EnStorage raises $15M Series B financing led by Warburg Pincus

Israeli fuel cell start-up EnStorage Ltd. has raised $15 million in a Series B financing round.

U.S. private equity fund Warburg Pincus led the round, and was joined by all of EnStorage's current investors, including Greylock Partners, Canaan Partners, Siemens TTB, and Wellington Partners, according to a report in "Globes".

EnStorage was founded in 2007 by VP R&D Dr. Arnon Blum, Chief Scientific Officer Prof. Emanuel Peled of Tel Aviv University, Chairman Nachman Shelef, and former CEO Eran Yarkoni.

EnStorage is developing and commercializing energy storage systems, based on technology developed for over by Prof. Emanuel Peled and his team at Tel Aviv University. The technology is licensed from Ramot, the technology transfer company of Tel Aviv University.

According to the EnStorage web site, James Levy, a Principal at Warburg Pincus, has joined the EnStorage Board of Directors.

EnStorage raised a $2 million Series A financing in January 2008.

Eran Yarkoni was the featured speaker at the first CleanIsrael Meetup in March 2008. Congratulations to the EnStorage team for the Series B financing!

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CellEra raises $2 million from Israel Cleantech Ventures and BrainsToVentures

CellEra Inc., a Caesarea, Israel-based start-up developing a platinum-free membrane-based fuel cell technology (PFM-FC), has reportedly raised $2 million from German angel investor group BrainsToVentures and existing investor Israel Cleantech Ventures.

According to a German press release from BrainsToVentures and an article in the Financial Times’ German edition, both of which were originally reported by Earth2Tech, CellEra has raised $2 million and developed its first prototype.

CEO Ziv Gottesfeld, in an interview with Earth2Tech, confirmed the news and said that the $2 million is part of a larger investment round.

Gottesfeld also says that CellEra already is working with a major manufacturer and is integrating its fuel cells into backup power systems. CellEra plans to use its new cash to turn its working prototype into its first commercial product, Gottesfeld told Earth2Tech, adding that the company aims to have products ready for the market in two years.

According to the press release from BrainsToVentures, CellEra believes it can cut fuel-cell development and manufacturing costs by more than 70 percent by eliminating the most expensive material – platinum. Platinum currently costs $1500 per ounce, approximately double the price from a year ago.

Christian Schüetz, a at BrainsToVentures, told the Financial Times’ German edition that he expects CellEra to introduce fuel cells for hybrid cars by 2015.

Gottesfeld refuses to speculate on when CellEra's technology would be ready for vehicle applications, but he said that CellEra's technology could work “very nicely and cost-effectively” with batteries to extend the range of electric vehicles in the future.

CellEra, founded in 2007 by CEO Ziv Gotttesfeld and VP R&D Dario Dekel, raised an inital $2 million investment from Israel Cleantech Ventures in 2008. Later that year, Roger Saillant, a fuel cell industry veteran and former CEO of NASDAQ-listed Plug Power, joined CellEra's board of directors.

CellEra's CTO is Dr. Shimshon Gottesfeld, former CTO for MTI Micro and the director of the fuel cell research program at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

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Emefcy signs collaboration agreements, raising Series A funds

Emefcy, a microbial fuel cell startup based in Caesarea, Israel, recently signed collaboration agreements with several potential clients. The companies will participate in Emefcy's pilot program in 2009 and will potentially have Emefcy's system installed in their plants in 2010, according to reports by the company.

Emefcy, co-founded by serial entrepreneurs Eytan Levy and Ronen Shechter, is developing the MEGAWATTER™ technology. This technology produces low cost electricity (at $0.10/kWhr) and hydrogen in a bio-electro-chemical process from wastewater treatment by leveraging Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) technology. Emefcy's technological breakthrough is focused on the development of electrode materials and structure that feature durability, high power output and low cost.



