-
1. Kid Kustoms Stroller Converts into a Trike for Inhabitots
-
2. Oree Lights Up With $4M For Credit-Card-Size LEDs
-
3. Daily Sprout
-
4. VeraSun Assets Generate Interest
-
5. California To Become The Electric Vehicle Capital of the US
-
6. Honda Debuts The Hydrogen-Powered FC Sport!
-
7. Spanish Solar Power Tower Almost Ready
-
8. Clear Standards Scores $4M for Emissions Management Software
Kid Kustoms Stroller Converts into a Trike for Inhabitots
Mike Chino - Inhabitots
Kids grow up quickly, which often leaves parents scurrying to find storage space for outgrown cradles, high chairs, and other children’s items. This chic convertible stroller by Kid Kustoms runs laps around your standard baby buggy by converting into a tricycle as your child grows. The result is an inspired transportation option for tots that saves space, material and money with an extended product life-cycle. It also doesn’t hurt that these slick strollers feature streamlined detailing reminiscent of classic cars.
READ MORE ON INHABITOTS >
Oree Lights Up With $4M For Credit-Card-Size LEDs
Katie Fehrenbacher - Startups
Oree’s recent funding came in the form of $4 million in venture loans from Silicon Valley Bank and Kreos Capital, and the company touted the funding as “a vote of confidence,” in the turmoil in the global financial markets. The company is 2 years old and previously raised $7 million in a Series A round of equity financing from Genesis Partners and Gimv.
Oree has substantial competition as there are a lot of startups working to bring down the costs of LED lighting, including Bridgelux, Illumitex, and Lumenz. But the LED market is also one of the few places where startups have found acquisition exits, so if Oree’s technology is disruptive enough it could get snapped up by a big player. LED manufacturer Lighting Science Group (LSG) bought the assets of LED developer Lamina Lighting in July, Cree purchased LED Lighting Fixtures earlier this year, and Philips has already bought four LED companies: Lumileds, TIR Systems, Color Kinetics and Genlyte.
Daily Sprout
Josie Garthwaite - 1
Lights Out: Shell exec Jeroen van der Veer told the Confederation of British Industry today while the financial crisis will pass, the energy crisis (remember that one?) is here to stay for 50 years or more. Without urgent action, he said, “the lights will go out.” — The Guardian
Porsche Wants a Roadster: The German automaker has joined the waiting list for Tesla Motors’ electric sports car. We’re guessing its engineers will do more than kick the tires. — Autoblog
Clean Energy on Hold: Plans to phase out polluting factories and put caps on emissions around the world face new resistance as economies (and fossil fuel prices) sink. — New York Times
Mystery Automakers: Organizers of the Progressive Auto X Prize, the race to create a 100 mpg car with $10 million on the line, have announced 20 of the 22 registrants. Might the stealth teams be Fisker or GM? — New Scientist
Blustery Day in Spain: Wind power met a record 43 percent of electricity demand (more than 10,000 megawatts) in Spain during an afternoon storm yesterday. — Yahoo! News
VeraSun Assets Generate Interest
David Ehrlich - Automotive
Corn ethanol took a big hit with the fall of South Dakota’s VeraSun Energy, which filed for bankruptcy last month. But there’s at least one company out there that sees promise in those refineries. VeraSun announced late yesterday that it received interest from an unnamed third party for substantially all of its assets. The financial terms of the offer were not disclosed.
Although consolidation can be expected in any industry in these turbulent economic times, the ethanol market is particularly ripe for such activity. With the ongoing food vs. fuel debate, and a tough market for ethanol overall, it could be a difficult time for any biofuel company going forward. One Omaha investment banker predicts that the current roster of 16 bankrupt ethanol plants will grow to as many as 40 by early next year. According to the DesMoines Register, Mark Lakers, a principal at Ag & Food Associates, sees consolidation ahead, saying that the industry is being squeezed by falling prices and volatile markets.
Poet, the No. 1 ethanol producer in the U.S., said it sees opportunity in the industry, telling the Associated Press this week that it’s in buyout talks with a number of ethanol companies. Poet, a VeraSun competitor and South Dakota neighbor, did not mention VeraSun as a possible target, but CEO Jeff Broin was quoted as saying that he’s examining “entire company opportunities.”
When we asked Poet if it was pursuing VeraSun’s assets, Nathan Schock, a spokesman for the company, told us via email, “We’re in serious discussions with a couple of ethanol producers, but due to confidentiality agreements we can’t disclose names or locations.”
