Auris Energiaratkaisut Oy, an energy services company in the Suomen Kaasuenergia Group, has acquired a stake in Quantitative Heat Oy.
Quantitative Heat Oy (“QHeat”), which supplied Finland’s only operational medium-depth geothermal heating solution, has completed its first funding round. Participants included Auris Energiaratkaisut Oy (“AER”) and an investor group assembled by Valve Ventures Oy (“Valve”).
Before the €2.5 million funding round, QHeat was wholly owned by its founders Miska Eriksson, Rami Niemi and Mikael Maksimow.
“This funding round will significantly help our mission to drive the energy transition towards a carbon-neutral era,” says QHeat CEO Miska Eriksson.
Finland’s first deep geothermal borehole, delivered by QHeat, began operating in Koskelo, Espoo, in January. In early June, Vantaan Energia announced that it would build a geothermal heating plant using QHeat’s solution in Varisto, Vantaa. The emission-free heat produced will feed into Vantaa’s district heating network and be sold to customers interested in geothermal heating.
“The funding will further accelerate the development of our technology, which is based on genuinely emission-free geothermal energy. Vantaan Energia’s decision to invest in a geothermal heating plant shows that the transition towards clean energy production is already under way,” Eriksson says.
QHeat’s technology uses boreholes 1,000–3,000 metres deep to harness heat energy in the ground. The unique QHeat boreholes can also store energy to balance seasonal variations in demand.
“We are excited about the opportunity to participate in the major transformation of Finland’s heating market enabled by medium-depth geothermal energy,” say AER CEO Mika Paloranta and Valve CEO Eerik Paasikivi.
“Auris Energiaratkaisut’s customers will benefit significantly from the solutions AER and QHeat offer together,” Paloranta adds.
Further information:
Miska Eriksson, CEO, QHeat, miska.eriksson@qheat.fi, tel. 0400 869 055
Mika Paloranta, CEO, Suomen Kaasuenergia and Auris Energiaratkaisut, mika.paloranta@aurisenergia.fi, tel. 050 452 4138
QHeat Oy is a start-up specialising in geothermal energy that has developed a new deep geothermal heating system based on the QHeat concept. Founded in spring 2018, the company’s technology is protected and has been tested in cooperation with Finnish experts and universities. QHeat built Finland’s first geothermal heating plant in Koskelo, Espoo, in 2019.
Auris Energiaratkaisut (“AER”) Oy is an energy services company in the Suomen Kaasuenergia Group. Its customers include several leading Finnish food industry companies. AER offers a wide range of steam, heating and cooling solutions based on technologies such as advanced gas and biogas systems or heat pumps.
Valve Ventures Oy helps develop new technology companies, with a particular interest in energy and materials innovations. In addition to QHeat, its early-stage growth investments include Norsepower, Sulapac, Woodio and Infinited Fiber.