This Green Prophet is a little skeptical about Shai Agassi’s electric car and bold claims, but she is impressed by the range of companies in the portfolio of Israel Cleantech Ventures (ICV).
Consider companies such as Aqwise for cleaning municipal sewage using bacteria, plastic beads and a special aeration system; or Metrolight, a company that has created a new breed of electronic ballasts that is saving money (and energy around the globe), including IKEA in Israel. There is Emefcy, an Aqwise founders’ spinoff, CellEra which is creating new fuel cells, and Citrine Renewable Energy in the area of landfill biogas treatment. Taking a breath ICV also funds solar company Pythagoras.
And apparently investors are pretty psyched about Israel’s and ICV’s cleantech potential. Last week the firm closed its debut fund at $75 million, far exceeding its original target of $60 million, according to Reuters.
The venture fund was started to grow Israel’s energy, water and environmental sectors and is backed by investors from Europe, the US and Israel, including Netherlands-based asset manager Robeco Private Equity and U.S.-based financial institution Piper Jaffray.
“Israel is an attractive market for water, technology and renewable energy,” Andrew Musters, partner at Robeco Private Equity said in Reuters.
::Reuters
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist and publisher that founded Green Prophet to unite a prosperous Middle East. She shows through her work that positive, inspiring dialogue creates action that impacts people, business and planet. She has published in thought-leading newspapers and magazines globally, owns an IoT tech chip patent, and is part of teams that build world-changing products to make agriculture and our planet more sustainable. Reach out directly to [email protected]
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