Brisbane Materials Closes Round Led By Southern Cross Venture Partners

Specialty materials business Brisbane Materials has closed its AUD$5,000,000 Series A funding round. The round was led by Southern Cross Venture Partners and included New Venture Partners as co-investor.

PRESS RELEASE

Brisbane Materials, a specialty materials company, today announced
that the company has closed its AUD$5,000,000 Series A funding round.
The round was led by Southern Cross Venture Partners (SXVP) and
included New Venture Partners LLC (NVP) as co-investor.

The investment in Brisbane Materials is the first investment of the
Southern Cross Renewable Energy Fund. The Southern Cross Renewable
Energy Fund, managed by SXVP, is a $200M fund comprising a partnership
between the Australian Government’s Australian Renewable Energy
Agency, through its Renewable Energy Venture Capital Fund (REVCF)
program, and Softbank China Venture Capital (SBCVC). The REVCF was set
up specifically to assist early stage Australian companies in the
renewable energy sector.

Brisbane Materials patented materials and processes were invented and
developed by Dr. Michael Harvey and Prof. Paul Meredith at The
University of Queensland. Their breakthrough technology enables the
creation of a nano-porous silicon dioxide (SiO2) film from a liquid
precursor at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. When applied
to solar photovoltaic panels, these films form an anti-reflective
coating which provides a significant efficiency improvement, improving
the cost effectiveness of solar panels of all types.

The company was formed in March 2011 with seed funding from UniQuest,
one of Australia’s leading research commercialisation companies, and
angel investors in Silicon Valley. Additional seed funding came from a
“What’s your Big Idea Queensland” grant the company won in 2011. In
July 2012, Brisbane Materials announced that it had formed a strategic
partnership with EV Group (EVG), a leading supplier of turnkey
manufacturing systems for the solar, display, electronics, and other
markets. Under a comprehensive cooperation agreement, EVG has
optimized its large-area coating systems for the company’s unique
materials and processes, enabling the two companies to provide to
customers a turnkey solution for high-yield fabrication of
anti-reflective coatings with industry-leading performance and cost.
Brisbane Materials plans to use the Series A funding to scale up R&D
and manufacturing operations at its headquarters in Brisbane,
Queensland, while expanding sales and marketing efforts around the
world.

“SXVP is pleased to make the first investment from the new Southern
Cross Renewable Energy Fund into an exciting Brisbane QLD based
materials company, commercializing revolutionary technology developed
at the University of Queensland,” said Dr. Larry Marshall, Managing
Director. “We are proud to help launch an Australian innovation, and
to attract a domain expert US co-investor NVP. Working together, we’re
able to leverage Australian Government money with significant private
capital in order to bring this technology to the global solar market.”

“NVP is also pleased to participate in the funding of this Australian
company,” said Andrew Garman, managing partner of NVP. “We look for
great ideas all around the world, and are excited to help this company
commercialize its important new technology.”

“Brisbane Materials is excited to have attracted world class funding
partners SXVP, SBCVC and NVP, and to have the strong support of the
Australian Government,” said Dr. Gary H. Wiseman, co-founder and CEO.
“With this funding, and our partnership with EVG, we’ll be able to
bring this innovative Australian technology to a global customer base.

ABOUT BRISBANE MATERIALS
Brisbane Materials is a specialty materials company focusing on
creating innovative materials solutions for solar and other
applications. Based in Brisbane, QLD Australia and Silicon Valley,
the company has patented technology for creating high performance,
low-cost wide-area coatings of porous silica and other materials, made
at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. For solar applications,
the company’s anti-reflective coatings provide a cost-effective power
increase when applied to glass, plastic and other substrates. For
more information, see www.brismat.com.

Brisbane Materials and EVG will be jointly exhibiting at the 27th
European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU
PVSEC), 24-28 September in Frankfurt Germany. Please come visit us at
booth 3.0/B26a.

ABOUT THE SOUTHERN CROSS RENEWABLE ENERGY FUND
The Southern Cross Renewable Energy Fund is a $200 million, 13-year
co-investment arrangement by the Australian Government, Southern Cross
Venture Partners (SXVP) and Softbank China Venture Capital (SBCVC).
The Australian Government’s commitment of $100 million has been
matched equally with private sector investment from SBCVC, a leading
venture capital firm in Asia. The Fund makes selected investments in
Australian renewable energy companies, providing capital and assisting
with the management skills they need to commercialise their
technologies and succeed in domestic and overseas markets. Further
details can be found on the Southern Cross Renewable Energy Fund
section of the website.

ABOUT NEW VENTURE PARTNERS LLC
Formed in December 2001, New Venture Partners is a pioneering venture
capital investment firm focused on corporate technology spin-outs.
Unlike traditional venture capital firms, New Venture Partners bridges
the divide between technology corporations and traditional venture
capital to commercialize innovations systematically and provide
companies with an alternative path to market. Through its unique
hands-on approach, working with its established network of exclusive
partners and world-class R&D labs, New Venture Partners has developed
an impeccable track-record of successful exit valuations of
venture-backed companies. New Venture Partners now has over $650
million under management.