CMEA Capital said at last week’s Clinton Global Initiative that it would invest an additional $100 million in alternative energy companies over the next three years.
The commitment, praised by former President Bill Clinton, brings to 50 percent the share of the venture firm’s $400 million seventh fund earmarked for alternative energy and materials investing.
Batteries can transform other industries, such as wind and solar, says Michael Melnick
“For the first time in history, environmentally-friendly methods for producing energy, like solar and wind power, are becoming inexpensive enough to make mainstream adoption a reality instead of just a pipe dream,” Managing Director Thomas Baruch said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
The San Francisco firm is no stranger to green technology. It invested in 14 alternative energy companies over the past seven years, including battery maker A123 Systems, which launched a successful IPO this month.
Principal Michael Melnick says he and his partners continue to find much to like about investing in new energy technologies. Along with seed-stage startups, CMEA plans to put its money to work in both mid- and late-stage ventures.
At the top of the list are new battery architectures and materials, companies building solar cells and startups developing new materials to make components for wind energy tower. Melnick also says he has an eye open for startups using bio-materials or algae to make high-value chemicals, not simply biofuels.
CMEA doesn’t seem interested in following the herd with its battery strategy. The strategy is not centered on advanced batteries for electric cars, but energy storage devices for solar and wind plants, where energy generation falls off after dark and when the wind doesn’t blow.
The firm announced a new $100 million commitment at the Clinton Global Initiiative
“We love things like batteries,” he says. “They can transform other industries, for example, wind and solar.” That includes lithium-ion batteries that improve upon those used today. But perhaps more importantly it seeks companies working with electrolytes to replace lithium and other new battery materials.
Melnick says there continues to be huge potential in solar, as well as wind, where new materials are being developed to enhance components in wind towers
In the bio-materials space, Melnick reasons that the first wave of profitable products may be higher priced chemicals and not lower priced fuels. He says he is wary about startups making biofuels, but excited about renewable chemicals.
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