The future is still sunny for solar, with three solar related deals coming across the transom this week.

Montreal, Quebec's SiXtron, a manufacturer of thin film coatings for solar cells, and Pittsburgh, Penn.-based Plextronics, a developer of printed electronics technology, including plastic solar cells, both raised some financing, with Day4 Energy, a Burnaby, British Columbia, developer of photovoltaic solar panels, filing for an initial public offering in Canada.

Biofuels also made a showing, with the Hague's Royal Dutch Shell taking a stake in Redwood City, Calif.'s Codexis, and Cambridge, Mass.-based cellulosic ethanol developer Mascoma acquiring Celsys BioFuels.

Deals we saw this week:

• Royal Dutch Shell, based in the Hague, the Netherlands, is investing in biofuels with plans to take a stake in Redwood City, Calif., biotechnology company Codexis. Shell said it would work with Codexis to develop enzymes that can be used to manufacture biofuels. Terms of the investment were not disclosed (see Cleantech.com's Shell, Codexis in biofuels agreement).
• Mascoma, a Cambridge, Mass.-based provider of cellulosic biomass to ethanol development and production, acquired Indianapolis, Ind.-based Celsys BioFuels, a commercializer of pretreatment processes for multiple biomass feedstocks. Financial terms were not disclosed. Mascoma has raised nearly $40 million in venture capital funding from Khosla Ventures, Atlas Venture, Flagship Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Pinnacle Ventures and VantagePoint Venture Partners.
• Vaperma, a Quebec City, Quebec, provider of advanced gas separation solutions, received CDN$21.5 million in a second financing round. The funding was led by Low Carbon Accelerator, with participation by Volvo Technology Transfer, and institutional investors Emerald Technology Ventures, BDC Capital and Fonds d'investissement en developpement durable. Vaperma plans to use the financing to commercialize its Siftek membrane-based ethanol/alcohol dewatering system, to expand all corporate operations and to accelerate the growth of its membrane business.
• Ithaca, N.Y.-based Novomer raised $6.6 million in Series A funding. Physic Ventures and Flagship Ventures co-led the round of financing for the developer of biodegradable plastics, polymers and other chemicals from renewable substances like carbon dioxide. Novomer said it would use the new funds to expand production capacity and step up business development efforts.
• SiXtron, a Montreal, Quebec, manufacturer of thin film coatings for solar cells, raised CDN$10 million in Series A financing, led by Ventures West. Also participating in the deal were existing investors iNovia Capital, Innovatech sud du Québec, and Fonds d’investissement en développement durable. SiXtron said the funding would be used to finalize agreements with key customers, and to start shipping its products in volume over the next 9 to 12 months.
• Pittsburgh, Penn.-based Plextronics, a developer of printed electronics technology, including plastic solar cells, raised an additional $4 million in financing. The investment, led by Applied Ventures, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, comes just over two months after Plextronics closed $20.6 million in Series B financing. The Series B round was led by Solvay. Plextronics said the new funds would be used to expand product development and manufacturing capabilities, and increase investment in sales and marketing activities.
• Day4 Energy, a Burnaby, British Columbia, developer of photovoltaic solar panels, filed for an initial public offering in Canada. The company did not disclose the details of the offering. CIBC World Markets and GMP Securities will serve as co-lead underwriters. The company has raised venture capital funding from firms including Goodwood Capital Fund, Discovery Capital and Chrysalix Energy.
• Morrisville, N.C.-based LED Lighting Fixtures raised $16.5 million in financing. The round was led by Digital Power Capital, a fund managed by Wexford Capital. LED Lighting said it would use the cash to significantly expand its product line and accelerate research and development efforts.
• Montchanin, Del.'s Acorn Factor acquired SCR-Tech from Renegy Holdings for $9.6 million in cash. SCR-Tech provides catalyst regeneration technologies and management services for selective catalytic reduction systems used by coal-fired power plants to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. SCR-Tech also provides consulting services including computer simulation, inspection, testing and analysis.
• Vancouver, British Columbia-based Nevada Geothermal Power closed $20 million in bridge financing with Glitnir Bank. Nevada Geothermal said it would use the loan facility for the ongoing development of its 35 megawatt Blue Mountain, Faulkner I project in Nevada. The company expects Phase I at Blue Mountain to start power generation in late 2009.

Browse previous deals here.

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