Israel's Oree raises cash for flexible LEDs

Israel's Oree announced it received a $4 million venture loan from Silicon Valley Bank and Kreos Capital, money the startup plans to use for manufacturing and for striking agreements with manufacturers to incorporate the technology into commercial products.

Oree developed a flexible, flat optical fiber to replace backlights in electrical devices that can make light-emitting diodes more efficient. The main use for the ultra-thin technology is expected to be LCD screens and professional lighting, but other applications include televisions, computers, mobile phones, appliances and automobiles.

Previously, Oree raised $7 million in equity in a Series A round in May 2007 from Genesis Partners and Belgium's GIMV. The company also raised $800,000 in seed funding from Genesis Partners and some private investors.

LED companies are rather atypical in Israel, where the cleantech sector focuses more on energy generation projects or water purification and desalination, said Ran Arad, general manager of Silicon Valley Bank Israel Advisors (see Israeli water purification gets boost). Transportation is also a hot cleantech sector there (see Cleantech cash piles up in Israel).

"Israel has always been poor in energy because we don't have fossil fuel resources," Arad told the Cleantech Group. Technologies such as Oree's can help the country use its energy more efficiently, he said.

Oree says its credit-card-thin LED technology significantly improves light quality. The technology can also be molded into shapes, which reduces the production cost of electronic devices using the lighting, Oree says. It also has the usual perks of LED lighting: longer lifespan, lower energy consumption and lower heat generation as compared to standard lighting.

Oree's proprietary lighting uses elastic polymers covered by clad layers, which use micron-sized ganular materials to uniformly disperse light through the layers.

Arad said one of the strengths of Israeli cleantech companies is the strong R&D. He expects the new capital to last Oree through 2009, by which time the company should have signed memorandums of understanding with top-tier manufacturers in Asia.

"They're still in an early stage with this product," he said. "They have a prototype and are talking to manufacturers in Asia about imbedding this invention in screens."

Israeli companies have drawn about $400 million in cleantech investments in the last couple years, making it a robust but nascent cleantech market, according to Nicholas Parker, executive chairman of the Cleantech Group.

"Israel is playing a leading role in the water/agriculture end of cleantech spectrum," he said. "They also have a major push into emerging market economies, particularly Africa … giving a compelling reason to believe Israel will be one of the leading jurisdictions for cleantech in the coming years."