Intel actively looking at more cleantech deals

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp's global investment arm Intel Capital is actively looking at additional investments in cleantech companies and could announce more deals this year, a senior executive said on Wednesday.

"We are actively looking at companies," said Steve Eichenlaub, head of Intel Capital's cleantech investments.

"In this environment where a lot of venture capitalists had to pull back, for whatever reason, ... we are seeing more companies come our way as our doors are open," he added.

Intel Capital said earlier on Wednesday that it has invested about $10 million in five cleantech companies, including energy efficiency company CPower and Grid Net, which builds software for smart meters.

Intel's investment comes at a time when companies in the cleantech sector are finding it difficult to raise funds due to the broad U.S. economic slowdown.

Eichenlaub said Intel Capital was looking at funding companies mainly in the area of energy storage, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and smart grid technology, which measures and modifies power usage in homes and businesses, improving grid reliability.

"The smart grid space is a very active space for us and we will stay active for the foreseeable future," he said. "Another area is the electric vehicle domain.

"We are open across the entire value chain, everywhere from lithium ion batteries, all the way through to the charging infrastructure to ultimately even maybe a vehicle company," Eichenlaub added.

Cleantech, a relatively new term used to describe environment-friendly companies or services, includes everything from renewable energy, electric vehicles and energy storage to effective transmission of power.

The global investment arm of the Santa Clara-based technology giant has invested over $100 million in the cleantech sector in the last couple of years. Overall, it has funded more than $9 billion in more than 1,000 companies in 46 countries.

Cleantech ventures account for about 10 percent of investment Intel capital's annual investment, Eichenlaub said. The economic downturn is not changing its approach.

"We are definitely investing with the same metrics as ever," Eichenlaub said. "I have 25 people around the world looking at investment opportunities."

The downturn is helping Intel Capital's portfolio.

"CPower is a great example of a company that a year ago would have been harder for us to get a chance to look at," Eichenlaub said.

Intel Capital's previous high-profile cleantech investments include nearly $38 million in German solar company Sulfurcell and $50 million in a new solar cell start-up, SpectraWatt.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta)