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ISRAEL G-TEK LLC invested half a million dollars in IQWind
By Sami Shiro Published: 07/17/2009
Israel G-Tek LLC invests in Wind Energy
US based Private Equity firm, ISRAEL G-TEK LLC invested half a million dollars in IQWind Ltd, an early stage company with a breakthrough technology to improve wind turbine efficiency.
Sami Shiro and Uri Benhamron, principals at ISRAEL G-TEK, explain that the investment is taking an important position in a company that could reshape the wind industry. With this investment ISRAEL G-TEK further their plan to create a balanced portfolio of Greentech companies with a special focus on Israel as a breeding ground for technology, providing investors in the Americas access to these opportunities “on the other side of the ocean”.
IQWind, based in Batzra, Israel, has developed a gearbox design that allows wind turbines to increase their efficiency. The promising technology is under the watchful eye of several major industry players who have expressed their interest on IQWind’s gearbox. The wind turbine market is expecting a strong rebound after 2010 with wind plant investment expected to reach $50 billion annually by 2015* (the US market in 2008 was $11.2bn). IQWind’s product has the ability to function as a replacement part for existing turbines, as well as a main component for new turbine design. The technology is so disruptive that further applications are also being considered in other markets such as automotive and mining.
ISRAEL G-TEK and IQWind’s deal is part of a round of capital injection geared towards implementing a full scale pilot for the Israeli company. This investment follows an initial round led by Terra Venture Partners – the second largest Israeli Greentech VC fund - who initially discovered IQWind’s potential. Gideon Ziegelman, the company’s CEO, is a rising star in the Greentech universe in Israel and his team of engineers includes the brightest minds, such as Nimrod Eitan, who is one of the founders and the CTO of the company.
ISRAEL G-TEK’s, Messrs. Shiro and Benhamron expressed their satisfaction with this investment, and feel confident that the early stage of this wave called “Greentech”, together with the innovation power of Israel will bring many good deals to the table for the fund and provide very interesting returns for their investors.
Israel G-Tek LLC contact info: Sami Shiro sami@ig-tek.com, Uri Benhamron uri@ig-tek.com
* Source: Emerging Energy Research “Global Wind Turbine Markets and Strategies 2009-2020”
IQWind Ltd is an early stage company with a breakthrough technology to improve wind turbine efficiency.
