Rachel Barron: June 23, 2008

Funding Roundup: Investors Raise Billions for Greentech Funds

Citigroup CFO Todd Thomson aims for a $3 billion cleantech fund, while Intel spins off SpectraWatt, Schott plans an IPO and SolFocus, Inventure Chemical Technology and GreenFuel Technologies seek cash.

Todd Thompson, former Citigroup CFO and one-time CEO of its Global Wealth Management Division, is supposedly raising a $3 billion cleantech-focused private-equity fund, according to VentureBeat.

Thompson was reportedly raising $1 to $2 billion for a new private-equity fund last year. But the fund, which was originally slated for other purposes, is now focused on cleantech and carbon-credit companies, according to the blog.

In January of last year, Thomson was ousted from his job during a Citigroup management shakeup.

Business tycoon Vincent Tchenguiz is also looking to raise a multibillion-dollar green fund. Check out this week's funding roundup to read more about Tchenguiz and private and public greentech companies that snagged millions last week.

Private

• Intel (NSDQ: INTC) announced last week it was spinning off a solar-cell startup called SpectraWatt. SpectraWatt will manufacture and supply silicon-based solar cells to panel makers. The spin-off has secured a five-year supply of silicon from PV Crystalox Solar. Helping to fill SpectraWatt coffers with $50 million are Intel’s global investment organization Intel Capital, the Goldman Sachs Group subsidiary Cogentrix Energy, PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund and Solon AG (see Chip Giants Delve Deeper Into Solar).
• Concentrating Solar company SolFocus is raising between $60 million and $80 million in a third round of funding, according to VentureWire and Greentech Media blog Green Light. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company has already raised about $90 million in total. According to Green Light, the company's third round of funding will probably not be their last.
• Seattle-based biofuel developer Inventure Chemical Technology said Thursday it was in the final stages of securing $6 to $8 million in a second round of financing. The company also announced it will team with Israeli biofuel company Seambiotic to build a biofuel plant that will use carbon-dioxide-fed algae to make ethanol and biodiesel (see Algae-Based Biofuel Could Prep for Take Off). Inventure closed a $1.6 million Series A funding in August.
• GreenFuel Technologies Corp. plans to close its third round of financing as early as August. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company, which makes biofuel from carbon dioxide eating algae, shared the news with Greentech Media when it announced Tuesday it had hired former Dow Chemical executive, Simon Upfill-Brown, as CEO. GreenFuel did not disclose the amount it was raising (see GreenFuel Closes In on Series C). The company has raised more than $73 million since 2001.
• Dutch battery company Epyon announced last week it was getting a "multi-million" round of funding. Investors included Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital and SET Venture Partners. Epyon, a spin-off company from Delft University of Technology, develops fast charging technology for plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles. The company's chargers can supposedly reduce charging time to 10 to 15 minutes from the five to 10 hours for current batteries, according to VentureBeat.
• Control4, which makes a remote control that lets customers manage a variety of items in a home such as entertainment systems and central air conditioning, has raised $20 million in funding, VentureBeat wrote in a blog post last week. The system also enables local utilities to communicate with Control4's system so homeowners can take action to reduce their energy consumption, according to the blog. Foundation Capital led the Salt Lake City, Utah company's funding.
• Rubber recycler Lehigh Technologies has picked up an undisclosed round of funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Index Ventures, according to VentureWire. The Naples, Fla.-based based company takes recycled scrap tire material, freeze-dries and pulverizes it into rubber powder. Lehigh can produce more than 100 million pounds of rubber powders annually from its plant, according to the company's Website. Lehigh previously had raised $18 million in a mix of venture capital and seed money.

Public

• Germany's technology company Schott is looking take its unit Schott Solar public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in September or October, Thomson Financial reported Thursday. Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and JP Morgan Chase & Co. are expected to act as underwriters for the deal, according to the media outlet that got its information from Financial Times Deutschland. Schott has dropped hits that it might be looking to raise money for its solar businesses. In May, the company spun out its thin-film panel business in anticipation of further growth and possible funding (see Schott Spins Out Thin-Film Business).
• Chinese solar wafer manufacturer ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) said Wednesday it will offer 9 million American Depositary Shares (ADA), each representing two shares of the company, as part of its follow-on IPO. The company has priced each ADS at $20.50, suggesting a total raise of $184.5 million. Underwriters also will be given the option to purchase additional shares.
• Water desalination company Energy Recovery has filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to list its shares on the NASDAQ under the ticker "ERII." The San Leandro, Calif., based company is expecting to price its shares between $7 to $9 and will offer 14 million shares. Citi and Credit Suisse have been named as underwriters for the company's initial public offering that could raise between $98 million $126 million, depending on share price. Founded in 1992, Energy Recovery uses high pressure to drive seawater through filtering membranes to produce fresh water.

Funds

• Business tycoon Vincent Tchenguiz is looking to raise £2 billion ($3.9 billion) for a U.K. environmental fund, according to Dow Jones' Financial News Online. According to the online media service, Tchenguiz is also on the hunt for an investment bank adviser to help oversee the fund.
• Former CalPERS chief investment officer Russell Read is supposedly making strides on his cleantech-focused private equity fund. In April, Greentech Media blogged about the fund that would cover investments ranging from early stage deals to project-development-stage companies. Although details are still sparse, Private Equity Week reported the fund will target capital-intensive projects rather than small-money enabling technologies. PE Week also said one of his partners for the fund will be John Preston, a senior lecturer at MIT and CEO of Atomic Ordered Materials.