Welcome to the inaugural edition of Insight, the new quarterly newsletter from Emerald Technology Ventures. Insight is distributed to our global network of investors, portfolio companies and industry colleagues to inform you of our latest news, investments and exits, and to offer unique industry insights.

It has been a busy and eventful year for the Emerald team, beginning with the formation of Emerald Technology Ventures (formerly SAM Private Equity) -- a private, independent venture-capital management company spun out of SAM Sustainable Asset Management's business. In March we announced the final closing of our latest cleantech fund with commitments of EUR 135 million (US$180 million). And we're off to a strong start, having already invested in seven new cleantech companies out of Europe and North America.

The team, meanwhile, continues to expand it's depth. We are pleased to announce Mark Hawraniak as a new financial analyst in our Montreal office. Mark brings 15 years of business experience in small, medium and large enterprises. Prior to joining Emerald, Mark worked for PriceWaterhouseCoopers in corporate advisory and restructuring. He holds a professional accounting designation as a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and is a member of both The Society of Management Accountants of Canada and the Quebec Order of CMAs.

As you'll see in the Industry News section below, the cleantech sector is maturing at a rapid pace, and if publicly traded players are any indication, the sector is outperforming most major market indices. The opportunities are immense, and Emerald is on the road to creating a global leader in this dynamic investment sector. In this edition >>

New Investments: Thin-film solar, low-cost "nano" catalysts, and micro filtration

Portfolio Update: AgION, RuggedCom and Vaperma

Industry News: Emerald a leader in cleantech investing

About Emerald: Find out more about our global commitment to cleantech

Insight is distributed to our global network of investors, portfolio companies and industry colleagues to inform you of our latest news, investments and exits, and to offer unique industry insights.