21st Century Regenerative Technology

1. The Daily Sprout
2. Nexterra Ignites With $3.6M for Gasification
3. 'Cleantech for Obama' Group Starts Rallying

The Daily Sprout

2008-08-29 00:30

Craig Rubens - Misc

Toyota Puts Tesla, Fisker & Volt on “Death Watch”: Bill Reinert, a Toyota technology manager and antagonist in Who Killed the Electric Car?, said that some at Toyota have started a “death watch” on the Tesla Model S, Fisker Karma and Chevy Volt. A bit morbid, but then again, so are we - Greentech Media.

$5M Green Energy Job Training Center Dedicated: The Marshall Training Center will train 2,000 utility employees a year to “meet the challenges of the 21st century, including service to a growing renewable energy market” - Press Release.

Texas Approves $2.3B Biomass Energy Deal: The Austin City Council unanimously approved a $2.3 billion contract for 20 years of power from a 100-megawatt biomass plant operated by Nacogdoches Power LLC - American Statesman.

China Suspends Coal-to-Oil Projects: China has ordered a halt to all but two of its coal-to-oil projects amid high coal prices, short supplies, water concerns and mass blackouts - Reuters.

U.S., Australia, Iceland Partner for Geothermal: The U.S., Australia and Iceland have formed the International Partnership for Geothermal Technology, designed to foster and promote enhanced geothermal systems - Green Car Congress.

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Nexterra Ignites With $3.6M for Gasification

2008-08-28 22:00

Craig Rubens - Startups

At 1,500-1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, wood chips don’t stand a chance, but under the right conditions, those chips can be efficiently turned into clean, energy-rich syngas. That’s what Vancouver, B.C.-based Nexterra Energy does with its gasification technology, for which it just raised C$3.8 million ($3.6 million) in a fourth round funding, the startup said yesterday. The round was led by return investor ARC Financial Corp., which has invested C$20 million in gasification venture to date.

Nexterra’s technology uses wood chips or other solid fuels to create relatively clean syngas, which can then be burned in a traditional gas power generation system. The feedstock is put through a tightly controlled series of steps including drying, pyrolysis, gasification and reduction, and in the end, the incombustible and dirty ash is removed and the hydrocarbon-rich syngas is piped away. The company is targeting plant-scale operations in the forest products, institutional, power generation and pulp and paper manufacturing sectors.

Gasification technology is key to the hopes of so-called “clean coal” advocates. Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants turn coal into syngas, removing some of the polluting impurities before combustion. The technology needs more commercial-scale testing to prove its economic and environmental feasibility. There are only two IGCC plants in operation in the U.S., and financiers and regulators are hesitant to green-light new coal-fired power plants.

Other startups are trying to apply gasification technology to their clean energy endeavors. Plasco Energy, a fellow Canadian cleantech company, uses "plasmagasification," where a gasified garbage stream is exposed to an electrical arc — the so-called "plasma torch." Gasification is also the key to GM-backed Coskata’s ability to turn any carbon-based feedstock into syngas, which its proprietary microbes metabolize into ethanol.

Graphics courtesy of Nexterra.

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'Cleantech for Obama' Group Starts Rallying

2008-08-28 20:30

Katie Fehrenbacher - @NYT

This week’s Democratic National Convention could go down in history as the one with the most mentions of green and clean technology. In attendance were members of the newly formed group Cleantech for Obama, which was created to help rally the cleantech community behind Barack Obama, and spearhead fundraising.

Several national co-chairs of the organization, including Sunil Paul, Jason Scott, Josh Becker, Aimee Christensen, Jeff Anderson and Andrew Beebe, helped host a reception near the convention center in Denver on Tuesday afternoon. Carol Browner, former EPA administrator and Albright Group principal, who is an Honorary Co-Chair of the Cleantech for Obama organization, was signed up as a “special guest” at the event.

But the DNC appears to be just a low-profile warm-up for Clean Tech for Obama. Next Wednesday, Sept. 3, the group plans to hold a launch event in downtown San Francisco, called the "CT4O" (Cleantech 4 Obama) Thoughtraiser, dubbed a “townhall-style dialogue.” The lineup plans to include introductory remarks from Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, and speeches from Google’s Dan Reicher; green collar job advocate Van Jones; UC Berkeley energy researcher Dan Kammen; Steve Westly, former California State Comptroller and Managing Partner of the Westly Group; and Heather Zichal, Energy and Environmental Policy Staff Adviser for the Obama Campaign.

The upcoming event, along with the rousing endorsement speech by Nth Power investor Nancy Floyd at the DNC this week, shows just how high-profile cleantech has become in political circles. With the high prices of gas and concerns over global warming hitting the news at the same time as the election cycle, politics has been swept up by a variety of energy plans from well-known politicians.

Obama’s comprehensive strategy to tackle carbon emissions is the hands-down favorite of the cleantech crowd — his campaign has grabbed donations from cleantech investors 6 to 1 over McCain. And as of yesterday he now has the added clout of his official vice president choice, Joe Biden, who has been pushing for climate change and energy legislation for decades.