George S. May Business Blog

Serious Materials grabs another $60 million for Green Building Materials

The green-building materials company, Serious Materials, announced today that it raised $60 million in its third round of funding, representing one of the largest US venture capital deals as well as the largest energy-efficiency deal in 2009.

The list of investors is quite long, but include Mesirow Financial, which led the round, Enertech Capital, Cheyenne, Saints Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Foundation Capital, Rustic Canyon Partners, Navitas Capital and Staenberg.

This third round of fundraising brings Serious Materials’ total capital to over $120 million. The company said it plans to use the cash to accelerate its growth and complete the development of new products.

So what exactly are these “new products”? Windows…it seems. “Windows offer the largest opportunity for improvement – fastest payback and highest energy savings,” CEO Kevin Surface said in a press release, adding that switching every building in the United States to super-insulated and highly efficient windows would cut carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 200 million metric tons annually.

Government policies, notably stimulus dollars, have given the green building industry a boost, with McGraw-Hill Construction projecting that green buildings will represent 20-25 percent of annual new commercial and institutional construction by 2013, from about 10-12 percent today.

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