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Innovalight Receives $5 Million in Financing

Innovalight

Innovalight, a Sunnyvale, CA-based developer of silicon-ink based solar cells and modules, has recently received $5 million of financing from Leader Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank.  Innovlight was founded in 2002 and has received investments from ARCH Venture Partners, Apax Partners, Convexa Capital, Harris & Harris Group, Scatec, Sevin Rosen Funds, and Triton Ventures.  Some background on the company is available in the following video:

"Innovalight pushes the envelope in the solar power industry with its proprietary technology," said Brian Best, managing director at Leader Ventures. "Their unique approach to building solar cells combined with an excellent management team makes Innovalight a very strong contender in this hot market."

"SVB is proud of Innovalight's success thus far — it has outstanding technology with outstanding leadership," said Joseph Restagno, senior relationship manager at Silicon Valley Bank. "It's exciting to, once again, have the opportunity to provide it the financial resources it needs to continue its growth."

"We are delighted to be working with Leader Ventures and SVB, especially during these turbulent financial times," said Christina Teng, Director of Finance for Innovalight. "As we develop and showcase our innovative solar cell technology, continued financial support is a key in being able to deliver upon our promises of providing low-cost solar products into the market."

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Soliant Energy Receives Approximately $21 Million in Funding

Soliant Energy

Soliant Energy, a Monrovia, CA-based developer of solar technology solutions for the commercial rooftop market, announced at this week's Solar Power International '08 that it raised nearly $21 million in venture capital.  This financing was led by the venture capital group of GE Energy Financial Services, which invested $2.5 million.  Soliant’s other investors participated in this funding round, led by Convexa Capital. Previous Soliant Energy investors include RockPort Capital Partners, Nth Power, Trinity Ventures, and Rincon Venture Partners.

Art Buckland, Soliant's CEO, said, "GE's strategic investment is validation that our approach provides commercial customers with the lowest-cost solar electricity at the plug."

“Concentrating photovoltaic solar power is especially viable for space-constrained applications such as commercial rooftops, and Soliant is well positioned with its elegant design, market-leading efficiency and potential for low installed cost per kilowatt hour of energy produced,” said Kevin Walsh, Managing Director and leader of renewable energy at GE Energy Financial Services.

Soliant Energy was founded in 2005 and was known as Practical Instruments until early 2007.  Using solar concentrators and other features, the company is developing products that it states will provide significant value for the commercial rooftop market.  Soliant Energy is aiming to open a 40-megawatt production plant and ship its first products for commercial rooftop applications in late 2009. Additional backgroound on Soliant Energy is available in this 2007 interview of founder Brad Hines (MP3 file, right-click to download). 

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Confluence Solar Receives $12.7 Million in Series A Financing

Confluence Solar

Confluence Solar, a manufacturer of high quality single crystal silicon for the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry, announced on Tuesday that it raised $12.7 million in Series A funding.  Convexa Capital of Oslo, Norway led the financing with additional investments from DC Chemical, Scatec Adventure AS, Oceanshore Ventures, and others.

Confluence Solar was founded in 2007 and is focusing on bringing to market premium quality, low-cost single crystal silicon that can serve as a platform for high efficiency cell design by solar cell manufacturers.  The company is opening a new facility in Hazelwood, Missouri to develop its HiCz(TM) single crystal silicon product.  According to the company, solar product manufacturers will receive greater watt output from its HiCz product as compared to traditional multi crystal silicon platforms.

"Solar cell manufacturers who want to be on the cutting-edge delivering the most advanced use of solar technology will want to utilize HiCz(TM) single crystal silicon product," said Dr. Frank Delk, Chief Technology Officer of Confluence Solar. "Confluence Solar’s strategy is to work closely with our customers to tailor our HiCz(TM) single crystal substrate to maximize the efficiency of their advanced solar cell designs."

"We thank our investors as well as our raw material partner DC Chemical for their support and vision in participating in the development of the HiCz(TM) product," said Tom Cadwell, chief executive officer of Confluence Solar, Inc. "DC Chemical’s commitment to supply polysilicon enables our entry into this dynamic industry."