Nine months ago, we unveiled the 2011 Global Cleantech 100 list at a Gala dinner in Washington, DC.  These 100 innovators were identified as trailblazers delivering the very best clean technology solutions, companies that, according to the collective judgment of the world’s cleantech industry insiders, were the most likely to make the most significant market impact over the next 5-10 years.

As we prepare for this year’s Global Cleantech 100 list (remember, nominations are open until June 30^th) and the corresponding Global Cleantech 100 Summit and Gala, I find myself thinking about the 2011 top 100 companies and wondering, “where are they now?”  Over the next few weeks, I’ll take a look back to see what has happened to our favorite companies, the rising stars, the international standouts and more.  Who has raised more capital?  What new partnerships were announced?  Who will we see on stage again this October?

To kick things off, let’s take a look at the group as a whole.  In the past nine months, the Global Cleantech 100 companies have collectively raised $2,346,461,951 in total capital across 56 deals.  There have been a limited number of exit opportunities – with one acquisition, two IPO filings, and one IPO.  And, Cleantech Group tracked 95 new relationships (development partners, customers, technology partners, and channel partners) with these companies.

These stats give you a little glimpse into the state of these companies and their progress over the past months.  During the 2011 Global Cleantech 100 Summit, we featured a session full of companies that were new to the Global Cleantech 100 list – whom we deemed, the “Rising Stars.”   Let’s take a deeper look into what has happened with a select group of these companies since last October .

2011’s Global Cleantech 100 Rising Stars: Where Are They Now?

RelayRides:

Relay Rides, a peer-to-peer car sharing service, has gone on to raise more capital, expand operations and gain attention in the press.  GM ventures invested $3 million in late October 2011 to close out the Series A round (source).  In addition to the investment, RelayRides announced a partnership with the OnStar division of General Motors, allowing renters to find, reserve and unlock G.M. cars with their cellphones via a factory-installed OnStar system.  Continuing on the expansion, RelayRides also announced a nationwide expansion in March 2012 to make it the only peer-to-peer car sharing program available in every U.S. neighborhood.

SCIenergy:

SCIenergy, an international energy management company dedicated to optimizing building performance through  high-tech software and high-touch services, announced new acquisitions and funding.  In March 2012, they acquired Trancend Equity, a provider of energy efficiency financing services. SCIEnergy continues to keep an eye focused on growth.  They are raising a new round of funding with DFJ leading the $4.7 million round.

Voltea:

Voltea, a developer of a scalable water desalination technology using membrane capacitive deionization, completed a €4.5m funding round. The funding came from its existing shareholders, Pentair Inc, Rabo Ventures and Unilever Ventures as well as from the management team.

In 2011, we saw a high turnover of the companies on the Global Cleantech 100 list (58 were in the 2010 list).  Will these RelayRides, SCIenergy and Voltea make the list again this year?  Remember you can influence the 2012 Global Cleantech 100 list by nominating companies.  Nominations are open until June 30^th.