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11th March 2010
Technology investor Battery Ventures has closed its ninth fund, BV IX, on its $750m target. This brings total committed capital in Battery’s nine funds to nearly $4bn.
10th March 2010
Technology-focused venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has appointed industry veteran Ron Bernal as a venture partner. In this new role, Bernal, a former entrepreneur-in-residence with NEA will work with the firm’s enterprise infrastructure and services, electronics and energy technology teams.
9th March 2010
LED lighting technology company has agreed to become an independent entity and to receive an investment from China-focused venture capital firm WI Harper Group. This infusion of capital allows the company to expand its operations in providing testing services for LED chip manufacturers across Asia, Testar said.
9th March 2010
UK investment group Bridges Ventures has led an investment with green venture capital investor Carbon Trust Investments in AeroThermal Group, a Dorset, UK-based developer of an autoclave-based steam treatment technology for waste.
15th February 2010
Global energy drivers, coupled with a revitalised US energy programme, translate to an increasingly attractive environment for early stage venture capital, according to Andrew Friendly of US technology investor Advanced Technology Ventures.
‘What we need to see in the renewable sector is some successes and some returns on the investments that both the public and private sector have been making.’
12th February 2010
Aero Farm Systems, a provider of aeroponic technology, has secured $500,000 in seed financing. The round was led by environmental technology investor The Quercus Trust, with co-investor New York-based venture capital firm 21Ventures.
12th February 2010
Smart metering company Cuculus has completed a €2.6m financing round to fund the continued deployment of its smart technologies in the utility and telecom markets.
11th February 2010
US renewable fuel company Propel Fuels has raised $20m from investors, including an $8m investment from Craton Equity Partners. Other investors include US venture investors Nth Power and @Ventures.
11th February 2010
One Block Off the Grid (1BOG) has closed a $5m round of Series A financing from venture capital firm with New Enterprise Associates (NEA).
5th February 2010
There was limited private equity investment in cleantech companies in January, with just 14 deals worth $163m, which represented a month-on-month decline of 82 per cent from $919m in December 2009, according to ZEPHYR and Bureau van Dijk, exclusively for NewNet.
19th January 2010
Global R&D group 3M, through its 3M New Ventures business, has acquired an interest in energy management company Energy Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
16th January 2010
The London Technology Fund has the unique advantage of focusing solely on cleantech innovation emerging out of London. At the helm sits David McMeekin, who believes that London offers a more diverse range of investments than any other UK city.
‘It is important to make sure we reach the key players in our ecoystem, rather than just waiting for people to find us. London is much larger and more diverse than other centres of technology.’
14th January 2010
Industrial groups Alstom and Schneider Electric have launched a venture capital fund targeting technologies in the energy and environment sectors.
14th January 2010
Synchrony, a provider of technology for rotating machinery and power conversion systems, has received $10m in Series C funding from New River Management VI, a venture fund managed by investment firm Third Security.
13th January 2010
Greylock Partners, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, has promoted Isaac Fehrenbach and David Thacker to the position of associate partner.
8th January 2010
Clean water technology company HaloSource has raised $10m from new investors to support the further commercialisation of its water purification business.
5th January 2010
Wind turbine manufacturer Nordic Windpower has raised $38m in a new financing round led by clean technology investor Khosla Ventures. Joining Khosla Ventures in the Series C equity financing are global venture firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Novus Energy Partners, a US/Europe-based investor in clean technology, and existing investor Impax Asset Management, a London-based fund.
4th January 2010
With a new name and a new managing partner, London-based venture capital firm Frog Capital is focused on taking a more discerning approach to new investment opportunities.
‘There is a great deal of change going on in the cleantech market and we firmly believe that the strong entrepreneurial-led management teams we are seeing in some small to mid-sized businesses in the sector are more capable of dealing with change than most larger companies.’
23rd December 2009
Steve Westly discusses the opportunities for US clean technology investors, the long-term prospects for the sector, and the role of global government in stimulating the industry’s growth.
‘What people are realising is that while it never hurts to be smart, most of our entrepreneurs need someone who can navigate government because so much of this industry is government-based and government-dependent.’
15th December 2009
US venture capital firm Beringea has invested in Oxford, Michigan-based Relume Technologies, a manufacturer of light-emitting diode (LED) products and smart grid control systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
10th December 2009
The UK government has announced the appointment of Hermes Private Equity and the European Investment Fund (EIF) as fund-of-fund managers for the UK Innovation Investment Fund (UKIIF).
3rd December 2009
UK solar technology developer Whitfield Solar has received further investment from Carbon Trust Investments to enable it to expand its workforce and build on existing commercial success in Spain.
1st December 2009
Nordic sustainable wood company Kebony has completed a €12m financing round led by the Environmental Technologies Fund. Kebony utilises a proprietary wood modification technology to transform sustainable wood species into wood which looks, feels and performs like tropical hardwood.
19th November 2009
Bob Ackerman, founder of Silicon Valley venture capital firm Allegis Capital and board member of The Entrepreneur’s Foundation, on the hype surrounding cleantech, the potential bubble that is currently growing around the sector and the dangers of over-capitalisation.
17th November 2009
Cleantech Invest, a Berne and Frankfurt stock exchange listed venture capital fund focusing on cleantech investments in the German-speaking region, has increased its stake in SiC Processing.
9th November 2009
The volume of private equity deals targeting cleantech companies was at its lowest level since January; just eight deals were signed off in four weeks, representing a 38 per cent month-on-month decline from 13 deals in September, according to this monthly cleantech report prepared by ZEPHYR and Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing exclusively for NewNet.