While corn ethanol feels the crunch, next-generation cellulosic ethanol has been seeing some significant growth. Last week, SunEthanol pulled in a $25 million Series B round and changed its moniker to Qteros, after its Q microbe technology. VeraSun was a previous investor in SunEthanol but did not participate in this round, although it still holds a stake in the newly renamed company.
Coskata, another cellulosic ethanol startup, also made some news last week, announcing a deal to work with U.S. Sugar on building a production plant in Florida. The two companies plan to build a 100 million gallon per year facility that will convert leftover sugar cane into ethanol.
As for VeraSun’s secret admirer, VeraSun said it plans to pursue the indication of interest. But this might not be the end of the road for VeraSun — the company said the bid is subject to significant conditions, but did not detail those conditions, and it also plans to look at any other proposals that come its way. Not that VeraSun has the final say on any potential deal. It would also need to pass muster with VeraSun’s creditors, as well as the bankruptcy court judge.
California To Become The Electric Vehicle Capital of the US
Jorge Chapa - Policy
Recently the cities of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland unveiled a massive concerted effort to become the electric vehicle capitol of the United States! This groundbreaking development heralds a nine-step plan that includes everything from buying fully electric vehicles for all government transportation to expediting the approval of charging outlets throughout the bay area, including those located on the street. The creation of this essential infrastructure marks a huge step towards the acceptance of electric vehicles as a viable alternative to those that run on fossil fuel.
Honda Debuts The Hydrogen-Powered FC Sport!
Jorge Chapa - TransportationTuesday
It is not everyday that a well-known car manufacturer releases a concept vehicle that makes everyone’s head turn, but that’s exactly what Honda did last week at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The FC Sport is a hydrogen fuel cell three seater based on the same technology deployed in the FCX Clarity. Hardly your run-of-the mill hydrogen-powered vehicle, the FC Sport is a high-powered sports car designed to show that new greener technologies can compete against any fossil-fuel powered engine.
Spanish Solar Power Tower Almost Ready
Katie Fehrenbacher - Energy
Abengoa’s PS20 solar power tower plant will initially generate 20MW of electricity, and will be a significant proving ground for the solar power tower technology. What the Guardian article doesn’t mention is that while this technology is being tested in Spain, Abengoa has actually decided to only tackle the more traditional solar trough technology in the U.S. As Abengoa’s senior adviser to the U.S., Fred Morse, says, that’s because the policy framework and utility contract needs of the U.S. market require that the solar thermal technology be "proven," "bankable" and "reliable.”
So solar power tower technology is still in the early stages. But one startup in the U.S. is aiming for this market: Oakland-based Brightsource Energy is looking to build solar power tower technology in the deserts of California. The BrightSource team worked on the original solar trough technology built in the ’80s and ’90s and says that solar power tower technology offers “higher concentrations,” “higher temperatures,” and “higher efficiencies” compared to solar trough. Update: Keely Wachs, BrightSource’s Senior Director of Corporate Communications says that BrightSource’s 900 MW deal with PG&E is an indicator that the US policy framework and U.S. utilities are supporting power tower technology.
Images courtesy of Abengoa.
Clear Standards Scores $4M for Emissions Management Software
Josie Garthwaite - Startups
Clear Standards, a developer of enterprise software for tracking greenhouse-gas emissions, water and energy use, and energy efficiency, has raised $4 million in Series A funding from the venture capital firms Novak Biddle Venture Partners and Kinetic Ventures. Novak Biddle also provided seed funding for the Sterling, Va.-based company last year.
With new carbon regulations on the post-inauguration horizon, pressure for companies to get ahead on their environmental impacts has increased. That’s why public carbon markets saw their worth triple in 2006 and are forecast by the World Bank to do so again by 2015. It’s also a big part of why Clear Standards faces a highly competitive field. At stake for companies like Clear Standards, eps Corp. and Planet Metrics is the business of the world’s largest companies, many of whose investors now demand climate change risk assessments and at least 3,000 of which have signed on with the nonprofit Carbon Disclosure Project.
Like Planet Metrics, a climate-modeling software developer that secured Series A funding from Draper Fisher Jurvetson earlier this month, Clear Standards operates on a subscription model, with customers paying an annual or quarterly fee for its web-based tools and services.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment