Cleantech Investor

First published in Cleantech Infocus: 2010 - Equity Deals of the Year, January 2011.  Copyright Cleantech Investor Ltd

Smart grid investment continues to attract the attention of venture backers, with 2010 seeing fund raising by OPOWER, Trilliant and Accent. And October saw the listing of German smart meter company Elster on the NYSE.

Smart building materials are attracting growing levels of investor interest. Venture deals in energy efficient materials included funding for French electrochromic glass manufacturer, Sage Electrochomics, from glass company Saint-Gobain, alongside venture investors. Hightex, a UK company which designs large area membrane roofs and facades, raised funding in the first half of the year. And Denmark’s PhotoSolar, which has developed technology for integrating solar shading into facade glazing, raised funds in the second half.