EANS-News: German Pellets Acquires Interest in Italian Electricity Provider
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Subtitle: Company acquires majority stake in Ely S.p.A. / Construction and
operation of decentralised wood-pellet-fired power plants in Northern Italy
Mergers - Acquisitions - Takeovers
Wismar (euro adhoc) - German Pellets Holding Italia, the Italian holding company
of the Wismar-based German Pellets Group, has acquired a majority interest in
the Italian Ely S.p.A. Group, a medium-sized energy company based in Milan that
develops, builds and operates plants in Northern Italy for the production of
electricity and heat from renewable energy sources. With Ely S.p.A., German
Pellets plans in Italy to continue promoting the construction of small
wood-pellet-fired power plants and expects to see a significant increase in
pellet consumption in the future.
"For us Ely S.p.A. is the ideal partner - competent in the development of plants
and well connected in Italy owing to its existing business relationships," said
Peter Leibold, managing partner of German Pellets GmbH. Ely S.p.A. operates
combined heat and power plants fired with wood pellets. These CHP plants are
located in Northern Italy and have capacities of 0.2 to one MW. Ely S.p.A. has
specialised in the development, construction and operation of such plants and
also runs a research centre in Cremona. "With the investment of German Pellets,
we are expanding our know-how and, furthermore, have gained a partner that -
like us - has taken up the cause of promoting the energy transition," said
Massimiliano Cagelli, Ely managing director. Through the co-operation with
German pellets, the construction of wood-pellet-fired CHP plants shall be
further accelerated. The company plans to build new decentralised plants, above
all in Northern Italian municipalities. The electricity will be fed into the
public grid, and the heat energy, sold to regional buyers. The feed-in tariffs
for green electricity from CHP plants in Italy are particularly economic.
Potential customers for the heat energy produced from the wood pellets will
include municipal heating networks, schools, retirement homes, supermarkets,
hospitals and swimming pools.
Through its investment in Ely, German Pellets is boosting its core business. By
supplying pellets to small power plants, the company will sustainably increase
its pellet sales for the long term. As a partner for Ely, German Pellets is able
to supply large quantities of wood pellets. For example, the new plant coming on
stream at the end of the last year in the small town of Gorizia in north-eastern
Italy required 27,000 metric tons of pellets per year.
Ely S.p.A. operates not only CHP plants but also photovoltaic plants. 2012 the
company expects to generate approx. 30 million euros in sales. German Pellets
Holding Italia has a 51 per cent shareholding in the joint-stock company.
For the German Pellets Group, Italy represents an important sales market, which
is growing annually by minimum 10 per cent. 2012 the total annual pellet
consumption in Italy is expected to exceed two million metric tons for the first
time. Roughly two-thirds of this total is imported. German Pellets products
already make up a substantial portion of the imports.
Wood pellets are made from dried shavings and sawdust pressed into a cylindrical
shape. They can be used for a wide range of applications - in private households
for firing central heating systems and stoves, in medium-sized heating plants
for local, district and industrial process heating networks, such as in clinics,
housing associations, businesses and municipalities, and in the green
electricity market. CHP plants are characterised by their high efficiency, as
both the generated electricity and the cogenerated heat are used. "The concept
of decentralised energy also makes it possible to sell the generated heat, owing
to the proximity of potential customers. The production of energy in close
proximity to the end-user is a model for a sustainable future, for Germany as
well," said German Pellets CEO Peter Leibold.
About Ely S.p.A.
Ely S.p.A., Milan, was founded in 2009 with the aim of generating electricity
and heat from renewable energies. With the motto "Energy, where it is needed",
Ely S.p.A. develops, builds and operates biomass-fuel-based, decentralised
energy-supply systems, as well as photovoltaic systems.
About German Pellets
German Pellets GmbH was founded in 2005 in Wismar (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) and
has since become the leading manufacturer of wood pellets in Germany and Europe.
German Pellets produces wood pellets and animal-hygiene products at 14 sites in
Germany and Austria. Currently German Pellets is building a production facility
in Texas, USA.
Further inquiry note:
Claudia Röhr
Tel.: +49 (0)3841 30306412
E-Mail: claudia.roehr@german-pellets.de
end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: German Pellets GmbH
Am Torney 2a
D-23970 Wismar
phone: +49 (0) 3841 30 30 6 0
FAX: +49 (0) 3841 - 30 30 6 91 00
WWW: http://www.german-pellets.de
sector: Energy
ISIN: DE000A1H3J67
indexes:
stockmarkets: free trade/Bondm: Stuttgart, Open Market: Frankfurt
language: English