23 June 2011
General Electric and its venture capital partners will invest $63 million across ten home energy companies in areas such as solar and LED lighting, as part of the second phase of the technology giant’s sustainable business strategy.
The investment builds on $71 million of sustainability investments by GE in the past 12 months as part of the its $200 million Ecomagination strategy, bringing the strategy's total funding to $134 million across 22 commercial partnerships.
The Ecomagination strategy uses the environmental agenda to create new business lines. Its second phase is focused on home energy.
Clean-tech firms cash up
GE’s funding partners are: Emerald Technology Ventures, Foundation Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and RockPort Capital.
GE declined to break down the amount invested by the company and its venture capital partners.
The ten companies receiving financing are: communication and software firms Hara, Ember, On-Ramp Wireless, Viridity Energy and Witricity; solar energy companies SunRun and GMZ Energy; and building efficiency firms Nuventix, Project Frog and VPhase.
The corporation also awarded development grants of $100,000 to five “innovation projects” and will next month complete the acquisition of smart grid company FMC-Tech, discovered through its Ecomagination challenge.
GE plans to expand its sustainability strategy into China later this year and will launch a $5 million seed fund with UK-based Carbon Trust to support early-stage innovations.
Mark Vachon, vice president of GE Ecomagination, said the company will “continue to look beyond our four walls” to find innovative solutions to environmental challenges.
Charlotte Dudley
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GHG Energy Corporation is a new Global player in the Clean Tech Energy sector encompassing Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, and Carbon Credit creation, and develops projects in the clean energy area on its own behalf, in conjunction with local Franchise operators, and through other forms of joint venture.
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