The Series B round brings Mission’s total to-date funding to $15.0 million. Proceeds from the financing will support the commercialization of Mission’s electric powertrain technologies and allow the company to expand its partnerships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

“We are proud to have a firm as respected as Warburg Pincus leading our Series B round,” said Mission Motors CEO, Jit Bhattacharya. “With this funding, we plan to grow our powertrain technology business by becoming a reliable production supplier to our OEM customers. The financing adds to what has already been a big year for our company. With the backing of Warburg Pincus, we will be able to build on our recent accomplishments, taking the powertrain technology that we have developed and integrating it into high-volume production vehicles.”

For Warburg Pincus, the investment in Mission Motors continues a long-tradition of the growth of innovative portfolio companies and technologies.

“Mission Motors has developed innovative and flexible electric drive system technology, which can be applied to a range of vehicle types,” said Michael Graff, a managing director at Warburg Pincus. “We believe they are well positioned to take advantage of the strong growth in this segment, and we look forward to partnering with Jit and the Mission Motors leadership team.”

Mission currently provides vehicle manufacturers with optimized electric powertrain solutions based on the company’s core technology. Examples of Mission’s latest technology at work include the integration of Mission powertrain components in high-performance hybrid race cars and the record-breaking Mission R electric superbike.

Read more: Press Release

“Our utility customers and prospects view demand-side resources as an integral component of their overall strategies,” said Tim Healy, Chairman and CEO of EnerNOC. “By joining forces with the Global Energy Partners team, EnerNOC is strengthening its ability to capitalize on this attractive market opportunity. We are eager to welcome Global Energy Partners and the utilities that it works with into the EnerNOC family, while at the same time, significantly enhancing the go-to-market reach for Global Energy Partners’ world-class solutions.”

“EnerNOC’s reputation for superior customer service, reliability, and technology applications and services is directly aligned with Global Energy Partners’ DNA,” said John Kotowski, CEO of Global Energy Partners. “Our combined experience working with hundreds of utilities throughout North America, our complementary technologies, and our shared commitment to partnership with our utility customers will empower us to deliver the industry’s most innovative and proven solutions.”

Global Energy Partners, a 55-person enterprise headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, operates across the United States. Its past and present clients include Pacific Gas & Electric , Southern California Edison,  Bonneville Power Administration, Duquesne Light Company, the Midwest ISO, Inland Power & Light, Oklahoma Gas & Electric, and Portland General Electric, among others.”

Read more: Press Release

According to the press release, “Boston-Power, Inc., the rapidly growing provider of next-generation Lithium-ion batteries, today announced $60 million in Series E funding co-led by existing investors Foundation Asset Management (FAM) and Oak Investment Partners. Current investors Venrock and Gabriel Venture Partners are also participating. Among the world’s most well-financed companies in energy storage and clean technology, Boston-Power has attracted $185 million in investment since being founded in 2005.

“Energy storage is the cornerstone of some of the most profound shifts in technology and society that we’ve seen in our lifetimes – ranging from the electrification of transportation and the reinvention of grid power to truly ubiquitous mobility,” said Boston-Power Founder and CEO Dr. Christina Lampe-Önnerud. “Boston-Power’s technology platform answers the call for new and better-performing batteries to facilitate these historic advancements. We’ve entered our next stage of growth to accommodate the demand we’re seeing across all markets and from around the world, and we’re doing so with a world-class team of employees, customers, investors and partners.”

Boston-Power will use the growth capital to scale manufacturing, sales, marketing and research and development for its next-generation Lithium-ion Battery Technology Platform currently embodied in the company’s Sonata® and Swing™ battery systems. Targeting the multi-billion dollar market for notebook computer batteries, Sonata debuted in March 2009 through a relationship with HP, the world’s number one provider of notebook PCs. Branded as HP’s Long Life Battery, Sonata-powered battery packs are compatible with a range of consumer and commercial models available globally. On June 3, 2010, ASUS announced it will soon ship a new line of business notebooks powered by Sonata as the standard battery pack.

Capitalizing on the same disruptive Lithium-ion Battery Technology Platform, Boston-Power in June 2009 announced the Swing battery, which sets new benchmarks for energy density combined with industry-leading long life, safety, reliability, environmental sustainability and price/performance. These capabilities make Swing battery systems ideal for Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) and Utility Energy Storage applications. In December 2009, Boston-Power announced that Saab’s new zero-emission, high performance electric vehicle, the ZE Saab 9-3, would be powered by a Swing battery system. The first vehicles under this test program will be available this fall, with more to follow in 2011. Boston-Power will unveil additional customers in the transportation and utility markets from around the world later this year, in accordance to those organizations’ respective announcement plans.

“Boston-Power is among the best positioned companies in energy storage based on its ability to commercialize its breakthrough battery technology and attract a growing list of top-branded customers,” said Oak Investment Partners Managing Partner Bandel Carano. “All of Boston-Power’s investors and board members are truly excited to help these world class entrepreneurs scale their patented innovations in cycle life, safety, power and energy density of Lithium-ion battery solutions into very high volume applications in portable electronics, electric vehicles and grid storage.”

