• Quanlight, which is developing solid-state lighting solutions (specifically, yellow-amber-red LEDs), announced a $1mm Series A from Blackbird Ventures. As part of the investment, Neil Senturia of Blackbird is also coming on board as CEO.

• Israel's BioPetroClean, which is developing bioremediation systems for oil-related pollutants, announced a $3mm Series A investment by 21Ventures LLC. The company also announced the first successful installation of their system.

• Nickel-zinc battery developer PowerGenix announced a $17mm Series C led by the Angeleno Group. Return investors Advent International, Braemar Energy Ventures, Granite Ventures and Technology Partners also participated in the round. Energy storage is a technology area that has been getting a lot of attention by investors lately (here's another nifty example from Time).
  

• Cleantech investor updates: MDV has brought on Josh Green as a partner on their energy and materials team. Green will be joining Erik Straser and Marianne Wu on the team.

Other news and notes: Lux Research reports that nanotech venture capital investments should reach $650mm in 2006, but that "exits remain elusive"... (Self-promotion alert) Finally, here's a nice column on general cleantech investing trends.