Installation of two micro-hydropower systems in the past year has helped Portland startup InPipe Energy snare a $6.5 million Series A investment, with the promise of capital support on new projects.
The backing comes from FullCycle Climate Partners, a fund founded by Los Angeles-based investor Ibrahim AlHusseini.
The InPipe system provides a novel way to step down pressure in municipal water pipelines by diverting the water through a turbine, in the process harvesting emissions-free energy.
Founder Gregg Semler said the funds would allow the company to approximately double its staffing in the next year, from seven people now, and to pursue new contracts with water departments.
Perhaps just as importantly, it gives InPipe a new development model to pitch.
“We’re gaining access to a significant amount of capital to finance sustainable infrastructure,” Semler said.
That means water departments could avoid an upfront expenditure, instead paying steadily in a lease or other long-term arrangement.
“This transitions InPipe from just selling a project to being an energy-as-a-service provider,” Semler said.
The company completed its first project last fall, in Hillsboro. A second system went online this summer, in Washington.
Semler has described the “innate, conservative nature of people who manage water departments” as a major challenge for the company. The two working projects chip away at that inertia, and they “made a huge difference in our viability as an investment” for FullCycle, Semler said.
InPipe could be in the right place at the right time as the climate crisis increases the value of every watt of clean energy, and as policymakers focus on infrastructure investment. In a news release announcing the partnership, FullCycle noted that up to $120 billion could be headed toward municipal water infrastructure.
“InPipe Energy is well positioned to support states' and municipalities' efforts to meet carbon abatement goals in an efficient and cost-effective manner,” the firm said.
Already, Semler said, he’s hopeful of signing on “significant water departments” in the next 18 months, likely on the West Coast, before InPipe looks to stretch out in the world.
“There’s a tremendous need everywhere,” he said. “We’re lucky to have a partner in FullCycle that has a global reach.”
