CMEA pulls plug on $500M late-stage cleantech fund

CMEA pulls plug on $500M late-stage cleantech fund

CMEA Capital has decided against raising a new $500 million fund to back late and growth-stage cleantech companies, Dow Jones VentureWire reported earlier today. The news is interesting for two reasons: 1) It suggests a shift in strategy for CMEA, one of the largest investors… Continue Reading

Green investing bounces back from recession

Green investing bounces back from recession

Venture Capital investment in green technology companies has jumped to tie pre-recessionary levels, according to a new report out of Greentech Media. With $1.9 billion spread over 112 deals, this year’s third quarter trounced figures from earlier this year, signaling a stronger than anticipated comeback… Continue Reading

A123 IPO charges the market as share price jumps 50 percent

A123 IPO charges the market as share price jumps 50 percent

Yesterday, we reported that advanced battery company A123Systems‘ initial public offering would be a bellwether for the rest of the energy storage industry, whether it soared or flopped. With all eyes fixed on its predicted $13.50 share price, the stock (AONE) proceeded to wallop the… Continue Reading

A123Systems is ready for its close up — preps for tomorrow’s IPO

A123Systems is ready for its close up — preps for tomorrow’s IPO

A123Systems is the name on everyone’s lips today as the most gabbed-about IPO of the week — maybe even of the last few months — preps to go live on the Nasdaq tomorrow morning as AONE. The Watertown, Mass., company made news yesterday, hiking its… Continue Reading

GM announces $43M battery plant for its Chevy Volt

GM announces $43M battery plant for its Chevy Volt

General Motors became the first major automaker to announce plans for a battery manufacturing facility today, unveiling a roadmap that will jump start production of up to 70,000 lithium-ion battery packs a year by the end of 2010.

The batteries produced will be used primarily in… Continue Reading

DOE juices battery companies with $2.4B in stimulus funds

DOE juices battery companies with $2.4B in stimulus funds

After months of applications and speculation, the U.S. Department of Energy has finally announced the winners of the $2.4 billion in stimulus grants earmarked for the advanced battery industry. With a tight focus on batteries tailored to next-generation cars, the department used the money to… Continue Reading

Envia raises $3.2M for lithium ion batteries

Envia Systems, a company that provides energy storage services via lithium ion batteries, took $3.2 million in first-round funding from Bay Partners and Redpoint Ventures. The Hayward, Calif.-based firm hopes to integrated its technology into cleantech applications, particularly electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in… Continue Reading

Battery maker, A123Systems, acquires hybrid-electric retrofitter, Hymotion

Clean-tech blogger Tyler Hamilton reports that Sequoia-backed Watertown, Mass-based battery maker A123Systems has quietly acquired Concord, Ontario-based Hymotion, which provides a kit to retrofit hybrid-electric cars into plug-in models. The two companies are already working together to supply plug-in hybrids to fleets in California and… Continue Reading

A123Systems raises $40M more for car battery, in showdown with EEStor

A123Systems, the Watertown, Mass. company selling high-power lithium-ion batteries, said it has raised $40 million more in a fourth round of funding, bringing the total invested in the company to $102 million.

The funding comes amid increased interest by auto-makers and the public in electric cars,… Continue Reading