SolarEdge raises $23 Million in second round funding

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Bangalore: Israeli cleantech company SolarEdge has raised $23 million in a second round of funding to continue developing technology that could significantly increase the output of solar energy installations. The round, which saw participation from Vertex Venture Capital, Walden International, Opus Capital and Genesis Partners, remains open, but no target has been disclosed. SolarEdge itself is still in stealth mode. According to the available information, the company is working to combine hardware and software to maximize energy converters. There are several companies competing to make solar systems more efficient. 1366 Technologies and Enphase Energy are examples. The company had previously raised $11.8 million in its first round of investment. SolarEdge says its technology can boost solar panel efficiency by 15-20 percent using semiconductors and software. The company�s approach, similar to that of National Semiconductor and Tigo Energy, involves monitoring individual solar panels with embedded integrated circuits. The idea is to sidestep the problem of partial shading, which can keep typical inverters from harvesting enough voltage to feed usable electricity (alternating current) into a connected power grid.