Israeli investment firm Israel Cleantech Ventures (ICV), which specializes in cleantech investments, has announced the final closing of its second investment fund, totaling at $74 million. The money raised will be invested in 12-15 companies over the next few years.
50 wind turbines, generating 120 megawatts of electricity, will be built in Emek Habacha in the Golan region of northern Israel. Each turbine will stand approx. 150 meters tall. The project, estimated at €250 million, will be one of the largest in the Middle East and is expected to go online in 2015.
American charity Helmsley Trust has given Israeli scientist a boost for developing clean energy. The charity will distribute $15 million to scientists affiliated with the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The fund will be distributed over three years and will focus on projects dealing with renewable energy.
Out of 100 companies listed on Global Cleantech 2012 list, 6 are Israelis. Israel is also ranked 2nd in the category of innovation and 1st in companies per Trillion $ GDP. This is a significant improvement from last year’s list, which had 4 Israeli companies listed. 64 of the companies listed are based in the US.
Photovoltaic technology company SolariPhy has raised $800,000 (NIS 3 million) in a first round of funding from Capital Nature, an investment firm that specializes in early venture Israeli cleantech. SolariPhy was founded two months ago in order to develop applications for greater exploitation of photovoltaic solar panels. The startup aims to double the electricity production capacity of the panels.