Israel Cleantech Ventures
Encyclopedia
Israel Cleantech Ventures is an Israeli specialized venture capital
firm founded in 2006 by Glen Schwaber, Jack Levy, and Meir Ukeles. It was the first Israel focused clean technology
venture capital fund intent on providing growth capital
to Israel's energy, water and environmental technology sectors. It raised $75 million for its first fund in 2007 from investors that included Robeco
and Piper Jaffray
, as well as institutional investors and family offices.
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
firm founded in 2006 by Glen Schwaber, Jack Levy, and Meir Ukeles. It was the first Israel focused clean technology
Clean technology
Clean technology includes recycling, renewable energy , information technology, green transportation, electric motors, green chemistry, lighting, Greywater, and many other appliances that are now more energy efficient. It is a means to create electricity and fuels, with a smaller environmental...
venture capital fund intent on providing growth capital
Growth capital
Growth capital is a type of private equity investment, most often a minority investment, in relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new markets or finance a significant acquisition without a change of control of the business.Companies...
to Israel's energy, water and environmental technology sectors. It raised $75 million for its first fund in 2007 from investors that included Robeco
Robeco
Robeco is a Dutch asset management firm founded in 1929 as the Rotterdamsch Beleggings Consortium . By year end 2009, the company had over € 130 billion of assets under management. It was acquired in 2001 by the Rabobank Groep.Robeco offers assets management services to both institutional and...
and Piper Jaffray
Piper Jaffray
Piper Jaffray & Co. , often shortened to just Piper Jaffray or PiperJaffray, is a U.S. middle-market investment banking firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and sells financial advice, investment products, and transaction execution within targeted sectors of the financial services marketplace...
, as well as institutional investors and family offices.
Portfolio Companies
- Aqwise — Working on increased treatment capacity and nitrogenNitrogenNitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
removal in wastewater treatment plantsSewage treatmentSewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
. - Better Place — CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-based company founded in October 2007 by Shai AgassiShai AgassiShai Agassi is an Israeli entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Better Place, which has developed a model and infrastructure for employing electric cars as an alternative to fossil fuel technology. Agassi was President of the Products and Technology Group at SAP AG...
that aims to reduce global dependency on petroleumPetroleumPetroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
through the creation of a transportation infrastructureInfrastructureInfrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
that supports electric vehicles. - BrightView Systems — founded in 2007 to develop and bring to market process and production optimization technologies for the thin-film photovoltaic industry to enable solar-cell manufacturers to maximize panel efficiency and reliability as well as attain high-volume productivity.
- CellEra — Working on disruptive low-temperature fuel cell technology.
- CRE (Citrine Renewable Energy) — Developing systems converting biogasBiogasBiogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Organic waste such as dead plant and animal material, animal dung, and kitchen waste can be converted into a gaseous fuel called biogas...
into high value biomethane. - Emefcy — Utilizing microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology to produce electricity from the treatment of wastewater.
- FRX Polymers — has developed and is commercializing a family of novel non-halogenated (and therefore environmentally friendlier), transparent, high melt flowing, fire resistant plastics. FRX’s products are suitable as polymeric flame retardant additives and as “stand-alone” inherently flame retardant engineering plastics.
- Metrolight — Based in NetanyaNetanyaNetanya is a city in the Northern Centre District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is located north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north.Its of beaches have made the...
with an office in Franklin, TennesseeFranklin, TennesseeFranklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...
; the company has established products on electronic ballast solutions for HID lighting systems. It was 2008 Israeli Company of the Year at the Eagle Star Awards Gala by the American-Israeli Chamber of Commerce. - Pythagoras Solar — Founded by Gonen Fink, Dr. Itay Baruchi, and Precede Technologies. Based in Hakfar HayarokHakfar HayarokHaKfar HaYarok is a youth village in Israel, located at the south of Ramat HaSharon. It is one of the biggest youth villages in the country.-History:...
with an office in San Mateo, CaliforniaSan Mateo, CaliforniaSan Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of approximately 100,000 , it is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, Belmont to the south,...
, the start-up works with photovoltaic technology and builds "Medium" concentration solar cells using siliconSiliconSilicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. A tetravalent metalloid, it is less reactive than its chemical analog carbon, the nonmetal directly above it in the periodic table, but more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table...
. - Scodix — leading provider of Digital Enhancement Presses for the printing industry
- Tigo Energy — hardware and software that brings new levels of power output efficiency, management and control to photovoltaic solar installations