Fairfield industrial conglomerate General Electric Co., NRG Energy Inc., with power plants in Connecticut, and Texas energy giant ConocoPhillips have committed $300 million to create an energy technology venture capital company, the Houston Business Journal reports.
Energy Technology Ventures will fund about 30 venture- and growth-stage companies over the next four years.
It will primarily focus on companies in the renewable power generation, smart grid, energy efficiency, oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear energy, emission controls, water and biofuels sectors, primarily in North America, Europe and Israel.
The joint venture will be staffed by a team from GE’s GE Capital unit, based in Stamford, but the management team will consist of representatives from ConocoPhillips and Princeton, N.J.-based NRG Energy, according to a ConocoPhillips spokeswoman.
The joint venture has already invested funds in Santa Clara, Calif.-based Alta Devices, Centennial, Colo.-based Ciris Energy Inc. and Camarillo, Calif.-based CoolPlanetBioFuels.
