ETV Motors, a year-old Israeli startup developing powertrains for electric vehicles, has raised $12 million in a first round of venture financing led by The Quercus Trust.

The funding will help the company with the research and development of what it calls a high-efficiency, dual-power micro-turbine that could be used to power electric vehicles. According to ETV’s Web site, turbines offer a high-powered engine in a small and light package. The company has a prototype and expects at least one model of its turbines to be “fully functional” in 2010. The startup is also working on a lithium-ion battery.

ETV said its technology is for hybrid range-extended vehicles, which typically can be plugged in for recharging and have an onboard combustion engine to kick in once the battery has expended its juice. Major automakers such as General Motors and Toyota have announced plans to bring these types of cars to market in the next couple years.

“Our micro-turbine on-board charger and 4.7V lithium-ion cathode chemistry will facilitate the coming generations of environmentally-friendly, cost-effective, light weight and safe electric vehicles,” ETV Chief Executive Dror Ben David said in a statement.

Newport Beach, California-based The Quercus Trust sees an opportunity in marketing to the plug-in hybrid industry. The leading clean-tech investment firm also has backed Hauppauge, New York-based Odyne, which develops and manufactures propulsion systems for plug-in hybrid trucks and buses.