There are real stirrings of hope in the economics of Greentech.  We covered the big month in VC here.  We looked at A123's potential home-run IPO here.  Factor in stimulus funding and loan guarantees and there's cause for hope.  We could use some good signs in project finance and new construction – but that's coming.

And here's one more reason to be cheerful:

July Greentech M&A

The last few months of M&A in Greentech have been limited to "undisclosed" deals.  Undisclosed is usually a code word for sad fire-sale acquisitions with very few winners.  But July's M&A list actually includes some disclosed big ticket acquisitons. 

• Germany1, a SPAC, bought AEG's inverter business for $752 million
• SAIC, the US spook house, bought R.W. Beck, an energy consultancy for $155 million

With A123 and some other Greentech IPOs looming (Tesla? Bloom? Solyndra? Serious Materials?) it's not out of the question for Greentech's denizens to be optimisitic.  The next few quarters could just be the start of the greentech boom.

Maybe it’s just VCs getting deals done before they leave for vacation but after a stronger than expected second quarter – July VC investment activity is pretty much off the charts in both number of deals and total invested.  With 49 July VC investments in greentech totaling well above $525 million – we are at a run rate that rivals or exceeds the record pace of 2008.

That $525 million doesn’t even include the many “undisclosed” deals or Exxon’s $300 million multi-year investment in algae biofuel alchemist Synthetic Genomics.

Every greentech sector was well-represented in July – with investment in smart grid, storage, green buildings, green IT, and of course, solar.  Notable investments in July were the $75 million investment in Suniva’s high efficiency solar and the $32 million investment in smart grid software maker eMeter by Sequoia Capital and Foundation Capital.

Braemar Energy and Intel Capital were particularly active in closing deals in July.

There was even a sign of life in greentech M&A with Germany1’s $752 million acquisition of inverter maker AEG and SAIC’s $155 million purchase of R.W. Beck, an energy consultancy.

Add in the looming A123 IPO and things are just starting to get interesting in greentech finance.

A123 Systems, the developer and manufacturer of advanced, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, amended the SEC registration statement for its' long-threatened IPO in late June. The document shows a modest gross profit in the first quarter of 2009 on $23 million in revenue and a net loss of about $18 million for the quarter. The document also shows that it has more than 1,800 employees (!) and over 450,000 square feet of manufacturing facilities worldwide.

A123’s product line ranges from 3.6Wh batteries for portable power applications to larger 65Wh batteries for electric vehicles. The company is also developing multi-megawatt battery systems for utilities that can provide electric grid services including standby reserve capacity and frequency regulation.

Despite the losses, it is reasonable to expect the IPO to come to market in the third quarter or four quarter of this year. It is reasonable given A123’s revenue, the government and industry focus on smart grid, and the pent up demand for a greentech IPO. Though it would be nice if it could show a clear route to profitability.

The SEC document is worth reading for a glimpse into the steep manufacturing costs of lithium-ion batteries and the long list of risk factors including the impact of gas prices as well as their concentration of revenue from a limited number of customers. It also includes a peek at how execs at leading startups are compensated. (In a word, well.)

According to the filing, North Bridge Venture Partners owns 12.5 percent of the firm and GE owns 11.7 percent of A123. CEO David Vieau owns 2.2 percent.

A123's long-threatened IPO has the potential to draw the market’s attention to the energy storage sector.  The IPO will also give us a glimpse on how investment banks and institutional investors like underwriters Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Lazard Capital Markets will value energy storage firms.

A successful public offering could open the floodgates to more greentech IPOs and usher in the dawn of a finance-rich greentech era. Fasten your seat belts.