Energy, EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Latvia, Technology, Transport

Hygen will start making the innovative equipment with the help of a line of credit at Citadele Bank and a guarantee from the development finance institution Altum, the Citadele Bank announced.

With the new equipment, refueling of your CNG-powered car will take only three minutes. The home refueling device developed by Hygen will be made in Latvia but at first will be put on the markets in Central Europe, Middle East and America.

"We are now working on three pilot projects in cooperation with the German car manufacturer Volkswagen Group and the leading natural gas companies in Europe and America. The production of the equipment is to begin in the second half of this year," said Roberts Strods, COO and co-founder of Hygen.

He said they had used the venture capital and the EU funds to develop a prototype but had needed financing to start production.

"With the help of a EUR 100,000 loan from Citadele Bank under a guarantee provided by Altum we have entered the final phase in the product development. The European certification has been obtained and we can now commence production of the equipment," Strods said.

Hygen was founded in December 2009. Its largest shareholder is Alex Safronov with 59.8 percent.

Citadele Bank was the fifth largest bank in Latvia in terms of assets at the end of September 2017.