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1. Redpoint Ventures Gets an Energy CTO, Readies for Cleantech Geekout
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2. Green Garden Planning: Recycled Garden Stones
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3. Coulomb Sets Up Shop in Europe
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4. Daily Sprout
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5. Obama Reiterates Need for Cleantech Entrepreneurs in Rebuilding Economy
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6. Send This to Your Favorite College Students Only: Win a Free Toyota Prius
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7. Good Energies on the Hunt for Solar Investments
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8. New Batteries Charge EVs in Minutes, not Hours
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9. Easy ways to use solar energy at home
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10. Are Soy Candles Greener and Healthier
Redpoint Ventures Gets an Energy CTO, Readies for Cleantech Geekout
Josie Garthwaite
President Barack Obama isn’t the only one who thinks cleantech entrepreneurs have a big role to play in rebuilding the U.S. economy. Redpoint Ventures seems to agree — and it’s betting that a deeper understanding of technologies for clean energy generation, storage and efficiency will help it capitalize on the opportunity. The venture capital firm has just brought Nety Krishna, former CTO of semiconductor giant Applied Materials, on board to serve as CTO of its energy and materials practice.
Redpoint tells us Krishna, a physicist, will be working with entrepreneurs to develop and scale innovations that “have the potential to significantly impact the economics of energy industries over the long term,” seeking out a range of energy investments and getting chummy with top scientists.
It’s a new position at Redpoint and a sign of the firm’s plan to dig deep into energy technologies for large-scale applications and lower costs. Krishna said in a release from the company, "Energy and environment issues are becoming mission-critical for a variety of industrial sectors. As a result, there are tremendous opportunities for creative solutions and innovative business models to address these global growth and climate challenges."
While its better known for investing in web companies like Ask.com and MySpace, Redpoint also moved early on to back solar panel maker Solyndra, which impressed the Department of Energy enough to win it the first loan guarantee offer under a much-delayed program last week. Redpoint’s effort to develop more expertise in ramping up manufacturing and driving down production costs for clean energy could be a boon to Solyndra, which has pledged to do just that with its $535 million loan guarantee.
Green Garden Planning: Recycled Garden Stones
jchait - Home & Garden
Now that you’re getting started with spring gardening prep, you should consider working recycled stone into your landscaping scheme.
Landscaping design by Zorock
Benefits of using recycled stones in your landscaping…
- You can add some color to your landscape with fewer water guzzling plants.
- Some companies, like Zorock use only natural coloring techniques for their stones, which means that their stones are non-toxic and safe for your family and pets to be around.
- May detract pests like termites and other buggies.
- Stones help keep your ground cooler and retains moisture.
Landscaping design above by Zorock
You can place stones around specific areas to block off garden plots - say herbs vs. flowers, use them to set off your pool, and used in place of mulch. Of course you can also use larger stones in your yard for stepping stones, as plant markers, and more.
You can see more stone-in-the-garden design ideas at Zorock or check out another cool recycled stone dealer, Recycled Rocks!.
If you’re interested in using rocks inside your home for decor purposes read: Green Candle Arrangements.
Coulomb Sets Up Shop in Europe
David Ehrlich - Automotive
Coulomb Technologies, a car-charging startup based in Campbell, Calif., took its first step into a wider electric car market today with its establishment of a Berlin office aimed at serving the European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) markets. The European operation, called 365 Energy Group, is a newly formed venture of Estag Capital — the same Estag Capital that led Coulomb’s first round of venture capital funding just two months ago in January. Estag set up the venture to sell Coulomb’s charging stations overseas, although 365 Energy could eventually end up selling systems from other companies as well.
Calling from the road in his plug-in Prius, Richard Lowenthal, founder and CEO of Coulomb, told us that he’s already shipped prototype charging stations to 365 Energy. “We have a number of projects that we’re working on,” he said. “The primary one, though, is establishing distributors throughout the EMEA region.” Lowenthal, who told us last December that Coulomb had set its sights on Europe, expects overseas charging stations to be up and running this year — he said 365 Energy is engaged in “several” sales opportunities.
While a move overseas opens up more opportunities for Coulomb, it also means going up against the much-better funded Better Place at home and abroad. But Lowenthal said, “Their primary model is: own the batteries and to lease them to drivers — and we have no interest in that business at all.” He said Coulomb is focused on making the charging stations and the network to run them.
Coulomb inaugurated its first pilot project in San Jose in January, and a second project in San Francisco in February. And there could be a lot more on the way in the U.S. “What we expect is to sell a thousand stations this year,” said Lowenthal. “We have distribution now in 46 of the United States, and we’re doing direct-sale in the remaining four.”
