CleanBeta

Clean Energy Start-Ups Worth Watching - Battelle’s Portfolio

Battelle Ventures, a $220-million national fund affiliated with the Columbus, Ohio-based research powerhouse Battelle Memorial Institute, has a portfolio of 16 active investments commercializing technology pioneered in Battelle’s labs. The start-ups range from companies in early-stage development to others in post-revenue stages.

Aldis Corp.

Aldis has pioneered an advanced traffic-management-technology designed to improve energy efficiency. The company has a joint development agreement with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and multiple local municipalities are customers. Battelle Ventures led a $3.775-million Series A funding round, with Tennessee-based funds Meritus Ventures, L.P., and Innovation Valley Partners participating.

Ampulse Corp.

Ampulse is a “virtual” company originally spun out of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The solar photovoltaic start up company seeks to commercialize multiple flexible thin-film photovoltaic technologies developed at Battelle Memorial Institure. Ampulse, based in Knoxville, Tenn., received more than $1 million in pre-seed funding.

Planar Energy Devices (Planar)

A power-storage company developing thin-film batteries that is a spinout of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, as well as a licensee of both NREL and ORNL technology. Planar, based in Orlando, Fla., received $1.3 million in Series A financing, with another $2.7 million committed based on milestones to be achieved. Planar’s signature technology is based on a differentiated power-storage technology created at NREL, in Golden, Colorado.