESB INTERNATIONAL intends to begin building the State’s first full-scale ocean energy project off the west coast early next year.

The target date for generation is 2015, when the WestWave project could become northwest Europe’s first farm of its type, ESBI ocean energy project manager James Tedd said yesterday.

Harnessing the ocean resource could reduce energy costs by 3 to 4 per cent, and could be part of a €9 billion industry by 2030, he told the Association of Irish Regions conference in the Marine Institute in Galway.

Four sites, on the Mullet peninsula and Achill Island, Co Mayo, Slyne Head, Co Galway, and north Clare, are under consideration for the project he said.

WestWave was now looking at nearshore areas on the west coast, and would make a final site selection shortly.

It is also working with four key technology partners,with a view to selecting the best device. These include Wavebob, Ocean Energy, Aquamarine Power, which is testing off Scotland’s Orkney islands, and Pelamis.

WestWave has been approved by the Government as one of two Irish bids for the €4.5 billion in funding set aside by the European Union under the New Entrants Reserve (NER) 300 programme for low carbon technologies.

The company is seeking €18 million in NER funding, but the project is expected to cost at least €40 million. It has also applied to the European Investment Bank for funding for the five megawatt project.

The Government has set a target of 500 MW in renewables by 2020, and the ESB’s strategy aimed to reduce its own carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, and to be “net-zero” in carbon emissions by 2050, he said.

It hoped to derive at least one-third of its electricity generation from renewable sources by 2020, and ocean energy would provide a major segment of that.

The potential of Killybegs, Co Donegal, as a service port for wind and wave energy was also outlined at the conference by Donegal County manager Séamus Neely. It was evident that the Atlantic seaboard’s renewable potential could help to meet the energy deficit in Europe created by Germany’s abandonment of nuclear power, he said, but much depended on improving grid connections.

Under new legislation, local authorities would also have responsibility for foreshore licensing, as the current delays experienced by projects meant that they could lose “valuable windows”, he said.http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper /finance/2011/1022/1224306297257.html