EBJ News for September 27, 2019
This edition of EBJ News for September 27, 2019 highlights the latest M&A, environmental pollution projects, and company milestones.
Tetra Tech wins $48 million USAID contract to tackle marine pollution
Tetra Tech Inc. (Pasadena, Calif.) has won a $48 million Clean Cities Blue Ocean contract to target plastic pollution at source. Under the five-year USAID contract, Tetra Tech will build capacity in developing countries to improve waste management practices through innovative reuse and recycling strategies, in addition to strengthening local and regional markets for recycled plastic. “This contract represents a paradigm shift in addressing the problem of marine debris at its source rather than once the waste reaches the ocean,” said Dan Batrack, Tetra Tech chairman and CEO.
EFCG announces ownership transition and expanded services
The Environmental Financial Consulting Group (EFCG), a leading advisor to architecture, engineering, and construction firms for three decades, has transitioned ownership to three managing partners: Financial and Strategic Advisory will be led by Rebecca Zofnass; Industry Leadership Conferences by Julie Hasiba; and M&A Advisory by Jessica Barclay. The three partners have backgrounds with Bain Consulting, Accenture, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan. Founder Paul Zofnass will continue to serve EFCG in his new role as chairman and will lead EFCG’s commitment to sustainability and the environment, dedicating significant time to the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at Harvard. To build out its capabilities, EFCG has expanded to 15 full-time professionals with experience in engineering, sustainable infrastructure and design, digital strategy, investment banking, management consulting, corporate governance, and related disciplines. “Our new strategic advisory capabilities, particularly post-merger integration, are the last piece of the puzzle,” said Rebecca Zofnass. “Now we can provide comprehensive support to our clients through every critical step.” EFCG has advised on over 160 completed M&A transactions, including $250 million of closed transactions so far in 2019.
PFAS deal supports Montrose Environmental’s global expansion
Montrose Environmental Group Inc. (Irvine, Calif.) is acquiring ECT2 from Haley & Aldrich Inc. (Burlington, Mass.). ECT2 removes contaminants from water using a proprietary approach that employs ion exchange resins to enable efficient analyte removal and on-site regeneration. With offices in Australia and the United States, ECT2 has been a leader in the PFAS treatment market in Australia since 2017, a country leading the way in PFAS remediation, according to Montrose. “With a multi-billion-dollar total addressable market for PFAS remediation in the U.S. alone, ECT2’s innovative, field-proven approach will allow Montrose to better capitalize on this growing market,” said Jose Revuelta, chief strategy officer.
GE to integrate energy storage for Solar River Project
GE Renewable Energy (Paris, France) has been selected to supply one of the world’s largest grid-scale battery technology hybrid renewable projects. The Solar River Project in South Australia will have a 200-MW photovoltaic array and GE’s 100-MW, three-hour battery storage system providing almost 300 MWh of storage capacity. The project will power 90,000 homes. “The Solar River Project will be a flagship for the renewable energy industry and for GE’s role in building out renewable hybrid plants,” said Prakash Chandra, Renewable Hybrids CEO at GE Renewable Energy.
U.S. utility solar pipeline soars to record 37.9 GW
The contracted pipeline for utility-scale solar projects in the United States has ballooned to 37.9 GW, the highest in the history of U.S. utility solar photovoltaics, according to the latest U.S. Solar Market Insight Report from Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Assn. This follows record-high procurement of 15 GW in 2018. Off-site corporate solar represents 17% of new capacity announced in 2019. The report notes that 55% of utility-scale projects announced this year have been the result of solar energy’s economic competitiveness: Prices are at their lowest ever, with recent power purchase agreements signed for $18-35 per MWh.
Yale part of DOE’s $100 million water treatment effort
The National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI), which includes two principal investigators from Yale University, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to lead the Energy-Water Desalination Hub addressing water security in the United States. The five-year $100-million award is the largest amount ever spent by the DOE on water efforts, according to Yale’s Chemical & Environmental Engineering Department. The Hub will focus on early-stage R&D for energy-efficient and cost-competitive desalination technologies.
Valicor grows national footprint with Michigan wastewater facility
Valicor Environmental Services (Monroe, Ohio), a provider of non-hazardous wastewater treatment, has acquired Strength Environmental, which operates a centralized wastewater treatment facility in Inkster, Mich. The deal enhances Valicor’s Midwest presence and increases its number of centralized wastewater treatment plants from five to 14 in over 24 months. Valicor is owned by Pritzker Private Capital and is focused on growing its national footprint.
RSK acquires Ecologia Environmental
RSK (Helsby, UK), an environmental, engineering and technical services consultancy, has acquired Ecologia Environmental Solutions Ltd., a multidisciplinary site remediation specialist. It is the sixth acquisition for RSK this financial year. Ecologia is a company of 45 people and has offices in the UK and Italy. It has previously supported RSK on projects, most recently in Africa and the Dominican Republic. Ecologia is the third recent addition to RSK’s contracting division, following RAW Technology Ltd. in July and Geocore Site Investigations in August.
Albireo acquires Environmental Energy Corp.
Huron Capital announced that its building automation and energy services platform, Albireo Energy (Edison, N.J.), has acquired Environmental Energy Corp. (EEC, Deer Park, N.Y.), a provider of energy management systems for large commercial and higher education buildings. EEC was founded in 1982 and provides energy management systems for large commercial and higher education buildings, primarily in the New York metropolitan area. This is the second tuck-in acquisition for Albireo’s New York division. Huron Capital formed Albireo in 2014 to enter the U.S. market for energy efficiency, building automation and energy management. Albireo has invested in 16 companies through 10 separate acquisitions.
Nordic Flow to buy environmental engineering firm Envipure
In Singapore, Nordic Flow Control, a subsidiary of Nordic Group Ltd., is planning to buy Envipure Pte. Ltd. for between S$14 million and S$15.5 million from Sunalps, according to The Business Times of Singapore. Envipure and its subsidiaries, Envipure Sdn Bhd and Pollution Control Asia, provide turnkey engineering solutions in process, industrial plant and environmental engineering services, air pollution control, odor abatement, and water and wastewater treatment. Nordic Group said the proposed acquisition would broaden its products and services and tap new customers in the semiconductor and environmental engineering sectors.
EBI and Greenment announce China-USA market intelligence partnership
Environmental Business International Inc. (EBI, publisher of Environmental Business Journal) and Greenment Environment Ltd. (Shanghai, China) have announced a partnership for exchanging environmental market information between the United States and China. EBI will increase the visibility in China of U.S. and global environmental business opportunities, and Greenment will provide insights into the emerging Chinese environmental market. Greenment is a leading environmental consultancy in China serving both multinational and Chinese corporations.
Click Here to return to the EBJ News homepage and read about the latest stories.
