Denis Minihane, Regional Business Manager, Bank Of Ireland; Orla Rimmington, Operations Manager, Kernel Capital; Prof. Don Barry, President, University of Limerick; Frank Casey, CEO, Resourcekraft (from left to right).
Photographer: Michael Cowhey.

01 April 2010: Kernel Capital confirms that the Bank of Ireland Seed and Early Stage Equity Fund has led a €600k investment in Limerick based energy cost control technology specialist Resourcekraft. The Fund committed €500k and the remainder of the funds were raised through Enterprise Ireland.

Resourcekraft, founded by University of Limerick Post Graduate, Liam Relihan and Frank Casey in April 2007, delivers dynamic energy management software that enables their clients to maximise the efficient usage of electricity and other energy resources such as oil, gas, water and heat. To date, the ResourceKraft’s technology has been deployed in over 40 customer sites resulting in substantial customer savings. The Company will be moving its headquarters to the University of Limerick campus.

Commenting on the announcement, CEO of Resourcekraft, Frank Casey said: "Our unique approach focuses on managing energy as a cost, providing smart decision making tools for companies. The funding from the Bank of Ireland Seed Fund will be to recruit additional software developers to join our team and to expand our market coverage beyond Ireland and the UK."

Don Barry, President University of Limerick said: "This investment in ResourceKraft epitomizes the type of innovation-based start ups that the University of Limerick Foundation is keen to support through our investment in the Bank of Ireland Seed Fund. ResourceKraft was born out of scientific research carried out in UL in 2007 and creating success from university spin-outs like this one is crucial if we’re to spark new growth and job creation opportunities in Ireland."

Denis Minihane, Regional Business Manager, Bank of Ireland added: "This investment and the strong pipeline of prospects for the Bank of Ireland Seed Fund confirms our commitment to supporting domestic early stage companies developing innovative technologies that have a strong IP platform with the ability to grow." Dr. Daniel McCaughan, Chief Technology Officer, Kernel Capital added: "ResourceKraft has developed a product suite which is very timely for the marketplace and by extracting and presenting intelligence on energy consumption and costs it leads to real energy savings. This Company has a great future."

# # #

For further information please contact:
Orla Rimmington, Operations Manager, Kernel Capital.
Tel: +353 21 4928974 / Fax: +353 21 4928977

Notes to editors

About Resourcekraft
ResourceKraft Limited is a leading energy cost control company delivering business intelligence systems that help organisations effectively manage their energy costs. established in 2007, ResourceKraft has developed an innovative technology-driven product ResourceKraftAdvisor™ that assists large organisations to measure and reduce their energy usage. This technology also helps reduce their carbon emissions, assist with utility bill management and help enforce corporate policies on energy, cost and carbon. Headquartered in Limerick, ResourceKraft has reseller offices in Ireland and the UK. For more information, please call 061 490 144 or visit the website www.resourcekraft.com.

About Kernel Capital Kernel Capital is one of Ireland’s largest and most active venture capital funds. Established in 2002, the firm has a portfolio of investee companies across technology, life science and general industry. With total investment funds of €190m under management through Kernel Capital and its associate company, Seroba Kernel, to date the firm has targeted investment opportunities in the €100,000 to €5m range. The Bank of Ireland Funds have already invested in Irish technology companies that collectively have over 75 registered patents and employ almost 500 people.

Bank of Ireland Seed and Early Stage Equity Fund
Bank of Ireland Seed and Early Stage Equity Fund, launched in November 2009, is a €26m Fund which will invest in start-up and early stage companies, with a focus on export orientated high potential start-up companies that operate in the technology (including green technology), food and financial services sectors, in addition to supporting patent and patent pending projects within Irish universities. It is managed on behalf of Bank of Ireland and the other partners by Kernel Capital. This new fund is the eighth new fund supported by Government through Enterprise Ireland’s Seed and Venture Capital Programme 2007-2012. It comprises an investment by Bank of Ireland of €17m, €8m from Enterprise Ireland, and €1m by University of Limerick Foundation.