Element 8 Angels Members Continue to Fund Promising Clean Technology and Sustainability-Related Start Ups

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwired - Mar 7, 2016) -  Element 8 (http://www.element8angels.com/) announced its members invested nearly $3.3 million in 17 innovative clean technology companies in 2015, through individual investments and the Element 8 Fund. Since Element 8 was founded in 2006, members have invested nearly $23 million in 63 companies across the cleantech and sustainability industries.

"In 2015, we saw a growing number of companies from across the country turn to Element 8 members for the capital, connections and counsel needed to solve big environmental challenges and accelerate company growth," said Bill Lemon, co-chair of Element 8. "Having companies from across the nation seek out Element 8 for funding and business support, shows once again the important role our organization plays in the clean economy."

Companies receiving first-time investments during 2015 include: Apana (www.apana.com); Axiom Exergy (http://www.axiomexergy.com/); Building Energy (www.buildingenergy.com); ConnectDER (www.connectder.com); Energy Storage Systems (www.energystoragesystems.com); IntelliHot (www.intellihot.com); PotaVida (http://potavida.com); and Honeycomb (Honeycombcorp.com). Follow-on investments include: SparkFund (www.sparkfund.co); TBF Environmental Technology (www.tbfenvironmental.com); Indow (www.indowwindows.com); Empower Micro Systems (www.empowermicro.com); WISErg (www.WISErg.com); and Green Canopy Homes and associated funds (www.greencanopyhomes.com).

"In 2015 we continued to offer our members a variety of methods to invest capital in promising new companies, from traditional equity investments, to loans and debt financing, to the new Element 8 Fund," said Eric Berman, co-chair of Element 8. "The fact that we have a variety of ways to invest, a depth of expertise in the sector, a good pipeline of companies in a wide variety of cleantech sectors, and good cooperation between members, means that Element 8 is a great place for investors who are interested in making money and impact at the same time."

Element 8 is a community of close to 70 accredited angel investors from across the Pacific Northwest, themselves successful executives and entrepreneurs, who provide investment capital, connections and strategic advice empowering early-stage companies to achieve market success. Members of Element 8, whether seasoned investors or new angels with a desire to learn, gain access to quality deal flow and tools for making successful investment decisions. Element 8's cooperative due diligence process, powerful business network, and impactful education opportunities provide members the opportunity and knowledge for creating a diverse portfolio to meet their unique investment goals.

About Element 8
Element 8 is the first angel investment group in North America to focus exclusively on cleantech, and continues to be a leading funder of early stage companies across the continent. Element 8 pairs its members' collective expertise with outstanding entrepreneurs to help build successful companies that accelerate the transition to a cleaner future and better world. To date, members have invested more than $23 million in more than 60 companies in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Montana, New York, Oregon, Virginia, Washington (state), Washington, D.C. and British Columbia, Canada. More information is available at: www.element8angels.com.