Whisper Tech wins $300m order for home power unit

Christchurch company Whisper Tech has won an order worth up $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 which is one of Britain's largest energy companies to supply at least 90,000 of the units over the next five years.

Whisper Tech general manager Bill Highet told NZPA today 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 the home's electricity needs. Surplus electricity generated can be sold back to the retailer.

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

Powergen has also placed an order for a minimum of a further 80,000 units for delivery over the following four years.

Mr Highet said the two stage order gave Whisper Tech time to get manufacturing arrangements in place.

The company has recently increased its workforce to just under 100 and Mr Highet said it is recruiting more staff "fairly aggressively" at the moment.

He said the company had not suffered much from the shortage of skilled workers which has emerged as a concern for employers in recent months.

"It has been a challenge. We're lucky that we've still managed to pick up some extremely good people. A large proportion of our staff are from outside New Zealand."

He said the company is now looking for manufacturing partners both in New Zealand and overseas in order to fill the Powergen order.

Mr Highet said Whisper Tech had existing capital arrangements in place to fund the immediate portion of the Powergen order, but would look for investment from prospective manufacturing partners for the second stage.

Whisper Tech is 47 per cent owned by electricity network owner Orion NZ Ltd and 30 per cent by state-owned generator, Meridian Energy Ltd. Mr Highet said the two companies were expected to exit their holding at some point, and all options including a sharemarket float would be considered in that event.

M r Highet said the Whispergen unit was not currently suited to New Zealand use.

"There's not a big difference in the price of gas and the price of electricity compared to the UK."

"The retail price that people are paying for electricity in the UK is typically about four times what they pay for gas. On that basis generating your own at home has much more economic sense than the New Zealand situation particularly if the generator is going to buy back your surplus."

Other versions of the Whispergen unit are being sold for yachts, holiday homes, and remote locations such as farmhouses where normal power supplies will not reach. Mr Highet said there is a unit in use in an observatory at the South Pole.

He said the success of the company's technology was attributable to Canterbury engineer Don Clucas who invented the product.

- NZPA