Amir Ben-Artzi
EE Times Europe
02/18/2008 1:50 PM

NETANYA, Israel — Pythagoras Solar Inc., a solar energy startup developing photovoltaic technology, has completed a $10 million series A financing round, led by Israel Cleantech Ventures and joined by Pitango Venture Capital and Evergreen Venture Partners.

Pythagoras Solar, the first company that was conceived and incubated within Precede Technologies, will use the funds for Israel-based R&D and global commercialization of its technology and products that are claimed to be able to change the economics of solar power.

The company is working to combine software models, optic design, semiconductor processes, materials science, and mass manufacturing techniques to build highly durable, cost effective solar energy products.

It was founded in 2006 by Gonen Fink, previously at Check Point Software, Dr Itay Baruchi, a winner of the Scientific American magazine's "50 most significant scientific breakthroughs" award, and Precede Technologies. Pythagoras , which expects to disclose more details about its technologies and products by early 2009, has an R&D center in Hakfar Hayarok, Israel and a U.S. office in San Mateo, California.

CEO Fink commented: "We look forward to building a world-class team of scientists and engineers who are prepared to tackle the multidisciplinary challenges that the photovoltaic industry is facing as it grows into a substantial factor in the world energy market."

Israel has been stepping up its investments in solar energy, and groups are planning the first solar power generating station, which is due to be built in the southern part of the country.

The facility will use technologies developed in cooperation with the Ben-Gurion University's National Solar Energy Center, part of the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research in Sde Boker.

The project has been preliminarily approved by the Israeli government, and a 1,000 acre site has been selected, but has not yet been budgeted. The plant is planned to initially supply 100 megawatts of power and grow to 500 megawatts, about 5 percent of the country's current generating capacity.

When construction is finished in 2012, it should employ some 100 people.

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