Terra Venture Partners Israel's most active VC in 2009

Terra Venture Partners, a Jerusalem-based venture capital fund focused on seed and early-stage cleantech investments, was recently named Israel's most active venture capital investor for 2009.

According to the IVC Research Center, Terra Venture Partners made six first investments in 2009, followed closely by Carmel Ventures, Giza Venture Capital, Jerusalem Venture Partners, Magma Venture Partners, Pitango Venture Capital, Sequoia Capital, which each made five first investments in 2009.

Terra Venture Partners has $25 million under management and is headed up by general partners Astorre Modena and Harold Wiener. Its initial investments in 2007 were in wind energy start-up IQWind and energy efficiency start-up Phoebus Energy. Later, Terra Venture Partners invested in Biological Alarm Systems, a start-up developing airborne biological hazards.

IVC Research Center reports that in 2009 Terra Venturea Partners invested in:

• Linum Systems, a start-up founded in 2009 that is developing an advanced, energy efficient air conditioning technology. Linum Systems was founded by Yuval Berson and Amir Hirshfeld, two veterans of Israeli solar power company Di.S.P
• Lithium Force, a start-up focused on providing complete solutions for electric powered transportation fleets (buses, trucks, and taxis)
• PV Nanocell, a stealthy start-up apparently focused on the development and production of nanomaterials for the solar photovoltaic industry
  
• Silentium, which is developing innovative noise reduction products and solutions
• SmarTap, a company devloping innovative, efficient electronic water faucets
• Wi-Charge, a start-up developing technology to enable the safe, reliable and efficient wireless transmission of power. Wi-Charge was founded in 2007 by Ortal Alpert

You can follow this link to access the original report online.

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IQwind and Guascor announce partnership agreement to commercialize innovative wind turbine technology

IQwind, an Israel-based start-up backed by Terra Venture Partners, and Guascor, a Spanish industrial company, announced today that they will partner to commercialize and bring to market the IQGear, a variable gearbox for the wind industry. The partnership brings together IQwind`s innovative wind turbine technology and the operational and market expertise of Guascor, an international leader in the production and distribution of renewable energy power systems.


Increasing the overall potential and cost-effectiveness of wind as an alternative renewable energy source, IQwind claims that its variable gear can be both retrofitted into existing turbines and utilized as a standard component in newly-manufactured turbines. The high efficiency IQwind technology can reduce the cost of energy (COE) by up to 20% compared to the best existing wind turbines, according to the company.

Guascor will manufacture the IQGear according to design and specifications provided by IQwind. To support the IQGear production, a new manufacturing line will be established in the Guascor Power facility in the Basque Country (Spain).

According to the agreement between the companies, the initial ten gearboxes manufactured by Guascor will be used for testing, certification, and initial commercial installations retrofitting currently-operational turbines during 2010. The companies will scale up to bring additional retrofitted and new turbines to the European market in 2011 and beyond. According to the agreement, IQwind will lead the sales, marketing and design activities and shall continue to own any resulting Intellectual Property (IP).

"The partnership with IQwind reinforces Guascor´s vision and its commitment to renewable energy," said Mr. Cesar Fernandez de Velasco, CEO of Guascor. "The IQwind variable gear is an important development in wind-powered energy generation. It addresses the long standing challenge of efficiently turning a variable wind source into stable electrical current, and can make an immediate impact on the economics of wind projects. Guascor is delighted to lend its
manufacturing muscle and the operational experience of its executives to advance the establishment of IQGear as the leading gear design in the wind energy market. We look forward to rolling this exciting technology out to the market as early as 2010."

"Guascor brings manufacturing and wind expertise, more than 50 years of leadership in the power system industry, and a unique renewable energy strategy. These attributes make the company an ideal partner for IQwind in bringing this unique technology for improving power generation efficiency to the wind energy market," said IQwind founder and CEO Gideon Ziegelman.

"Partnering with a prominent player such as Guascor is a resounding validation of the value our variable gear technology brings to the wind energy market," added Ziegelman. "The cooperation with Guascor and the significant investment they have committed to in this agreement will greatly accelerate the introduction of IQGear into the wind energy market. This collaboration is a major step towards the transformation of this new technology into a revenue
generating product."

