Vancouver-based venture capital firm Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital is targeting Alberta’s clean technology sector with the opening of a Calgary office.
“Alberta is a leading energy centre with significant opportunities and a supportive government,” said James Chepyha, Chrysalix’s VP of Alberta investments, in a release.
“It’s a logical region for us to focus on, and includes several of our existing industrial and financial blue-chip limited partners.”
Chrysalix will be scouting for investment opportunities with the help of the Alberta Enterprise Corp., which manages a $100-million private equity “fund of funds” and is a limited partner in Chrysalix’s US$123-million CELP III fund, which was closed last May.
Chrysalix’ investment horizon has traditionally been much larger than most other venture capitalists in B.C.
The Vancouver firm has invested in companies in Europe and throughout North America and it courted a broad array of strategic and financial investors from around the world, including two major oil and gas giants from France and Kuwait, to build its CELP III fund.
The Cleantech Group named Chrysalix the world’s most active clean-tech venture capital firm in 2010.
Wal van Lierop, president and CEO of Chrysalix, told BIV in October venture capital investment in B.C. is a little thin. (See “Venture capitalists failing to embrace B.C. clean tech, climate institute report finds” – BIV Daily Edition, October 20, 2010.)