ETV Motors raises $12M Series A round from Quercus Trust and 21Ventures

ETV Motors Ltd., a Herzliya, Israel-based start-up developing innovative electric vehicle propulsion technology, has announced its Series A investment round. The round was led by Quercus Trust of Newport Beach, California, with New York-based 21Ventures co-investing.

The $12 million milestone-driven investment will, according to the company, enable ETV Motors to move rapidly ahead with a multi-year research and development program in which it is partnering with universities and development organizations.

ETV Motors also revealed details about its development of enabling technologies for hybrid range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs). The company’s activity is focused on a novel, high-efficiency, dual-power micro-turbine and a proprietary high voltage lithium-ion battery. Integration of these optimized components will result in an innovative electric vehicle propulsion platform.



"We believe that REEVs are the optimal approach," said Dror Ben David, CEO of ETV Motors. "Our micro-turbine on-board charger and 4.7V lithium-ion cathode chemistry will facilitate the coming generations of environmentally-friendly, cost-effective, light-weight and safe electric vehicles."

"There are huge opportunities for disruptive, enabling technologies in the automotive field" said David Anthony, Managing Partner at 21Ventures. 'The approach of the ETV Motors team is based on innovative science, together with a sound vision of the future of electric vehicles. At 21Ventures, we see this as a game-changing approach, and we are pleased to be working with the company."

21Ventures' primary geographic focus is Israel, where over half of the funds investment capital has been deployed to date. 21Ventures currently manages more than $250 million worth of investments in 25 companies in Israel and the United States. More than half of 21Ventures’ investments are in clean energy companies.

Quercus Trust, funded by multimillionaire David Gelbaum, has quietly become one of the most active investors in the global cleantech industry. According to Greentech Media, David Gelbaum and Quercus Trust have made at least 47 cleantech investments. Five of Gelbaum's cleantech investments, in cooperation with 21Ventures, are in Israeli startups: 3GSolar, BioPetroClean, ETV Motors, TechnoSpin Wind, and Variable Wind.

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Variable Wind raises $2.5m from Quercus Trust, 21Ventures and AquAgro Fund

Variable Wind Solutions, a Tel-Aviv, Israel-based startup developing products to improve the efficiency of wind turbines, has raised $2.5m in its latest round of financing.

A report in Globes identifies 21Ventures as the lead investor, joined by AquAgro Fund and Brooks Keret Group. 21Ventures' web site, however, names Quercus Trust as the lead investor in Variable Wind.

Quercus Trust, funded by multimillionaire David Gelbaum, has quietly become one of the most active investors in the global cleantech industry. According to Greentech Media, David Gelbaum and Quercus Trust have made at least 47 cleantech investments. Five of Gelbaum's cleantech investments, in cooperation with 21Ventures, are in Israeli startups: 3GSolar, BioPetroClean, ETV Motors, TechnoSpin Wind, and Variable Wind.

Variable Wind is led by CEO Ian Kaplan, COO Gil Ziv, and CTO Dror Nadam.

Information about Variable Wind's products for small wind turbines, large wind turbines, and urban wind farms is available on the company's web site.

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21Ventures and Quercus Trust award grant to support solar research at Weizmann Institute

21Ventures and the Quercus Trust announced last week that they have awarded a $200,000 grant to support the solar energy research of Professor David Cahen of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. The grant will be used to further the exploratory research of novel approaches to harness solar energy in less expensive and more efficient new ways and to explore approaches for making better use of existing solar energy technologies.

“Professor Cahen’s ground breaking work has the potential to make a significant impact on the availability and the ultimate use of alternative energy sources, in this case, solar energy. Such efforts support the goal of 21Ventures and the Quercus Trust to secure a cleaner and healthier environment worldwide,” said David Anthony, Managing Partner, 21Ventures.

One area that the research will focus on is exploring the potential of various long-term light management approaches. That direction will be complemented by research on potentially low cost, novel ways to collect more energy from sunlight and the means of using that energy in daily life.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York, 21Ventures is a venture capital fund which invests in seed, early stage technology and publicly traded companies in the physical security, clean energy and mobile software markets.

The Quercus Trust, which does not have a web site, has quietly become one of the world's leading cleantech investors. Led by David Gelbaum, a former hedge fund manager at Princeton/Newport Partners, the Quercus Trust reportedly had a 20-company portfolio of clean energy stocks worth more than $400 million as of December 2007. Earth2Tech provides a breakdown of ten cleantech venture funding deals made by Quercus in the first quarter of 2008 alone.

David Anthony and David Gelbaum both sit on the Board of Directors of WorldWater and Solar Technology Corportation.