On related matters, Oak Investment Partners Managing Partner Bandel Carano assumes the role of board chairman from Dr. Tony Evnin, general partner with Venrock, who remains on the board. Joining the board is Oak Investment Partners Venture Partner Allan C.Y. Kwan. With 25 years of information technology, telecommunications and general management experience, Kwan brings extensive expertise in Greater China business operations. This includes serving as vice president of Yahoo! International following its $1.7 billion U.S. investment in Alibaba.com; chairman and CEO of Asia.com; and Motorola’s lead executive for the paging products division in Greater China.

Along with Lampe-Önnerud; Axel Wallenberg, board member, Foundation Asset Management; and Richard Nilsson, senior analyst, Foundation Asset Management, completing Boston-Power’s board are directors Robert C. Purcell, Jr., a 30-year auto industry veteran responsible for the development and production of the GM EV-1, the world’s first modern electric vehicle; and Martin J. Garvin, internationally recognized supply chain and procurement executive and former senior vice president of worldwide procurement and global customer experience for Dell, Inc.

Read more: Press Release

According to the press release, “Almost two years to the day after announcing its first car partnership and its first country deployment in Israel, Better Place today announced that it has signed an agreement with an HSBC led investor consortium for new equity financing of $350 million. The deal marks one of the largest clean tech investments in history and values Better Place at $1.25 billion.

This Series B equity financing round features participation from new investors including HSBC, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and Lazard Asset Management. These investors will join existing Series A investors including Israel Corp., VantagePoint Venture Partners, Ofer Hi-Tech Holdings, Morgan Stanley Principal Investments, and Maniv Energy Capital, among others, as shareholders of Better Place. For HSBC, which led the round with an investment of $125 million, the deal represents one of the largest financial investments of its kind by HSBC.

As part of the deal, Kevin Adeson, HSBC Head of Global Capital Financing, will join the Better Place Board of Directors, and HSBC will own approximately 10% of the company’s shares.

“Today marks the end of an extensive process with the outcome being a decision by one of the world’s largest, most conservative banks, HSBC, to take the validating step of investing in a private company intent on bringing innovation to the trillion-dollar automotive and energy industries,” said Shai Agassi, Better Place Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “The strong investment commitment and global relationships that HSBC, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Lazard Asset Management bring to the table combined with the continuing confidence from our original investors enables us to scale up globally and execute against our plan.”

In welcoming Adeson to the Board, Idan Ofer, Chairman of Better Place and Israel Corp., remarked, “Kevin and the entire HSBC team will bring more than just capital to the table. We expect that HSBC will help us to scale in Europe, China and beyond, and we’re already seeing the value that they are bringing to the company and the Board.”

Stuart Gulliver, Executive Director, HSBC Holdings and Chief Executive of Global Banking and Markets, said, “We believe the switch from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles will create future growth opportunities in the auto and utility industries, and we are delighted to take the opportunity of investing in Better Place to put HSBC at the heart of these developments. Better Place is a private-sector solution to the issue of infrastructure provision for electric cars and can succeed without government subsidy and without sacrificing consumer expectations for personal mobility.”

Better Place’s new board member, Kevin Adeson of HSBC, commented: “We are confident that Better Place has the technical and commercial solutions to allow for the mass adoption of electric cars in the near term. The Better Place switchable battery solution, which addresses the range limitation of fixed battery electric cars, will offer the consumer an affordable and attractive alternative to current combustion engine and hybrid vehicles. We expect the Better Place model to be widely adopted across many countries and cities, particularly in those markets with policies strongly favoring electric vehicle adoption.”

The financing allows Better Place to expand its geographic footprint while continuing to execute against its committed R&D and deployment milestones. The company intends to expand into markets where the business model economics and investor returns are optimized, notably in Europe and Asia.

Better Place continues to meet its timetable for Israel and Denmark launch plans for the end of 2011 when the first Renault switchable battery electric cars hit the road. Better Place also will continue to execute against its strategy of early deployment projects in Australia and select North American markets a few months after the Israel and Denmark launches as planned.

Additionally, the company’s R&D team is currently testing each element of the Better Place solution in real-life scenarios around the world in a multi-phase cycle, beginning with the company’s managed EV network in Denmark, which began last December, and a Tokyo electric taxi project with battery switch station, which kicks off in April this year. These and other development milestones lead up to full-scale trials in the second half of 2010 and commercial launch in 2011.

Agassi added: “Our technology and solutions, together with our strong partnership with Renault, provide us at least a two-year time advantage over all other alternative energy vehicle approaches. Our solution is the only one that can scale to decrease countries’ oil consumption and significantly reduce emissions, while providing consumers with electric cars that are more convenient and affordable than internal combustion engine cars.”

The transaction is subject to approval by antitrust regulators and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010.”

