ZenithSolar Goes Live!!

In addition to my role with Goldrock Capital, since March 2007 I have been the finance & strategy advisor to an early stage solar energy company called ZenithSolar. ZenithSolar has developed a very unique concentrated photovoltaic CPV system that provides both electricity and thermal energy at a combined system efficiency about 75%. Truly groundbreaking.

On Sunday, ZenithSolar launched its first commercial pilot at kibbutz Yavne. Shimon Peres - the president of Israel - spoke and had the honor of cutting the ribbon together with the children of some of ZenithSolar's key management. There were a number of other government officials there as well - including the ambassador of Australia (since the Co-Founder and CTO of ZenithSolar is Bob Whelan, hailing from Australia). 

The pilot consists of 32 - 11 sq. meter non-parabolic dishes that are each covered with more than 1,200 small mirror facets that each focus the sun's energy at on 10 centimeter squared high efficiency gallium arsenide (GaAs) solar cell module. Due to the extreme heat caused by the high concentration of the sun's energy onto the single module, the module is cooled with a closed loop water system that heats a hot water tank- consequently creating valuable hot water for various uses - which include domestic needs, washing, industrial processes, etc. 2 dishes together sit on top of a highly accurate 2-axis tracking system. This pilot is expected to generate between $75,000 and $100,000 of energy savings (both electricity and thermal) per year. This is thanks in part to the inflated rate of 2 shekels per kWh (about $0.50) that the Israel electric company must pay for each kWh that will be fed to the electricity grid. 

This is ground breaking on many levels. 

1) No other solar PV system in the world claims efficiencies beyond about 20% (claimed and delivered by SunPower). ZenithSolar is providing 75% - due to the system harnessing and utilizing the residual heat.

2) As an application - providing cogeneration (CHP) 100% clean energy to a residential gated community is probably the first of its kind on a global scale. 

3) This is the largest grid connected solar installation in Israel. 

4) Specifically in the CPV space, CPV has only had utility scale pilots in Arizona and Spain. This is possibly the first CPV pilot deployment to a REAL customer in the world. 

5) The corporate achievements reached by ZenithSolar - with the resources and manpower that has been available to them since its founding in 2006 - is truly astounding and I congratulate Roy Segev - the CEO, and the entire team on a job well done!

The future is very bright for ZenithSolar!

The video below is the introduction speech for ZenithSolar and President Shimon Peres (in Hebrew) by Prof. Ezri Tarazi. Ezri is leading product design and strategy at ZenithSolar. He is also the head of the industrial design Masters program at the elite Betzalel Institute in Jerusalem. He has been with the company since the founding and has been integral to its success. At 1:45 in the video, you can get a good look at the solar field. It looks fantastic!

The BIG News: Oracle (not IBM) Buys Sun!

Apropos to a previous post about the potential IBM / Sun transaction, instead Oracle was able to scoop up Sun following the breakdown of talks between Sun and IBM. So why did Oracle succeed and not IBM? What are the synergies? How will this affect the start-up / VC / PE world?

Rumors were that IBM could not complete the deal, since Sun wanted a hirer price. Price per share numbers that were mentioned ranged between $9-11 per share - about 100% premium at the time of the negotiations. Not too bad! But was it really price problems?

Oracle is paying $9.50 - within that range. So price could not have been the reason for the break down with IBM. So what happened? Here is my theory:

It seems that one of the main differences between Oracle and IBM (as an acquirer of Sun) is that IBM competes quite a bit more with Sun than Oracle. Oracle primarily deals with databases and software, while Sun is largely on the hardware and server infrastructure. IBM does both. When competitors combine - there is a lot more consolidation...and therefore more divisions shut down, more firing, etc.

With the Oracle / Sun combination - this can be a major change in the market - and create a real mammoth in the IT world. Oracle is buying new markets, products, customers, etc. Some may complement, some may not. This may enable Oracle to occupy a huge part of the IT infrastructure market, which may trickle into software sales for them as well.

In addition, with Oracle's history of successful large acquisitions (PeopleSoft, Siebel, BEA, etc.) and their subsequent integration processes, and IBM's history of smaller acquisitions - perhaps Sun chose the acquirer that would create more value to Sun - rather than just a higher price.

So I believe that Sun chose Oracle over IBM, not because of price, but because of the plans of the acquirer the day after the acquisition.

Is Mr Obama cramping your style?

Two examples from this week of the brave new world we live in:
1. A friend of mine here in Israel is looking to buy a new car. He told me "the best alternatives for me are a Crysler or a GM, but I'm not willing to buy either. Who knows if there will be parts or service for them in the future?"
2. My brother is a manager at a company selling medical software in the US (www.surgimate.com). The talk in his market is dominated by one question: "what products will meet the criteria for the Obama Administration's $19 billion e-medical records initiative?" Or in other words how do you get a slice of the $19 billion pie.

The control that the US Government now exerts over the economy is palpable. Not only in the pages of the financial press, but in the everyday decisions of consumers and managers.

But here's the rub.

The reason that the United States has been the engine of growth for the world economy over the last 60 years is that they have been the most entrepeneurial, most creative and most market driven of the large world economies. But when vast parts of the world economy makes decisions based not on whether a product is good or bad, or whether there is real demand for a product or service, but based on what a bureaucrat, howefver skilled, decides, then markets are warped. The tangled net now being cast by Washington over business is about to cramp the very entrepeneurial spirit which is the only way out of this economic mess for the US and the world.