Guascor is currently planning to build a large wind farm in Argentina. The $2.4 billion, 600-900MW project will be located in Pico Truncado and is expected to take three years to complete.

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IQWind raises $500k from U.S. investors

IQwind, an Israel-based start-up developing variable gear technology that improves the energy generation efficiency of wind turbines, has raised $500,000 from ISRAEL G-TEK LLC, according to an announcement by the U.S.-based investors.

IQwind received a first round of investment from Terra Venture Partners in 2007.

Sami Shiro and Uri Benhamron, principals at Israel G-Tek, explain that the investment in IQWind is part of their "plan to create a balanced portfolio of greentech companies with a special focus on Israel as a breeding ground for technology."

IQWind’s product has the ability to function as a replacement part for existing turbines, as well as a main component for new turbines. The technology is so disruptive, according to ISRAEL G-TEK, that further applications are also being considered in other markets such as automotive and mining.

Israel G-Tek's investment in IQWind is part of a financing round to implement a full scale pilot for the Israeli company.

Gideon Ziegelman is the co-founder and CEO of IQWind, and Nimrod Eitan is the company's co-founder and CTO.

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IQwind a Red Herring Top 100 Global Company

IQwind, an Israel-based developer of variable gear technology that improves the energy generation efficiency of wind turbines, announced that it has been recognized by Red Herring as one of the Top 100 Global Companies.

IQwind co-founder and CEO Gideon Ziegelman said, "We are thrilled to have been selected to the distinguished Red Herring Top 100 Global list. We are introducing a disruptive gear technology into the wind energy market in order to improve the efficiency of both old and new wind turbines. We will begin retrofitting existing turbines by next year and look forward to becoming a key contributor to the enablement of more efficient production of renewable wind energy."

IQwind received a first round of investment from Terra Venture Partners in 2007.

"We were so pleased to announce IQwind as a Red Herring Top 100 Global Company," commented Red Herring publisher Alex Vieux. "IQwind has proven to be a company excelling in their industry and its ripples have turned into waves. It was difficult for us to narrow down, but we are pleased to have included IQwind in our list of promising companies. We look forward to the changes it will make to its industry in the future."

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IQwind named a Top 100 Tech Startup by Red Herring

IQwind Ltd., which is developing an innovative gearbox to improve the efficiency of wind turbines, was named by Red Herring as a Top 100 Tech Startup in Europe for 2008. It is one of 14 Israeli companies to make the list.

IQwind was established in 2007 and received early-stage funding from Terra Venture Partners. The company was founded by Gideon Ziegelman, formerly an entrepreneur in residence at Precede Technologies, and Nimrod Eitan, an experienced mechanical engineer who now serves as the company's CTO.

IAI to enter wind and solar power sectors

Sources inform ''Globes'' that the board of Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) has approved the company's entry into the wind and solar energy sectors. The company plans to exploit its turbine technology, wind tunnels, and aerodynamics engineering know-how to improve the turbines now on the market.

One of the most important facilities of IAI's engineering division is its wind tunnel, used to test models of planes and the operation of high-powered engines. The results of the aerodynamic tests of the models are then compared with the flight tests. The facility and know-how will now be used for renewable energy projects.

Israeli companies already active in the wind power sector include Elspec, IQWind, and Coriolis Wind.

Terra VP raises $15 million, makes first investments

Terra Venture Partners, a venture capital fund focused on seed and early-stage cleantech companies in Israel, has reportedly raised $15 million and made its first two investments.

The fund completed a seed-stage investment in IQWind Ltd., a company that is developing an innovative gearbox that will improve the efficiency of wind turbines. Terra has also invested in Phoebus Energy Ltd., which is developing a system to decrease water heating expenses for large facilities, such as hospitals, hotels, pools, etc. Both IQWind and Phoebus were founded in August, 2007.

Terra Venture Partners was founded in May 2006 by Harold Wiener, an immigrant from Uruguay, and Astorre Modena, an immigrant from Italy. They hope to ultimately raise $50 million and invest in up to 20 companies.