GMZ Energy, a company specializing in nanotechnology-based thermoelectric materials, has declared that it has received $14 million through the Series C funding headed by Mitsui Ventures. BP Alternative Energy, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Energy Technology Ventures and I2BF Global Ventures were the other investors.
Since GMZ Energy sets out to produce a new category of renewable technologies, it will use this investment to augment its engineering and commercialization capabilities. The company produces superior-performance, affordable thermoelectric materials using its proprietary nanotechnology process. These materials convert primary heat sources like the sun and waste heat sources like car exhaust into useful energy and improve the utility and energy efficiency of the current and new products.
GMZ Energy, a specialist in direct heat-to-electricity conversion, is designing its maiden product for the industrial, commercial and residential solar thermal water market valued at $8 billion. The product, scheduled for launch in 2012, will couple directly its thermoelectric material with traditional solar hot water collectors, allowing electricity generation along with hot water and heat. This improves the value of each solar water system by lowering its cost, while ramping up the payback to customers. The company is also working on waste heat recovery applications for the industrial process and automotive industries.
Mitsui Ventures’ Principal, Takahide Koda stated that the company’s investment in GMZ Energy is in line with its investment strategy of promoting developers of innovative technologies with a strong market potential. The company’s investment has turned out to be a smart deal thanks to the breakthrough nanotechnology process of GMZ Energy, he added.