Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Mass. cleantech-VC deals down in Q3, Boston-Power excepted

By Kyle Alspach, Boston Business Journal

Apart from battery maker Boston-Power Inc., just 10 Massachusetts cleantech companies were able to find venture capital deals during the third quarter, together raising $51 million, the Cleantech Group reported Wednesday.

A total of $176 million in cleantech VC was raised in Massachusetts during the quarter, but $125 million of that went to Westborough-based Boston-Power in September.

That compares to the second quarter, when 22 Massachusetts companies raised $200.6 million in cleantech VC, according to the Cleantech Group. Subtracting that quarter’s top deal, the $54.5 million round for General Compression Inc.,  Bay State cleantech companies pulled in $146.1 million raised in the second quarter.

Massachusetts also won’t be able to claim Boston-Power for much longer. The company said last month it plans to move its headquarters, along with some of its research and development, to China in the near future. Boston-Power is also building a new factory in China, after giving up on plans for a new factory in Auburn, when U.S. stimulus funding didn’t materialize.

Boston-Power’s September round included GSR Ventures, which has offices in China and California, along with Oak Investment Partners, Foundation Asset Management and the Chinese government.

In all, North American cleantech companies raised $1.69 billion in the third quarter, up 17 percent from the second quarter and up 59 percent from the same period a year earlier, while global investment rose 12 percent to $2.23 billion, the Cleantech Group reported.

Top sectors for investment globally were energy storage, which led for the first time with $514 million invested, followed by solar ($350 million) and energy efficiency ($223 million).