'Personal power station' in demand

Christchurch company Whisper Tech has won an order worth up to $300 million for its WhisperGen domestic hot-water heater and "personal power station".

Whisper Tech has signed an agreement with Powergen, a German-owned electricity distributor that is one of Britain's largest energy companies, to supply at least 90,000 units over the next five years.

General manager Bill Highet said the order was "exciting news for us and a real boost for our team".

The WhisperGen unit runs on natural gas and is based on the Stirling heat engine invented nearly 190 years ago. It delivers heat in a similar manner to a conventional water boiler, but can also generate a large proportion of a home's electricity needs.

Surplus electricity can be sold back to the retailer.

Highet said Powergen issued an immediate order for 1000 units for delivery over the next 18 months. The initial order is worth $10 million.

It has also ordered a minimum of 80,000 more units over the following four years.

The two-stage order gives Whisper Tech time to gear up for manufacturing. The company has increased its workforce to just under 100 and is recruiting staff "fairly aggressively".

Highet said the company had not suffered much from the shortage of skilled workers.

"We're lucky that we've still managed to pick up some extremely good people."

Whisper Tech is looking for manufacturing partners in New Zealand and overseas to fill the Powergen order. It has capital arrangements to fund the first part of the order, but will look for investment from partners for stage two.

The firm is 47 per cent owned by electricity network owner Orion NZ and 30 per cent by state-owned generator Meridian Energy.


Highet said the success of the technology was attributable to Canterbury engineer Don Clucas, who invented the product.

- NZPA