Ballard has found a buyer. The nearly three-decades-old forefather of the fuel cell industry, Ballard Power Systems (BLDP), says it has agreed to sell its automotive fuel cell business to Daimler (DAI) and Ford (F). Earlier this week the Vancouver, B.C.-based hydrogen fuel cell developer confirmed […] Read more »
Stop & Shop said today that it has been selected to participate in the U.S. Green Building Council Portfolio Program pilot for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) volume certification of existing buildings. The Quincy, Mass.-based grocer and its sister company, Giant Food of Landover, […] Read more »
First Solar Soars: “First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) is trading so well after-earnings that it might be thought of as “First Stellar,” with shares up 14% at $190.00 in after-hours trading — MarketWatch. Applied Invests in Plextronics: Plextronics, a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based startup developing organic semiconductors for thin film […] Read more »
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You’d have to be a real drag to not think underwater robots are cool. OK, but what do they have to do with cleantech? We found a connection. Hydroid, for example, makes Remote Environmental Monitoring Units (REMUS), which can sniff out the source of pollution deep […] Read more »
Plastic production accounts for 4 percent of U.S. energy consumption, and plastic goods generate millions of tons of waste in landfills across the country each year. Talk about bad for the environment. With such an obvious need for greener plastics, it’s no wonder startups and industrial […] Read more »
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B) has announced that it will be expanding its collaboration with startup Codexis to further work on developing “new super enzymes” to convert biomass into fuel. Under terms of the five-year research collaboration, the oil giant will make an undisclosed equity investment in […] Read more »
New Earth makes the prettiest small-scale wind turbine on the market — its vertical-axis design uses a double helix to capture wind energy. And the San Diego-based startup is raising money to get its eye-catching product out there. New Earth CEO Ian Gardner tells us that […] Read more »
Michael Shellenberger started the discussion by explaining, “We didn’t say that environmentalism is dead. We are saying that environmentalism should die.” Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, co-authors of the now infamous “The Death of Environmentalism,” essay, are promoting its literary expansion, a book entitled “Break Through.” I […] Read more »
Massachusetts Going Biofuel-Friendly: A Massachusetts legislative package proposes mandates and incentives to promote biofuels — Boston.com. Energy Star Computer Update: The EPA says the next generation of Energy Star computers offers over $1 billion in energy savings, and already has 500 newly qualified product models already […] Read more »
Silicon Valley’s electric car startup Tesla has a roster of celebrity customers that have signed up to buy the $100,000 eye-candy feel-good vehicle — George Clooney, Matt Damon, Gavin Newsom. The latest star customer to blog about a recent test drive is everybody’s favorite Red Hot […] Read more »
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The entire suite of NBC Universal’s (GE) media properties is going on a green offensive this week with the tagline “Green is Universal.” The campaign is designed to raise environmental awareness and will highlight things viewers can do to live greener. Green will be seen all […] Read more »
When Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates had solar panels installed on his home three years ago, he was fortunate enough to be able to pay for them, up front, in cash. Most aren’t so well-off. The up-front capital costs of residential solar — around $15,000 to $20,000 […] Read more »
Companies working on cellulosic ethanol — biofuel made from non-food crops and plant waste — have been racing to be the first to build a commercial plant in the U.S. This morning Khosla-backed startup Range Fuels said it has officially “broken ground” on its plant in […] Read more »
As if we needed any more proof that this is the year the candidates get serious about being green, Sen. Hillary Clinton proclaimed in a speech unveiling her energy policy yesterday that the climate crisis is “one of the greatest economic opportunities in the history of […] Read more »
LED Startup Lights Up Financing: LED Lighting Fixtures, (LLF) which unsurprisingly makes light fixtures for LED light sources, says it has raised $16.5 million in equity financing led by Digital Power Capital — release. As Oil Price Rises, Clean Energy Costs Creeping Up Too?: That’s not […] Read more »
Ballard Power Systems (BLDP), a nearly three-decades-old forefather of the fuel cell industry, said today it’s “reviewing strategic alternatives” for its automotive fuel cell assets — corporate speak for a possible sale. In explaining the move, the Vancouver, B.C.-based hydrogen fuel cell developer cited “the lengthy […] Read more »
This week, the 2007 Farm Bill, having passed in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry with an overwhelming majority, is expected to move to the Senate floor. Besides the old subsidies for high-fructose corn syrup and new programs for farmers markets, the farm bill […] Read more »
The solar thermal startup Ausra only started talking publicly in September, but already the Khosla and Kleiner Perkins-backed Silicon Valley company is one of the more high-profile cleantech startups around. This morning, Ausra provided additional details about a planned solar thermal power plant in California and […] Read more »
A new Ivy League spin-out startup is targeting the off-the-grid power market with a fuel cell and a little dirt. Living Power Systems, formerly known as Fiat Lux (“Let There Be Light”), is the brainchild of Peter Girgius, a professor of microbiology at Harvard. The company’s […] Read more »
It might elicit protests from the college crowd, but university and corporate research partnerships are a lifeline for emerging innovation in the cleantech industry. There was two more of these big academia/big industry cleantech unions this week. This morning BP and Arizona State University, as well […] Read more »
The maturing of the car-sharing industry was illustrated by ZipCar and Flexcar announcing a merger, this week. Perhaps the market is ready for an even more sustainable approach developed by researchers at MIT: the City Car, a personal, stackable, electric, goldfish bowl-esque mode of transport, meant […] Read more »
Unlike the “green guerillas,” IBM believes in the power of financial markets to help fight climate change — and bring in customers. This morning, Big Blue said it will offer customers “energy efficiency certificates” in exchange for reducing the energy consumption of their data centers. Participants […] Read more »
The burgeoning carbon trading industry is getting prominent enough to have its very own “greenwash guerillas.” These two eco-activists briefly take over the podium at a New York carbon trading conference, offer attendees a “Deed to the Sky,” and declare carbon trading a scam. OK, so […] Read more »
Golden Soybeans: A team of researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia have discovered how to make gold nanoparticles chemical-free by using only gold salts, soybeans and water — Eureka Alert. TeleSoft Taps Energy Software: VC firm TeleSoft Partners says it has acquired a majority interest in […] Read more »
In the quest to find the best types of tiny algae for biofuel production, Big Oil is teaming up with Big Government. Chevron (CVX) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratories announced yesterday that they are joining forces to select and develop algae that can be processed […] Read more »
German photovoltaics manufacturer Q-Cells (QCE) said today that it has bought Toledo, Ohio-based Solar Fields for $5-million plus stock. Solar Fields will be merged with Q-Cell’s Calyxo subsidiary to form Calyxo USA, of which Solar Fields LLC now owns a 7 percent share. Calyxo USA assumes […] Read more »
We were wondering when Vinod Khosla would divulge information about his latest biofuel play, KiOR. The first time we heard about the company was when the venture capitalist briefly mentioned the company’s name during a speech earlier this month. At that time he described the startup […] Read more »
Mega-retailer Wal-Mart said last week that it’s partnered with The Cleantech Group to create a web portal on which companies and individuals can pitch their ideas as to how Wal-Mart might decrease its carbon footprint while at the same time helping its bottom line. The site, […] Read more »
Katie just passed me word that the latest Playstation 3 model is getting a chipset that’ll greatly reduce its power consumption, from 200 watts to 135. Some Diggers are calling this an eco-friendly move: “By reducing power consumption on the new play station, Sony is trying […] Read more »
We already covered the news that Sunnyvale,Calif.-based Serious Materials was in the process of raising a whopping $50 million Series B round. Well the company confirmed today that it has closed that $50 million investment, which was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Foundation Capital and […] Read more »
Atraverda Raises $21.4M: Atraverda, a materials-based startup that uses a conductive ceramic technology to reduce lead in batteries, announced it has closed a Series B financing round of $21.4 million — release. Green Wood Label Systems Under Fire: The Forest Stewardship Council says some companies using […] Read more »
The green initiatives roll out of Google so fast and furiously, we have a hard time keeping track of them all: a massive corporate solar system, more renewable energy plans on the way, and hybrid car investments, to name just a few. This morning Googlers launched […] Read more »
Car-sharing companies Zipcar and Flexcar have decided to merge, the two said today. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the new company will have a fleet of over 5,000 with 180,000 subscribers in 48 cities, The Seattle Times reports, the largest fleet in the […] Read more »
A Canadian company may have found a key process that could allow the same crops to produce both food and fuel. Given that a UN expert on food recently called the shift of arable land from food to fuel a “crime against humanity,” the technology could […] Read more »
Everyone from Google’s “green energy czar” to Vinod Khosla to several well-funded startups are looking at solar thermal as one way to offer massive amounts of utility-scale clean energy. But what about solar thermal on a smaller scale — even on rooftops? Honolulu-based Sopogy thinks there […] Read more »
Google Hearts Renewables: The Googlers have the largest corporate installation of solar around, but they want more renewables and intend to generate 50 megawatts of electricity from clean sources by 2012 — CNET. Power Plant Mercury Under Fire: “In 2005, about 500 electricity-generating power plants emitted […] Read more »
The effects of climate change are turning the outlook for long-term food production into an increasingly dire one, according to an MIT study released this week and a report delivered last week by the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Food. UN expert Jean Ziegler is calling for […] Read more »
ImageTree, a Morgantown, W. Va.-based startup that provides imaging and sensing data services about forests, has closed a $4.5 million Series B round of funding. The investment was led by Battelle Ventures, which last week said it had put $8 million into three energy startups. Two-year-old […] Read more »
Following an article from last week’s Jerusalem Post regarding Israel’s “much-hyped” venture capital market, which noted the favored status of the growing cleantech sector, Globes has reported two cleantech venture fund announcements out of Israel. Terra Venture Partners LP has raised its first $15 million, which […] Read more »
UPDATED The rising tide lifting up most solar stocks has so far had little effect on Evergreen Solar’s boat, but now it looks like that may be changing. After rallying as high as $17.48 a year and a half ago, shares of Evergreen (ESLR) have sagged, […] Read more »
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