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Bangalore, January 5, 2006
— The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, announced today a $600,000 equity investment in TurboTech Precision Engineering Private Limited, a Bangalore-based designer and manufacturer of small, high-efficiency gas and steam turbines for cogeneration applications. The IFC investment will help TurboTech expand its manufacturing capabilities, further develop its product, and respond to the increasing global demand for energy conservation equipment.
TurboTech uses innovative cogeneration technology, inspired by aerospace design, in its energy-efficient steam and gas turbines. The steam turbines generate electricity from excess steam that is normally wasted by industrial boilers. This results in less use of fossil fuels and lower emissions of greenhouse gases. TurboTech supplies its turbines to a range of processing industries, including food and beverages, chemicals, paper, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture.
Rachel Kyte, Director of IFC’s Environment and Social Development Department, commented, “TurboTech has developed a new technology that addresses the currently underserved market for small-scale cogeneration applications. We are happy to boost a project that encourages high technology in a developing country and that delivers real environmental benefits.”
“We are delighted that IFC will be supporting our ambitious growth plans,” said Krishna Kumar, TurboTech Managing Director. “This investment in TurboTech demonstrates IFC’s commitment to energy efficiency and sustainable development.”
Iyad Malas, Director of IFC’s South Asia Department, added, “IFC is glad to have this opportunity to support the development of ‘home-grown’ Indian innovation in engineering.”
IFC is making this investment through its Environmental Opportunity Facility. The facility was established in 2002 to provide flexible financing to innovative ventures that have a strong potential to increase environmental sustainability but that must overcome the uncertainty associated with new markets, new technologies, and new ways of doing business. It is part of the donor-funded operations of IFC’s Environment and Social Development Department, which provides a platform for making highly selective, strategic interventions in key environmental sectors where the demonstration of sustainable business practices offers potentially significant benefits. Donors to this work include the governments of Austria, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, as well as IFC.
The mission of IFC is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing and transition countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY05, IFC has committed more than $49 billion of its own funds and arranged $24 billion in syndications for 3,319 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY05 was $19.3 billion for its own account and $5.3 billion held for participants in loan syndications. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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TurboTech is an innovative company focused on finding new applications for its high-speed, high-efficiency turbo machinery technology in the area of cogeneration and non-conventional energy. Set up in 1989, TurboTech has designed and developed a family of small (50 to 2,500 kilowatt), high-efficiency steam turbines for energy conservation, as well as a low-cost gas turbine. These cogeneration products, aimed at the small and medium enterprise sector, were developed with support from the Indian government’s Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. The steam turbines installed by TurboTech have replaced power generated in India’s coal-burning utility power plants. In 2004, this substitution prevented the release of more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Other areas of research and development work by TurboTech have included wave energy turbines, biomass power generation, and contributions to the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion project of the National Institute of Ocean Technology in Chennai, India. TurboTech is based in Bangalore and employs nearly 100 people, with plans to expand its staff to 150 over the coming year.
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