Levy and Shechter, who previously founded wastewater treatment company AqWise, have already received venture funding from Israel Cleantech Ventures, and Greentech Media has detailed Levy's efforts to raise $3.5-5.0m in a Series A funding round. CEO Eytan Levy plans to be on the East Coast in February and March for meetings with potential investors. On February 26th, Levy will speak at a public event at MIT organized by the Boston Israel Cleantech Alliance.

Emefcy's Scientific Advisory Board includes Prof. Bruce Logan of Pennsylvania State University, Prof. Derek Lovely of the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) and Prof. Bruce Rittmann, Director of the Biodesign Institute at the University of Arizona.

More information about Emefcy's MEGAWATTER™ system and Emefcy's business plan is available in this online video, in this company presentation, and in past reports by the Jerusalem Post and Israel21c.

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Roger Saillant, fuel cell industry veteran, joins CellEra board of directors

CellEra Inc., a developer of Platinum-Free membrane-based fuel cell technology (PFM-FC), announced today the appointment of Roger Saillant to its Board of Directors. The appointment is expected to bring Saillant’s extensive fuel cell management and company building experience to CellEra at a time when the start-up is preparing for its next phase of technology and market development with its disruptive PFM fuel cell technology.

Until recently, Dr. Saillant served as CEO & President of Latham, NY-based Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG), where he re-oriented the company towards production and commercialization, and led the industry in fuel cell system installs. Prior to PLUG, Saillant was Vice President and General Manager of Visteon Corporation’s (NYSE:VC) Energy Transformation Division, where he delivered $5.5 billion of automotive components globally to the Ford Motor Company and other automotive customers.

"CellEra’s disruptive technology holds true potential to alleviate major stack cost barriers and finally unlock fuel cells’ potential for massive market penetration. I believe CellEra’s management team has the proven track record and the capacity to execute," Saillant stated.

CellEra is a portfolio company of Israel Cleantech Ventures. CellEra's management team includes Dr. Shimshon Gottesfeld, CTO; Dr. Dario R. Dekel, VP R&D; and Ziv Gottesfeld, CEO.

Hat tip to Gene Dolgin, Analyst at Israel Cleantech Ventures, for sending me the announcement.

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EnStorage raises $2m from Greylock, Canaan and Siemens Venture Capital

Sources inform ''Globes'' that Israeli cleantech start-up EnStorage Ltd. has completed a $2 million financing round from Greylock Partners, Canaan Partners of the US, and Siemens TTB This is Greylock and Canaan Partners' first investment in an Israeli cleantech company.

EnStorage CEO Eran Yarkoni, CTO Prof. Emanuel Peled, and VP R&D Dr. Arnon Blum founded the company a year ago. The company is based on Peled's research and is operating in stealth mode.

According to IVC Online, EnStorage is developing a low-cost regenerative fuel cell energy-storage-system (ESS) for power grid load leveling and for capacity firming of solar and wind power generation plants. The company claims that its ESS is smaller, more efficient and lower-cost than other energy storage systems.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, regenerative fuel cells produce electricity from hydrogen and oxygen and generate heat and water as byproducts, just like other fuel cells. However, regenerative fuel cell systems can also use electricity from solar power or some other source to divide the excess water into oxygen and hydrogen fuel—this process is called "electrolysis." This is a comparatively young fuel cell technology being developed by NASA and others.

Israel Cleantech Ventures invests in CellEra, fuel cell start-up

Sources inform ''Globes'' that Israel Cleantech Ventures has invested in fuel cell start-up CellEra.

CellEra CEO Ziv Gottesfeld and VP R&D Dario Dekel founded the company in 2007. It is developing a disruptive technology promising to turn fuel-cell power sources into a mass-market commercial reality. According to IVC Online, CellEra has five employees and hopes to increase the financing round.

Israel Cleantech Ventures is the country's first specialized venture capital fund investing in energy, water, and environmental companies. Its general partners are Jack Levy, Glen Schwaber, and Meir Unkeles.

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