VC cleantech investment jumps to $1.5B in Q2 (Silicon Valley)

Venture capital investment in clean-tech companies in the U.S. hit $1.5 billion in 68 financing rounds during the second quarter, a 4.6 percent bump up from deals compared to the same period last year, according to an Ernst & Young LLP analysis released Tuesday.

The report, based on data from Dow Jones VentureSource said this was the highest level of venture funding for cleantech since the third quarter of 2008.

Later stage venture financings were the main driver of investment growth, with $891.2 million invested in 33 deals. Compared to the year-ago quarter, later stage activity rose 83.3 percent in terms of deals and 143 percent in terms of dollars. In all, later stage financings accounted for 59 percent of total funding in the quarter.

The focus on later stage investments this quarter is reflected in the fact that the top 10 deals alone amounted to $993 million, two thirds of total investment. Automotive, solar and biofuels were the main focus of the top deals. The top 10 deals also included two large second rounds.

The second quarter was marked by financing activity in the automotive industry. Deals in this space included the $350 million second round investment in Better Place, a Palo Alto-based provider of electric vehicle support infrastructure. The largest deal of the quarter, this investment amounted to 23 percent of total quarterly financings. Additionally, Fisker Automotive Inc. of Irvine, a plug-in hybrid EV manufacturer, raised $35 million and Eco Motors, a manufacturer of diesel engines that are fuel efficient and lower emissions from Troy, Mich. raised $23.5 million.

Palo Alto-based Tesla Motors Inc. was also in the spotlight as it completed an IPO and received a $50 million strategic investment from Toyota to jointly develop electric vehicles at NUMMI in Fremont.

Campbell-based Coulomb Technologies Inc. announced plans to provide nearly 5,000 free home and public charging stations for EVs to nine regions in the US via a partnership with auto makers, including Ford and Chevrolet.

Five of the top 10 VC deals in the quarter were in the solar segment, which received $438.8 million, an increase of 182.6 percent year over year. BrightSource Energy Inc., an Oakland company that provides solar energy to utility and industrial companies, received the second-largest deal of the quarter, a $180 million later stage round.

Read the full post in the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal.