NEW FUNDS
GSR Ventures and Oak Investment Partners Create New Cleantech Fund
GSR Ventures and Oak Investment Partners have partnered to launch G-O Scale Capital, an independent fund for investing in clean technology companies — especially ones that can scale in China. The firms are seeking $500 million for the fund, $150 million of which is already committed. To read more, click here
Beijing-based GSR Ventures invests in early and growth stage technology companies with substantial operations in China. They also have offices in Hong Kong and Palo Alto, CA, and their website lists 19 “Green Tech” investments.
Oak Investment Partners has offices in Greenwich, CT, Minneapolis, MN and Palo Alto, CA. and their website lists eight “Clean Energy” investments.
VENTURE FUNDINGS
Efficiency financing provider Renovate America gets $50 in funding – 7/16/14
Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing company, Renovate America, has raised $50 million in equity from existing investors: Valor Equity Partners, Macquarie, Rockport Capital and Spring Creek. Through partnerships with municipalities, Renovate America offers homeowners PACE loans to complete energy efficiency upgrades and solar energy installs. To read more, click here.
Heat to electricity chip maker MTPV Power raises $11.2 million – 7/15/14
MTPV Power Corp. has raised $11.2 million in Series B follow-on financing from Northwater Capital Management’s Intellectual Property Fund, Total Energy Ventures, chemical manufacturer Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, venture-debt provider Point Financial, Spinnaker Capital, Ensys Capital, and the Clean Energy Venture Group. Boston-based MTPV’s technology grew out of the founders work at MIT with semiconductor chips that convert heat directly into electricity. MTPV has raised over $21 million in funding to date. To read more, click here.
VitAG raises $110 million – 7/14/14
South Carolina VitAG has raised $110 million in equity and debt financing for its sewage to fertilizer technology. The equity investment comes from TPG Alternative and Renewable Technologies, strategic investors from Agro-Iron, Shrieve Chemical, Florida-based agriculture companies and individual investors. The debt financing portion is comprised of $64 million in 22-year-tax-exempt bonds from the Orange County Industrial Finance Authority led by Citigroup Global Markets and a credit facility from an affiliate of Tennenbaum Capital Partners. The funds will be used in part to build a facility in Florida. To read more, click here.
Motiv received $7.3 million in seed funding – 6/30/14
Magness Investment Group led the $7.3 million investment in Silicon Valley-based Motiv Power Systems, which makes control systems for electric buses and trucks, to expand manufacturing and marketing. To read more, click here.
Cylon Controls receives $9.7M from ESB’s clean tech fund Novusmodus – 6/27/14
Ireland’s Electricity Supply Board is to invest $9.7M in Dublin-based building energy management company Cylon Controls as part of its clean-tech and resource efficiency fund, Novusmodus. To read more, click here.
GOVERNMENT FUNDINGS
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center invests $900K in startups eCurv and Powerhouse Dynamics on top of VC funding – 6/27/14
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center is investing $600,000 in eCurv and $300,000 in Powerhouse Dynamics in its first new investments in about a year. eCurve smooths out peaks in industrial customers’ electric demand and makes an energy monitoring and analysis system for businesses. eCurv also announced a $2.5 million funding round, led by the venture capital arm of energy giant Exelon Corp., Constellation Technology Ventures. Powerhouse also recently announced funding, totaling $6 million, led by Boston-based Point Judith Capital and Constellation Technology Ventures. To read more, click here.
SiEnergy Systems gets $2.65 million in ARPA-E Funds – 6/27/14
Cambridge, Mass., company SiEnergy, which has developed a solid oxide fuel cell technology for the mobile and small power generation markets, received $2.65 million in funding from the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E program. ARPA-E recently announced $33 million in funding for 13 new projects, including SiEnergy Systems. To read more, click here.
Green chemical startup Spero Energy receives $150,000 from the DOE – 6/20/14.
Spero Energy received a $150,000 grant from the DOE for its catalytic process that converts the lignin in wood biomass, which inhibits the production of cellulosic ethanol, into two products to be used for petroleum replacement. Spero Energy won the 2014 Midwest Clean Energy Challenge Aviation Biofuel Prize in April, sponsored by Boeing, United Airlines and UOP Honeywell. The company has received guidance from Purdue Foundry and Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization. To read more, click here.