3rd November 2009
US recycling company RecycleBank has raised $28.25m in venture capital, according to peHUB.
19th October 2009
Following an uptick in the second quarter, investments in US venture-backed companies have stalled in the third quarter, putting 2009 on track to be the worst investment year since 2003, according to new data from industry tracker Dow Jones VentureSource. Venture capitalists invested $5.1bn in 616 deals in the third quarter of 2009, down six per cent from the $5.4bn put into 595 deals during the second quarter of this year.
8th October 2009
US private equity saw 72 funds raising $25.2bn in the third quarter, a 70 per cent decline from the same period last year. Through the first nine months of 2009, 265 private equity funds raised $79.9bn, down 59 per cent from the $195bn raised by 315 funds at the same time last year, according to new analysis by Dow Jones.
6th October 2009
UK waste treatment and renewable energy company New Earth Solutions Group has completed a first close of its £15m equity fundraising announced in August 2009 with a £5m investment by AIM-listed cleantech investment company Ludgate Environmental Fund.
5th October 2009
US energy efficient engine manufacturer Achates Power has closed $12.12m of a $20m venture round, according to reports.
30th September 2009
Austrian biomass power plant developer Cycleenergy Beteiligungs has raised €10m in second round funding. Portugese private equity firm Banif Investment Managers led the round with a €6m investment through its New Energy Fund, with participation from 3i, a London fund advised by 3TS Capital Partners, and Cycleenergy GmbH.
29th September 2009
South Korean ultracapacitor manufacturer Nesscap has secured $9m in bridge funding from local and international investors. The round was led by London venture fund I2BF, a specialist in diversified clean energy investments in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.
29th September 2009
The UK Government has launched a new £20m government-backed venture capital support fund for clean energy technologies.
25th September 2009
Renewable fuel company LS9 has completed a $25m round of funding. Participating investors included CTTV Investments, the venture capital arm of Chevron Technology Ventures; Flagship Ventures; Khosla Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
24th September 2009
US online solar provider Sungevity has raised an additional $6m led by Greener Capital, a San Francisco cleantech venture capital firm and has appointed three new senior executives.
21st September 2009
Cleantech venture capital firm Emerald Technology Ventures, has added to the firm’s General Partnership. Whitney Rockley comes to Emerald with a strong cleantech venture capital track record as well as industrial technology operations experience.
1st September 2009
California-based venture capital firm Khosla Ventures has launched two news funds, Khosla Ventures III and Khosla Ventures Seed, which together have raised in excess of $1bn.
26th August 2009
Duncan Grierson discusses the challenges in gaining venture funding for a cleantech start-up, the growth of opportunities in the waste and recycling space across Europe and the need for governments to provide drivers to encourage investment in emerging environmental technologies.
‘It is extremely important for governments to put in place these broad economic drivers. But it would be a mistake for governments to make technology choices. Once the financial drivers and mechanisms are in place, then governments should leave the market to decide which are technically and commercially the best technologies to build out.’
26th August 2009
Cleantech Invest AG, a stock exchange listed Venture Capital fund focusing on clean technologies spanning the German-speaking region, has posted its financial results for the first half of fiscal year 2009, showing a rise from the previous year.
24th August 2009
Venrock, a multinational venture capital firm originally established as the venture arm of the Rockefeller family, said that Matthew Nordan, co-founder and former president of Lux Research, has joined the firm as a vice president to focus on energy, environmental and materials technologies from Venrock’s Cambridge, Massachusetts office.
18th August 2009
Early stage venture capital firm OVP Venture Partners has led a $14m Series B funding round for US green materials company Novomer, according to reports.
17th August 2009
New Enterprise Associates, a global venture capital firm, has appointed PM Pai as venture partner.
12th August 2009
Nabao Renewable Energy Holdings, a Chinese developer of heating and cooling technology, has closed a venture capital round on $25m, according to reports.
11th August 2009
VirtenSys, a provider of virtualisation technologies for servers and storage platforms, has secured $16m in funding to grow the company’s revenues and broaden its markets and operations worldwide.
10th August 2009
UK technology commercialisation and investment company Imperial Innovations Group, has invested £500,000 in green building materials company Novacem, as part of a £1m venture investment round.
7th August 2009
Private equity investment in cleantech companies soared in July, almost tripling to $266m after crashing to $92m in June. However, despite these gains deal value was 84 per cent weaker year-on-year and was almost ten times down on the 12 month high of $2.584bn achieved in November 2008, according to this monthly cleantech report prepared by ZEPHYR and Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing exclusively for NewNet.
6th August 2009
TMO Renewables, a developer of a new process for converting biomass into fuel ethanol, has completed a round of financing totalling £11m from a range of blue chip institutional shareholders and private investors.
6th August 2009
UK cleantech company Novacem has raised over £1m in venture capital funding. Investors include seed investor London Technology Fund and early stage science investor Royal Society Enterprise Fund.
5th August 2009
Ze-gen, Inc., a clean energy company providing advanced gasification technology to convert waste streams into synthesis gas, has hired Neal Isaacson as chief financial officer, replacing George McMillan who has filled this position on a transitional basis since January 2009.
James Hall-Smith of HSBC discusses the drivers behind the growth of the European renewable energy scene and the opportunities this affords to infrastructure investors and project financiers alike.
‘I think there is an increased interest from a corporate governance and sustainability perspective. This makes many institutions focus on this area. There is also a recognition of the drivers behind environmental infrastructure, from the fundamentals of creating the best opportunity to tackling climate change, whilst also looking to gain energy security and satisfy the social and political drivers.'--- 1 Comment
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