Stone Ridge makes new key hire to support Biomedical base and expand into Clean-tech |  July 22, 2008

In February this year, we were very pleased to be able to welcome Andrew Hall to the Stone Ridge team.  Andrew adds a new dimension to the team, with broad expertise within both the Biomedical and Clean tech sectors as an entrepreneur, advisor and investor. 

With the addition of Andrew to the team we will be looking to develop our Clean-tech portfolio.  Since his arrival Andrew has been working closely with Murdoch to explore commercial opportunities on the Murdoch water intellectual property portfolio. Andrew has very diverse experience in this area having previously assisted AquaMill, Alia Water (acquired by Dewatech), and Advanced Membrane Technologies (ANSTO) in their commercialization efforts whilst a COMET advisor.

Since Andrew joined, we have provided initial project finance to two water related technologies invented by Professor Richard Pashley of Murdoch University. Professor Pashley was previously responsible for the original technology concept behind the successful Australian company, Perpetual Water. The Murdoch projects are focused on novel, non membrane based desalination techniques and the degassing of reverse osmosis sweater feed to reduce the operating energy costs of these plants. Through Andrew and his network, we have been focused on assembling additional engineering capability around the core research group, performing initial market research, engaging potential customers and developing the business case.  We expect to have completed the commercial / technical validation on both of these projects by the end of 2008.

Andrew has indicated that water technologies are likely to pose many acquisition opportunities over the coming decade, with the rapid growth in municipal water infrastructure and waste water treatment. Andrew also believes that Australia is a unique place to source these opportunities, as our water reservoirs are changing in unison with population growth, we may well be ahead of the technology development curve, as we have had to deal with the issues early on. In Australia alone, commitments exist for a major desalination plant in nearly every state, with a market opportunity of nearly a billion dollars for product into these local markets. Applying Venture Capital to technologies in these markets is not so straight forward, we often spend time with entrepreneurs working through the issues of infrastructure plays versus product plays in the context of venture economics. 

Most recently, Andrew was an AusIndustry COMET advisor with a particular focus on spinning out technologies from public sector institutions, having lead spin outs at CSIRO, ANSTO, various CRC’s and Universities across Australia. During his time as a COMET advisor he helped start up technology companies raise in excess of $40M and achieve a variety of commercial outcomes. In addition to being an investment manager with Stone Ridge Ventures, Andrew is a member of the Independent Experts Advisory Group to the WA Government $36.5M Cleantech fund, LEED, as well as being a commercial advisor to the Sienna Cancer Diagnostics, a Melbourne based company commercializing cancer diagnostic products.  

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