MakeHeat

Transphorm Emerges from Stealth to Redefine Energy Efficiency. Company backed by $38 million from leading venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins, Google Ventures, Foundation Capital, and Lux Capital

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-Transphorm Inc., redefining energy efficiency with the most efficient and compact power conversion technology, emerges from stealth mode today at a private event at Google Ventures.

The company announced it completed a $20 million Series C financing led by Google Ventures, with participation from existing venture investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Foundation Capital and Lux Capital. This brings the total capital raised from all rounds to $38 million.

“We look forward to helping our partners open a new era in ultra-efficient and compact power conversion.”

Inefficient electric power conversion results in hundreds of terawatts of lost energy across the electrical grid, equivalent to 318 coal-fired power plants and costing the U.S. economy $40 billion a year. Leveraging breakthroughs in modern materials and a world-class team, Transphorm’s ultra-efficient and cost-competitive power modules eliminate up to 90 percent of all electric conversion losses. From HVACs to hybrids, from servers to solar panels, Transphorm enables significant energy savings across the grid.

“We founded Transphorm to re-imagine what enhanced efficiency in the generation and use of electrical energy can do for our economy,” said Umesh Mishra, CEO of Transphorm. “Why put up with needless energy waste in every electrical system and device, when we can quickly and cost-effectively design products that are inherently energy efficient? Transphorm’s next-generation power modules cut waste, increase efficiency, reduce system size and simplify overall product design.”

“Since we deliver a complete solution from the original materials through to the final modules, we are in a position to rapidly innovate and deliver product in quick response to demand,” said Primit Parikh, President of Transphorm. “We look forward to helping our partners open a new era in ultra-efficient and compact power conversion.”

Founded by the experienced entrepreneurial team of Umesh Mishra and Primit Parikh, Transphorm boasts world-class engineers as well as top business and manufacturing executives who will guide the commercialization of Transphorm’s technology.

“Solving the enormous problem of power waste will create immediate, long-term shared value for Transphorm’s customers and investors,” said Randy Komisar, partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. “It was imperative for our firm to get behind Transphorm because it is the first company with a viable, commercial-scale solution to energy losses associated with high-voltage power conversion.”

Transphorm delivers custom-designed power modules that are easy to embed in virtually any electrical system, from consumer electronics products, to industrial motor drives, to inverters for solar panels and electric vehicles, and sells these modules to power equipment manufacturers. The company will unveil its first product at the upcoming APEC conference, taking place in Fort Worth, Tex. from Mar. 6 -10, 2011.

“We recognize the need to innovate to uncover new opportunities for optimal energy efficiency,” said Toshihiro Sawa, Managing Director, Technology & Development Division of Yaskawa Electric Corporation. “The time is right to develop power conversion technologies that can cut power waste and reduce excess heat, and Transphorm provides a viable solution today.”

“It is imperative that power conversion efficiency be increased both to cut unnecessary losses and to save energy, but also to reduce waste heat which has negative impact on volume, weight, cost and reliability,” said Dr. Leo Casey, CTO, Satcon Corporation. “The innovations made by Transphorm offer an attractive solution to this problem.”

About Transphorm

Transphorm is redefining electric power conversion, providing cost-competitive and easy-to-embed power conversion modules that reduce costly energy loss by up to 90 percent, and simplify the design and manufacturing of motor drives, power supplies and inverters for solar panels and electric vehicles. From material technology and device fabrication to circuit design and module assembly, Transphorm designs and delivers its power conversion devices and modules to meet the needs of global customers, helping them scale quickly and save money. By creating an ecosystem of electrical systems manufacturers powered by Transphorm, the company accelerates the adoption of application-specific power modules and paves the way for the next generation of electrical systems designed for optimal efficiency. To learn more about Transphorm, please visit www.transphormusa.com.

About Foundation Capital

Founded in 1995, Foundation Capital is a venture capital firm with a single purpose: building great companies. It is this entrepreneurial spirit along with a deep technical expertise that gives the partners the understanding, perspective, and enthusiasm to help promising companies in their formative stages. Foundation Capital targets innovative opportunities in cleantech, consumer Internet and infrastructure; telecommunications and networking; and enterprise software and on-demand services. www.foundationcapital.com

About Google Ventures

Google Ventures seeks to discover and help develop great companies – we believe in the power of entrepreneurs to do amazing things. Our investments range from seed to late stage, across a broad range of industries, including consumer Internet, software, hardware, clean tech, biotechnology and health care. We embrace the challenge of helping young companies grow from the proverbial garage to global relevance. The Google Ventures team includes entrepreneurs, investors and innovators, along with some 24,000+ exceptional Googlers whose breadth of knowledge, experience and creativity constitute perhaps our most valuable resource. For more information, visit www.google.com/ventures.

About Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

Since its founding in 1972, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has backed entrepreneurs in over 500 ventures, including AOL, Amazon.com, Citrix, Compaq Computer, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Genomic Health, Google, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Netscape, Lotus, Sun Microsystems, Symantec, Verisign, and Xilinx. KPCB portfolio companies employ more than 250,000 people. More than 150 of the firm’s portfolio companies have gone public. Many other ventures have achieved success through mergers and acquisitions. www.kpcb.com

About Lux Capital

Lux Capital Management is a leading venture firm focused on founding, seed and early stage investments in emerging technologies. Lux takes an active role in helping entrepreneurs build successful businesses in Technology, Energy & Materials, and Life Sciences. The Lux investment team has founded more than 20 companies from scratch, including Caliper, Genocea, Illumina, Kala, Kurion, Lux Research, Nanosys, Neurocrine, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. For more information, visit the Lux Capital website at http://www.luxcapital.com.

Hybrid Solar Energy Plant In Florida

The newest hybrid model isn’t a car, but the world’s first hybrid solar energy plant that went on the grid last week in Martin County Florida. The Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center is Florida Power and Light’s (FPL) latest innovation to launch Florida as the clean energy state. Working in conjunction with an existing natural gas power plant, the 190,000 solar thermal mirrors track and harness the sun’s rays via hydraulic motors. That energy is then converted into electricity and offsets the use of the natural gas. The natural gas plant then becomes a stored energy plant serving as a back-up energy source.

FPL- Solar Thermal Mirrors

Sitting on 500 acres of FPL-owned land, the 75 megawatt facility will power 11,000 Florida homes and has already created over 1,000 jobs. According to FPL’s press release, the hybrid plant is expected to

reduce fossil fuel consumption by approximately 41 billion cubic feet of natural gas and more than 600,000 barrels of oil – which would prevent the release of more than 2.75 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and save FPL customers approximately $178 million in fuel costs over the facility’s estimated 30-year lifetime.

Though many solar thermal plants function as hybrids by burning oil at times of low sunlight, the Martin Energy Center is the first to combine a natural gas plant with solar thermal energy. It’s the last of 3 solar facilities built by FPL in the past 2 years, yet plans are underway to add another 500 megawatts of solar power to the state.

While the 75 megawatt system may seem small in comparison to the 3,800 megawatt gas plant, the environmental benefits are still quite significant. Florida is setting itself up to be a leader in using innovative technology and finding economic solutions in the effort to diversify energy sources and harness that abundant Florida sunshine. Oh, and in the event of one of those Florida hurricanes, the solar mirrors turn upside down for protection.

Via: Palm Beach Post

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Roth extends UK presence

An extended product portfolio, continued investment into manufacturing facilities and new recruits to the Roth UK team have strengthened the company’s position in the solar thermal and multilayer pipe markets. Supported by nine manufacturing plants in Europe, and 1,100 employees worldwide, the UK company draws on the Roth group’s technical resources to support residential, commercial and industrial applications.

Mike Darvill, former Managing Director for Hydrotec and SOPHE Industrial Chairman, has successfully championed development of Roth UK with a strong in-house technical team.

The Roth range of ready-to-install thermal solar solutions includes standard installations and solar service water heating, through to complex installations designed to support heating systems. Coordinated solar collectors, roof installation kit, solar station, storage and control units are designed to provide optimal performance and can be used in combination with Roth’s heat distribution and drinking water systems.

Multilayer pipe and solar solutions The Roth portfolio also includes interchangeable multilayer polymer pipe and aluminium/polymer pipe ranges together with unique fittings systems based on plastic or brass which meet the needs of cold/hot water supply and heating/cooling pipework applications. Underfloor heating systems featured in the range are the Duopex S5, a multi-layer co-extruded polymer construction designed for the most demanding installations and X-Pert S5 which support the low temperature market. Roth’s extensive portfolio provides customers with the industry’s most comprehensive range of pipework solutions.

Roth selected for Hamworthy commercial solar solution

On the strength of product performance and expertise in the solar market, Roth UK has been selected by Hamworthy Heating to provide solar panels as a renewables option for commercial heating and hot water systems.

Hamworthy cite dedicated technical support, established R&D facilities and a track record providing solar thermal solutions as key reasons for the partnership with Roth. The Roth Heliostar 252 collector selected by Hamworthy Heating features a polycarbonate base that is robust yet lightweight and suitable for production on Roth’s newly installed fully automated production line for flat plate collectors.

Used more for new construction, Building Integrated PhotoVolaics (BIPV) is slowly gaining ground.  Rather than poking a panel on a pole and sticking it in the dirt where there’s no shade, or racks of panels on the roof, BIPV integrates solar electric, energy efficient design and archetecture:

“…Whenever you approach an industry from a different perspective, that’s when you produce very interesting products, said JD Albert of SRS Energy.  SRS produces curved roofing tiles made of PV that are designed to fit into the mission-style architecture of the southwestern region of the U.S.  Curved red clay roof tiles there are modeled after the Mediterranean roof styles found in Spain and elsewhere. …”

BIPV Market Gaining Traction | Renewable Energy World.