Clean Technology Investments Bounce Back

Investors favored electric car-related startups, which captured $704 million in the first three months of this year.
In another sign of a rebound for green technology, global investors poured $1.9 billion into green tech startups in the first three months of the year, up 29 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009 and an 83 percent rise from the same quarter a year ago, according to a report released Wednesday by the Cleantech group and and Deloitte The bounce back in venture investment from lows in early 2009 has continued, with the first three months of 2010 representing the strongest start to a year we have ever recorded,” Sheeraz Haji, president of Cleantech Group, said in a statement.

The Cleantech Group, a San Francisco market research and consulting firm, and Deloitte, the international accounting company, surveyed investments made in 180 companies in North America, Europe, Israel, China and India.

Investors favored electric car-related startups, which captured $704 million in the first quarter of 2010. Half of that investment went to Better Place, a Silicon Valley company that has struck deals to build charging stations and other infrastructure in Australia, California, Canada, Denmark, Hawaii and Israel.


Two California electric carmakers, Fisker Automotive and Coda Automotive, took in $140 million and $30 million, respectively.

Solar startups scored $322 million, with the solar cell maker SpectraWatt, an Intel spinoff, receiving $41.4 million and Enphase Energy, which makes microinverters for solar panel systems, taking in $40 million.

Energy efficiency companies continued to attract investors, with lighting startups making some of the biggest deals of the $217 million invested in first quarter. Although North American's share of green tech deals in 2009 fell to 62 percent from 72 percent, the region was responsible for 81 percent of investments in the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 133 percent from the same quarter a year ago.
Europe accounted for 14 percent of the deals while China had 4 percent and India 1 percent.