Cleantech co EnStorage raises $15m

All existing investors participated in the round.

Sources inform ''Globes'' that Israeli cleantech start-up EnStorage Ltd. has raised $15 million in its second financing round. Warburg Pincus led the round, and was joined by all of EnStorage's current investors.

EnStorage CEO Dr. Arnon Blum and CSO Prof. Emanuel Peled of Tel Aviv University, Eran Yarkoni, and Nachman Shelef founded the company three years ago. The company is developing energy storage systems for fuel cells, based on Peled's research. Peled has co-founded a number of companies, including Green Fuel Cells Ltd.

EnStorage has been operating under the radar in stealth mode. Investors in its previous financing round, in which it raised $2 million, were Greylock Partners, Canaan Partners, Siemens Technology to Business Center LLC, and European fund, Wellington Partners.

Warburg Pincus is a leading US investment firm und for the cleantech industry. It has four Israeli companies in its portfolio: Cvidya Networks Inc., Vringo Ltd., NuLens Ltd., and Alliance Tire Company Ltd. It also invested in Ness Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: NSTC; TASE: NSTC) and BreezeCOM, which merged with Floware to become Alvarion Ltd. (Nasdaq: ALVR; TASE: ALVR).

Blum said, "The storage of solar and wind energy is critical. Without it, mass penetration of markets by renewable energy technologies is impossible. In order to use solar or wind energy, there is a need for energy storage systems, and they cannot yet be found on the market."

A source close to EnStorage told "Globes" today that the company was developing systems that could become commercial at a reasonable cost. "The company is developing low-cost regenerative fuel cells and energy storage systems for wind and solar facilities. The most important point for the market today is a reasonable cost."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 8, 2010

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2010

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