Today (May 5th), Israel Cleantech Ventures (ICV) announced today that it reached a final close of $75 million for its first fund, significantly exceeding expectations from its original target of $60M. ICV will invest in Israeli companies (or Israel-realted) in renewable energy, water purification, energy efficiency and clean technology.
ICV is the first Israeli cleantech-focused investment fund. The fund is backed by high profile institutional investors and family funds in Europe, the US and Israel, including US-based investment bank Piper Jaffray and Netherlands-based asset manager Robeco Private Equity.
Established in 2006, ICV is managed by a team of veterans: Jack Levy, Meir Ukeles and Glen Schwaber. The fund has made seven investments to date in various areas of clean tech:
- Aqwise (waste water treatment)
- CellEra (fuel cells)
- Citrine Renewable Energy (landfill biogas treatment)
- Emefcy (energy production from wastewater)
- Metrolight (energy efficient lighting)
- Project Better Place (electric vehicle infrastructure)
- Pythagoras Solar (solar energy)
More investments are expected in the near term according to ICV partner Jack Levy. In the official press release, Danny Zouber, principal at Piper Jaffray Private Capital said:
“As we completed the diversification for the first U.S.-based cleantech fund of funds, it was important for us to have exposure to the leading-edge innovation in alternative energy, advanced materials and water technologies taking place in Israel. Israel Cleantech Ventures offers our investors a level of expertise and experience in those sectors that will enhance our overall portfolio.”
Last month, ICV was ranked among the top five international cleantech investors, with $16.6 million invested in Q4 2007. The same quarter was also Israel’s highest level of investment in cleantech ever, with $132 million raised across 9 companies. Find out more about Clean Tech Investing in Israel in Jonathan Shappira’s blog.
I'm a former general partner at google ventures, head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe and founding head of Campus London, Google's first physical hub for startups.
I'm also the founder of Techbikers, a non-profit bringing together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read. Since inception in 2012 we've built 11 schools and 50 libraries in the developing world.
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