Intel Capital leads €85m round in German solar company
Intel Capital, Intel's corporate venture investment arm, has invested €24 million in Sulfurcell, a leading German developer of thin-film solar modules. Sulfurcell was initially funded by the EU and the federal state of Berlin – it uses technology developed in the laboratories of the Hahn-Meitner-Institute. Before this investment round, Sulfurcell had already de-risked key product performance and process scalability for high-volume manufacturing and supply from a pilot production line. Sulfurcell is supported by Hahn-Meitner-Institute, Vattenfall Europe, the third largest electric utility company in Germany and the Masdar Clean Tech Fund managed by Credit Suisse.
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It makes monolithic modules using thin-film materials from the CIS/CIGSe (copper-indium-sulfide/selenide) family of chemical elements, known for their high efficiency ratio of converting sunlight to electricity.
Intel Capital led the €85 million total equity round, with a € 24 million investment. Other European cleantech investors include Climate Change Capital Private Equity (London), AIG (Zurich), Demeter Partners (Paris), Zouk Ventures (London) and BankInvest (Copenhagen), who together invested €38 million with the remainder €23m coming from existing investors. Sulfurcell will use the new investment to significantly expand production capacity with a new plant in Berlin, Germany.
“Cleantech investments worldwide, including solar power generation, are a key focus for Intel Capital, particularly in the wake of global warming concerns and rising energy costs for businesses and consumers,” said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president. “By investing selectively in innovative technologies, such as those delivered by Sulfurcell, we further the viability of alternative energy options and help increase adoption while reducing carbon emissions.”
“This funding round constitutes a major milestone for Sulfurcell and we are pleased to be working with a global investor of Intel Capital’s leadership and expertise,” said Dr. Nikolaus Meyer, CEO of Sulfurcell. “We have an aggressive growth strategy and the funding will enable us to respond to the rapidly increasing demand for thin-film solar modules in all market segments.”
“Intel Capital invested in Sulfurcell because CIS/CIGSe solar modules have demonstrated some of the highest energy conversion efficiencies of all thin-film materials. They also enable emerging applications such as building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), where solar modules are integrated in the core structure of roofs and walls,” said Heiko von Dewitz, investment director of Intel Capital’s cleantech sector in Europe and Israel. “Germany is a leader in adopting photovoltaics as an alternative energy source and we believe Sulfurcell is well positioned to contribute to broader adoption in Germany and in other countries worldwide.”
Intel Capital is focused on the cleantech sector, actively seeking and structuring investments in companies worldwide that are producing products and services in a variety of ‘green’ areas such as energy efficiency, alternative power generation and storage, transportation and materials.
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© Chilli Publishing Ltd 2008 |
10 JUL 2008 |