But what about all of that tempting stimulus cash and government loans that are on the table in the U.S.? Lowenthal said Coulomb isn’t asking for any funds directly, but that cities are getting funding to buy just the sort of equipment that his company is selling. Also, there’s a 50-percent tax credit available for all of Coulomb’s equipment and installations in the States. “It basically means our stuff is half-off for the next two years,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Coulomb.
Daily Sprout
Josie Garthwaite - Misc
Toshiba Delays Fuel Cell Launch: Toshiba said today it will not begin selling its first fuel cell product — a battery charger that produces electricity from a reaction between methanol, water and air — before the end of this month, as planned. The launch is now slated for sometime in 2009. — PC World
Vying for Stimulus Dollars: Foreign-based firms and nations are stepping up their lobbying efforts in Washington and U.S. state capitals to drum up business from the economic stimulus package. — Washington Post
Nano’s Cheap, But Could Be Environmentally Costly: Environmentalists have decried the itty bitty $2,000 Tata Nano as an impending disaster, saying it will allow huge numbers of people to trade in lower-emission scooters for more fuel-thirsty cars. — NYT’s Green Inc.
British Airways Suspends Biofuels Program: Rolls Royce and British Airways have suspended an alternative-fuels testing program, saying they cannot find 15,000 gallons of biofuels that meet sustainability and performance criteria. — Gas 2.0
Nissan Plans 2010 Hybrid: Nissan plans to launch a hybrid version of its Infinity M in the U.S. in 2010 using a system developed completely in-house, rather than borrowed from Toyota as in Nissan’s current hybrid Altima sedan. — Left Lane News
Obama Reiterates Need for Cleantech Entrepreneurs in Rebuilding...
Josie Garthwaite - Policy
President Obama last week visited an electric vehicle R&D lab in California where he called on battery developers to step up and innovate. Today, back at the White House, the President once again reached out to cleantech entrepreneurs, this time at an event dubbed “Investing In Our Clean Energy Future.”
Obama met with entrepreneurs and researchers to talk about building an economy that runs on renewable energy and creating green jobs — and to continue promoting his 10-year budget plan, which includes $75 billion to make the Research and Experimentation Tax Credit permanent.
Paul Holland, who focuses on early-stage cleantech investments as a general partner at Foundation Capital and sits on the board of green building materials maker Serious Materials (and will speak at our Green:Net conference tomorrow), kicked off today’s session by telling event attendees about Serious Materials’ plans to reopen shuttered plants and rehire laid-off workers.
As we noted last week, Serious Materials has directly attributed its job openings to the economic stimulus package — so it’s no wonder the administration wants the company’s story told. Obama described the windows plant Serious Materials plans to reopen in Pennsylvania as “whirring back to life,” giving workers “a new mission producing some of the most energy-efficient windows in the world.”
Other companies basking in the presidential treatment today (their technologies were on display at the event) include Solyndra, the solar company that snagged the first DOE loan guarantee in a long-delayed program last week, and Orion Energy Systems, maker of low-tech but energy-efficient lighting for the commercial and industrial markets, including fluorescent light bulbs as well as pipes that let sunlight indoors and can replace electric lights for much of the day.
“Your country needs you to create new jobs and lead new industries,” President Obama told the entrepreneurs. “Your country needs you to mount a historic effort to end once and for all our dependence on foreign oil,” he said (you can read the full transcript here).
At this point, “We’re hiring!” announcements like the one from Serious Materials are not nearly as common as those unveiling staff reductions. Last week, for example, Acciona Windpower said it planned to lay off a third of its workforce at an Iowa wind turbine plant. So entrepreneurs need more than a pep talk before they’ll start hiring again. Acciona, for example, said it plans to staff up once stimulus funds start moving.
Obama seems to have gotten the memo: He ended his talk today by saying, “Often it takes not just the commitment of an innovator, but the commitment of a country to innovation,” and committed the U.S. to doing just that. How? By digging deep into government coffers.
Send This to Your Favorite College Students Only: Win a Free Toyota...
susan - Sustainable Ideas
Every prize you can win in this "Live Green/Get Green" contest – except the big Grand Prize — was created with materials that would have gone to waste – but now can find a home with your favorite college student. If you're over 18 and enrolled in a college or university, you can enter this General Mills contest every hour, for a chance to win some little green stuff (like a recycled Nature Valley messenger tote bag, Chex Mix laptop portfolio sleeve, or a Lucky Charms notebook). Each entry steps up your chances at the biggie – the fuel-efficient 2009 Prius. So if you want to be a big green hero on campus and save energy and money while driving your friends around (not to mention getting to back up like a pro using that cool TV screen gizmo) , start clicking – the deadline is April 30.
