Q3 sees record US clean-tech VC investment

London, 25 October: US venture capitalists (VCs) invested a record $844 million in 61 clean-technology deals in the third quarter, according to figures from the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Three of the top-five deals in Q3 were in the clean-tech sector, according to the MoneyTree report from the two organisations. One, a $100 million investment into Massachusetts-based coal- and biomass gasification company GreatPoint Energy was one of the largest ever clean-tech VC deals, they said.

“In some cases, investment trends reflected top issues facing the nation. Clean-tech, for example, demonstrated its viability as an emerging sector by producing three of the top five deals this quarter,” said Tracy Lefteroff, global managing partner of the venture capital practice at PwC.

Overall, VCs invested $7.1 billion in 887 deals in the third quarter, the report said, based on data provided by Thomson Financial. Investment activity was down slightly from the second quarter of 2007 when $7.2 billion was invested in 1,000 deals.

In clean-tech, investment was up 80% in dollar terms, and 35% in the number of deals, compared to the second quarter.

The other two top-five deals from the clean-tech sector were two later-stage investments, of $82.5 million into Summit Energy Services, a Kentucky-based energy management firm, and $77 million into HelioVolt Corporation, a solar photovoltaics firm based in Austin, Texas.