Strohm gets €25M to boost energy transition goals

Thermoplastic composite pipe (TCP) specialist Strohm has received approximately €25 million convertible loan from its shareholders as it strengthens its position for low carbon energy transition activities and renewables.

The investment should support the firm’s strategic objective of tripling its 2019 capacity in the next 18 months and the continuation of its product development for the new emerging sectors.

The business, which rebranded from Airborne Oil & Gas earlier this month to Strohm, ascertained the financial support based on the increasing market acceptance of its corrosion free TCP technology as a viable alternative to traditional subsea pipeline solutions.

In the last 12 months, Strohm has secured a series of new business wins adding to an already healthy order book with contracts in the pipeline to deliver around 20km in total of its spoolable, lightweight product. The company is also developing solutions for the emerging sectors of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen on the basis that installation of its TCP delivers a 50 per cent lower carbon footprint compared to conventional steel alternatives.

Bernhard Schmidt, chairman of Strohm’s supervisory board, said: “We are excited about the future of TCP and the instrumental role of Strohm in further developing this technology and opening up the market. I would like to thank the shareholders for their continued support of the company and their belief in the unique technology of TCP. We enjoy working with the management team with whom we have a shared vision of TCP’s continuous growth potential in both the traditional and new markets within the energy space as a key transitioning technology.”

Strohm’s shareholder base includes strategic investors such as Aker Solutions, Chevron Technology Ventures, Evonik, private equity investor HPE Growth, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, Shell Ventures, Subsea 7, and Sumitomo Corporation.

“As momentum grows in the energy transition space, this new funding allows us to triple our capacity and seize on new opportunities to support operators with a zero corrosion, lower CO2 emission technology at a lower cost. The market conditions are challenging right now but we remain confident of the robust growth potential of TCP in the traditional segments of brownfield production enhancement and deepwater riser solutions.”

Earlier this year, Strohm installed a second high flow TCP Jumper Spool for Anasuria in the North Sea, completed a 3-kilometre flowline in offshore West Africa, and secured new orders for 10 kilometres of flowlines and a deepwater TCP Jumper Spool both destined for the same region in 2021.