It was a tumultuous week for water.

Northbrook, Ill.-based Idex had some good news, announcing a deal to buy Nova Technologies, a Huntsville, Ala., provider of metering technology and flow monitoring services for the water and wastewater markets for $158 million.

But New Jersey's American Water Works wasn't so lucky. The rough seas of the U.S. market have caused German owner RWE to postpone the planned $1.5 billion initial public offering of its water utility and wastewater treatment unit.

RWE still plans to continue its selloff of water assets, but there's no word on when the American Water Works IPO will be back on track.

LEDs, fuel cells, and a former U.S. vice president round out the action we spotted over the past seven days.

Deals we saw this week:

• German power producer RWE put plans for an IPO of its American Water Works unit on hold. RWE cited U.S. market turmoil for the delayed offering. The Voorhees, N.J.-based water utility and wastewater treatment company wouldn't have seen any cash from the proposed $1.5 billion offering, so it planned to run a concurrent $500 million equity offering (see Cleantech.com's American Water IPO put on the backburner).
• Northbrook, Ill.-based Idex agreed to acquire Nova Technologies, a Huntsville, Ala., provider of metering technology and flow monitoring services for the water and wastewater markets. The deal is valued at $158 million in cash, and is expected to close by the end of the year. Nova Technologies has raised over $40 million in venture capital funding from Battery Ventures, Commonwealth Capital Partners and Ascent Venture Partners (see Cleantech.com's Idex buying wastewater metering co. Nova Technologies).
• Power Analog Microelectronics, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of LED display driver semiconductors and digital audio amplifiers, has raised $6 million in Series B funding. Hotung Investment Holdings and H&Q Asia Pacific co-led the round, joined by CVM Capital, VentureTech Alliance and company management.
• St. Louis, Mo.-based Akermin, which develops biocatalyst technologies for fuel cell and bio-battery applications, raised nearly $5 million in the second tranche of its Series A round. All investors, including Prolog Ventures, OnPoint Technologies, Chrysalix Energy and the St. Louis Arch Angels, were previous Series A investors in Akermin. This latest round brings total funding since inception of the company to just under $8.5 million.
• EnerCap Capital Partners, a Czech private equity firm, held a 75 million euro first close on its first fund, which will focus on renewable energy projects in Central and Southeastern Europe. Limited partners include the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development. EnerCap plans to hold a 100 million euro final close early next year.
• NanoDynamics, a Buffalo, N.Y.-based developer of solid-oxide fuel cells, water filters and other advanced materials, has withdrawn its IPO registration. No reason was given, but the company had previously postponed the offering citing current market conditions. NanoDynamics had planned to offer 6.6 million shares on the Nasdaq at between $12 and $14 per share. Jefferies & Co. was serving as lead underwriter. NanoDynamics has raised around $15.25 million in total private funding, from groups including the Convergent Private Equity Fund.
• Former U.S. vice president, Oscar winner, and Nobel prize winner Al Gore has joined Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as a partner. The hire is part of a global collaboration between Kleiner Perkins and Gore's London-based Generation Investment Management, to find, fund and accelerate green business, technology and policy solutions. Kleiner Perkins will co-locate its European operations at Generation's London offices, with Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr joining Generation's advisory board. Gore is a Generation co-founder and chairman.
• Portland, Ore.-based bioplastics company Trellis Earth is reportedly looking to raise an $18 million Series A round. Trellis, which sells corn-based plates, cutlery and bags, said it recently closed a seed round of $1 million.
• Italian renewable energy producer Fri-El Green Power set a price range of 2.30 to 3.45 euros per share for its IPO, valuing the company at between 921 million euros and 1.382 billion euros. The offering, which runs through the end of this week, comprises 133.5 million shares, 10 percent of which is reserved for retail investors in Italy and employees, with the remainder for institutional investors. Global coordinators UniCredit and Merrill Lynch have a greenshoe option for an additional 20 million shares.

Browse previous deals here.

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