Source: Press Release

According to the Masdar Press Release, “Masdar and Deutsche Bank today announced the launch of the DB Masdar Clean Tech Fund and its first closing, raising $265 million. This fund brings together for the first time the deep sector knowledge and scope of the Masdar Initiatives with the global asset management and research capabilities of Deutsche Bank.

Co-managed by Masdar Venture Capital and DB Climate Change Advisors (DBCCA), the DB Masdar Clean Tech Fund seeks to build a diversified venture capital and private equity portfolio that will include some of the world’s most promising and pioneering clean tech and renewable energy companies. The Fund will invest primarily in expansion and later stage companies in the clean energy (power generation, storage), environmental resources (water, waste management) and energy and material efficiency (advanced materials, building and power grid efficiency, enabling technologies) sectors.

“Completing first close on the DB Masdar Clean Tech Fund is a clear statement of intent,” said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Masdar’s CEO. “We understand both the financial and social value of companies that are tackling global environmental challenges; we are committed to supporting them by providing capital investment and management expertise.”

“We look forward to this unique fund building a portfolio containing best-in-class companies which will benefit greatly from access to both the scope of the Masdar Initiatives and the global reach of Deutsche Bank, the leading global financial institution in this space,” he added.

The Fund has attracted investment from some of world’s leading organisations concerned with climate change issues. The initial investor group is led by Siemens and includes the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Japan Oil Development Co., Ltd., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of INPEX CORPORATION, Nippon Oil Corporation, Development Bank of Japan and GE.

“In these challenging economic times, the size of this first close and quality of participants demonstrates a profound confidence in climate change investing and in the joint DBCCA and Masdar investment team,” said Kevin Parker, Global Head of Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM) and member of Deutsche Bank’s Group Executive Committee.

“Siemens is very happy to be the lead investor in the DB Masdar Clean Tech Fund,” said Joachim Kundt, CEO of Siemens in the Lower Gulf region. “Our active involvement for the second time in a fund associated with Masdar demonstrates our ongoing commitment to clean technology, and we look forward to continuing our work with the Masdar Initiative and building on our already strong relationship with Deutsche Bank.”

The joint DBCCA and Masdar investment team is based in Abu Dhabi, New York and London and combines a wide range of experience in clean tech and private equity investing within the renewable energy industry.

The Fund’s co-managers are actively identifying and evaluating potential investment opportunities globally and expect to complete a number of investments over the next year. In addition to the considerable financial resources of the Fund, portfolio companies will benefit from the added value that comes through association with the Fund’s influential sponsors, co-managers and investors.”

Source: Masdar Press Release

“We have a terrific opportunity to accelerate the development and deployment of next generation smart grid initiatives,” said Warren Jenson, Chief Financial Officer of Silver Spring Networks. “At a time when world leaders have gathered in Copenhagen, we’re honored to be partnering with some of the most progressive utilities in the world to address energy efficiency by building out the smart grid. We are pleased to have a great set of investors that share our vision.”

The investment round was led by institutional investors and included existing investors Google Ventures, Foundation Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Northgate Capital.”

Source: Press Release

With the green markets across the world hopefully nearly exploding, many investors are aiming to get their piece of the pie before it is too expensive to purchase. With general interest being incredibly high, and the large level of both governmental and individual interest in eco-friendly markets, it seems as though a clean tech boom is coming.

And soon.

With the current economic downturn, green-energy and green product producing companies are looking to hire new workers. Perhaps it is for the tax credit from the government, but even if this is the case there is a burgeoning job market being created in those fields. Not only will these jobs help the economy, but more jobs means more potential for output which leads to more production; advances and more money made.

There are many government incentives in the United States that are helping drive this calm before the storm, including $80 billion set aside from the current stimulus package for renewable energy and clean technology. Billions of dollars are also available to companies through the U.S. Department of Energy, who are hoping to bring more clean energy to national grids within the next decade.

According to the Press Release, “Vivienne Cox, the former Executive Vice-President and CEO of BP Alternative Energy, is to become the chairman of Climate Change Capital, the investment manager and advisory group, it was announced today.

Ms Cox, who became a non-executive director of Climate Change Capital in May last year, said: ”Climate Change Capital has already made a significant contribution to the global carbon, renewables and clean tech markets, and is doing what it set out to do – to finance a reduction in carbon emissions and give investors a decent return. It is a business that is in the right place at the right time and I look forward to working with the board to develop its existing capabilities and new strategies for growth.”

Climate Change Capital CEO Shaun Mays said: “We are extremely pleased that someone of Vivienne’s calibre, with her experience and knowledge of the alternative energy business, should agree to head our board. We look forward to her contributing to the next stage of the development of the business.”

Ms Cox will become chairman on December 1. She takes over from Otto van der Wyck, the founder of two of Europe’s most successful private equity firms, who is stepping down after six years. Also retiring from the board is James Rooney, the president of Kearsange Energy Development Corporation in the US. Mr Rooney will remain chairman of MJ Bradley & Associates LLC, the US strategic environmental consultancy which CCC acquired in 2008, and President of CCC’s US holding company, Climate Change Capital Inc.”

Press Release