Energy giant Siemens is leaving the solar market after investing heavily in solar technology and power plant construction. The decision is bad news for startups looking for corporate VCs. Read more »
While some venture capitalists are moving away from funding cleantech startups, NEA — one of the oldest and most established VC firms out there — plans to stay in energy tech investing for the long haul and will continue to invest in new energy innovators. Read more »
Proving that the venture model is working for at least a few select brand name venture capitalists, NEA announced on Wednesday that it’s closed a massive $2.6 billion new fund. The firm describes the fund as “one of the largest venture funds ever raised.” Read more »
Solar startup Konarka’s bankruptcy, announced last week, wasn’t just the latest case of the solar industry being hit by the dropping cost of silicon, and cheap modules and panels from China. The company’s technology just “could not compete on cost, efficiency, or lifetime,” says Lux Research. Read more »
Konarka Technologies, a maker of organic solar thin films, said Friday it’s going bankrupt, an announcement that may not be so surprising to many who have watched and waited for the venture-backed company to try to build a viable business. Read more »
The future of clean power and greener transportation is being carried by FarmVille and online coupons — at least in terms of venture capital portfolios. Read more »
Konarka Technologies wants to see its solar material lining building’s windows everywhere, but finding customers in that market appears as difficult as convincing the Koch brothers that climate change is real. Read more »
If there is a cleantech investing renaissance coming, I’d bet on the growing team at Silver Lake Kraftwerk to find it. According to Dan Primack at Fortune, Silver Lake has recruited former Draper Fisher Jurvetson cleantech VC Raj Atluru to join its new cleantech fund. Read more »
Over the past nine years, solar plastic maker Konarka has been creeping toward commercialization, raising close to $200 million in private equity and government grants. When will it teeter over that brink of pilot production and move into full-scale commercialization? Well, for now some more funding: […] Read more »
The solar PV industry is currently dominated by silicon-based cell technology, but modules made of organic solar cells are seen as one of the most promising emerging technologies that could eventually become a serious competitor. That’s the hope of Heliatek, a German startup developing solar cells using […] Read more »
