Greenvolts raises $250,000 for solar concentration

Greenvolts, a Berkeley start-up that is developing solar concentration technology, has raised $250,000 in seed capital and is now looking to raise its first round of venture capital, it told VentureWire (sub required).

Greenvolts’ apparent leak of its plans to the media is notable because it appears designed to leverage the excitement among venture capitalists right now for anything related to clean technology. Solar concentration technology is attractive, because it helps solar power producers get by with less silicon, which is in short supply. The technology thereby helps reduce costs.

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As VentureBeat reported earlier, SolFocus, another player in the concentration industry, raised $32 million, or more than double the amount it had originally planned, and at a much more favorable terms than it had expected — after venture capitalists fought over the deal. And Solaria just raised a $22 million for a concentration technology.

Greenvolts has a bare-bones Web site, and the company has been secretive so far, but it is targeting what it says is a “modest” amount of funding — somewhere less than $10 million, the CEO told VentureWire.

Its system relies on collecting more sunlight through the use of tracking systems that follow the movement of the sun and specially designed cells that catch more rays….Unlike other concentration technologies that are pursuing the consumer or commercial market, GreenVolts looks to sell its concentrators to utilities.