Israeli crowd-sourcing investment platform OurCrowd has provided its first funding in the US, financing Oregon-based renewable energy systems developer Lucid Energy Inc. The company's did not disclose the size of the financing.
Lucid Energy has developed the LucidPipe Power System for in-conduit hydropower, and is the first cost-effective hydroelectric system to generate low-cost, renewable energy from fast-flowing water inside of large-diameter municipal, agricultural and industrial pipelines. The company will use the proceeds for a global launch of the LucidPipe. Haifa, Portland, Oregon, and San Antonio are installing the system, after its first commercial installment in Riverside, California, in January 2012.
OurCrowd founder Jonathan Medved was a keynote speaker last year at the newly formed Oregon-Israel Business Alliance, where he met Lucid Energy president and CEO Gregg Semler and learned of LucidPipe technology and Semler's desire to explore opportunities in Israel.
"In Israel, we are passionate about clean water and renewable energy technologies,” said Medved. “Water is our most critical resource, and as a result we have become a global leader in smart water by necessity. When we saw considerable interest in the LucidPipe technology from a major Israeli water agency, we realized that Lucid Energy is a game-changer for water agencies whic constitute one of the world’s largest consumers of energy."
Semler said, “The speed and efficiency of the OurCrowd platform which has brought entrepreneurial investors to us from as far away as Israel, New York, Brazil and Australia, is amazing."
"Lucid Energy has provided a unique solution to a fast growing market,” said OurCrowd General Partner Elan Zivotofsky. “Water usage worldwide is growing rapidly, and in order to meet this demand, thousands of miles of water pipelines are being built in fast-developing countries while, at the same time, many of the world’s existing pipelines are aging and in dire need of repairs."
The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that $650 billion in water infrastructure upgrades will be needed to replace aging pipelines and to satisfy new demand over the next 20 years in the US alone. The LucidPipe Power system offers a way to turn these water pipelines into low cost, renewable energy generators that provide a consistent and predictable flow of electricity."
OurCrowd is an equity Crowdfunding platform for accredited investors who wish to invest in Israeli startups.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 5, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013