SAN FRANCISCO and OSSINING, N.Y. — Providing both capital and collaboration, GE led a $22 million investment in San Francisco-based Project Frog and began construction of one of its prefabricated sustainable buildings at GE’s Learning Center in Ossining, N.Y.

Led by GE Energy Financial Services and joined by other investors including Claremont Creek Ventures, Greener Capital Partners, and RockPort Capital Partners, the $22 million investment will help Project Frog expand its sales pipeline and execute on orders. The investment amount for each firm participating was not disclosed.

“Project Frog fills a market need for high-quality, energy-efficient buildings at a lower cost and less time to completion, which our investment and collaboration will help demonstrate,” said Ricardo Angel, senior vice president of venture capital at GE Energy Financial Services.

Project Frog’s technology combines semi-custom designs with a pre-engineered kit of energy-efficient building components. According to the company, this enables higher quality, more environmentally sustainable, faster and cheaper construction. Through advanced performance modeling, Project Frog analyzes how its buildings will perform in each location, allowing owners to optimize a building kit to match their desired performance. The kits are delivered to project sites ready for assembly, and typically take one to six months to construct — less than half the time required for traditional construction, says the company.

Project Frog’s buildings are said to use at least 25 percent less energy than the strictest building codes in the United States, and as much as 80 percent less energy in certain parts of the country. Project Frog manufactures its commercial building systems for educational and government organizations, health care offices, and retail spaces.

“We make the complicated and lengthy process of new construction faster and easier for our customers by providing a kit of high precision, sustainable parts that are optimized based on the structure’s size, use, and location,” said Ann Hand, CEO of Project Frog.

Construction of the Project Frog building at GE’s John F. Welch Leadership Development Center is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

“At GE, we believe that businesses will drive the global energy transformation,” said Mark Vachon, vice president, ecomagination. “Through our investment in Project Frog’s low-energy prefab buildings, we’re not just revolutionizing the commercial building market, we’re helping to accelerate the clean energy economy — today.”

For more information about Project Frog, visit www.projectfrog.com. For more information about GE, visit www.ge.com.

Publication date: 09/26/2011