Good Energies on the Hunt for Solar Investments
Josie Garthwaite - Commerzbank
In the midst of a solar shakeout, lending for utility-scale solar projects could plunge by as much as 17 percent, to 10 billion euros (about $13.5 billion) this year, according to a recent note from Commerzbank AG cited in Bloomberg today. Sven Hansen, chief investment officer of the investment group Good Energies, sees nothing but opportunity, for Hansen is on the hunt to finance solar projects.
And as Hansen tells Bloomberg, Good Energies has a three-year budget of 1 billion euros through 2009. As we’ve noted before, the firm already holds a significant number of solar and wind investments (most recently leading a $163 million round for thin-film partner NorSun), in addition to stakes in the green building industry.
While this year and next look “difficult” for solar panel makers (that’s putting it mildly), Hansen reportedly thinks the photovoltaics industry is on track to grow about 30 percent annually. Solar projects are “excellent investments,” he was quoted as saying, adding that he expects them to provide much of the world’s power within a century.
Good Energies isn’t the only company looking to get in on utility-scale solar. California utility PG&E has also embarked on a hunt for solar investments, aiming to act as a “green knight” for solar projects with limited access to capital in today’s financial markets.
Good Energies and PG&E, of course, are not simply altruistic knights. Investing in and owning solar projects also gives PG&E a kind of insurance for the state’s renewable portfolio standard, which requires utilities in the state to get 10 percent of their energy from clean sources by next year. The utilities company has agreed to buy solar power produced by several projects being built by young startups, which are inherently risky, and now plans to take ownership of more photovoltaic projects. If PG&E backs away from riskier ventures, Good Energies may step in instead.
New Batteries Charge EVs in Minutes, not Hours
khallgeisler - Bikes & Cars
Researchers at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, have burst through the lithium-ion ceiling with an improved material that could allow the batteries to charge in minutes, rather than hours, as they currently require.
The researchers found that the ions moved slowly across the lithium iron phosphate material common in today’s rechargeable batteries. They reworked the material to create “tunnels” that the ions could move through much more quickly, reducing both the charge and discharge times of the battery. Because the material is not new but just redesigned, the battery could be on the market sooner rather than later.
This breakthrough has implications for more than just EVs, though. Phones, laptops, MP3 players — pretty much anything that uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery — will be able to fully discharge, which extends the life of the battery, and then recharge in a fraction of the time required now.
Sources: InventorSpot, GearLive
Easy ways to use solar energy at home
jchait - Home & Garden
Some people freak at the thought of solar, thinking, “Uh oh… complicated!” In reality, there are some super easy ways to incorporate solar energy use into any home plan.
Go outside: Solar Illuminations offers a huge selection of outdoor ready solar lighting choices. From Solar ‘Teardrop’ Lantern Lights that look great as a welcome light or even in a garden to solar powered house numbers and letters, this place has everything you need to solar up your outdoor living spaces.
Tunnel style: I’ve written about tunnel-minded solar lights before, but seriously I LOVE them. Solar sun tunnel lights work well in all sorts of spaces and for as small as these tunnels are, they provide huge amounts of light - especially to a smaller space like a bathroom or closet. Plus, these tunnels can be installed quickly.
Get wet: Solar powered pool products are great to consider now that summer is on the way. Think about getting a solar swimming pool cover that heats your pool sans non-renewable resources or get a solar powered pool heater.
BONUS: Learn about solar powered attic fans - super easy to install and cost efficient.
Are Soy Candles Greener and Healthier
jchait - Home & Garden
Soy candles are a better green choice than basic old wax candles for a couple of reasons. One, they’re made from rapidly renewable resources, whereas wax paraffin is derived from petroleum (not so renewable - as we all know). Two, soy candles are biodegradable and burn longer.
But are soy candles actually healthier for you, your family, and your home?
Somewhat - some research notes that soy candles give off less soot particles than normal candles. That’s a good thing, because a cleaner burn means less soot and gunk in your home and lungs. However, overall, there’s not a huge piece of evidence that says that soy candles are WAY better for you, so if you have allergies or asthma, just burning soy over wax may not help you to avoid feeling icky.
If you like the look of candles but want something that’s truly soot-free and eco-friendly to boot, you may want to try LED candles. LED candles have other benefits as well; they’re safer than real candles and don’t make a mess.
Where to snag soy candles:
- Dirt Candles
- Ergo 100% Soy Candles (see image above)
- Tatine Garden + Forest Infusion
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