A startup called Seeo, backed by Vinod Khosla and Google.org, has created a safer lithium ion battery that’s being trialled with a solar panel system developed by SunEdison. Batteries can provide much needed energy storage systems for solar. Read more »
While not all of the picks are focused on clean energy — one’s an enhanced oil recovery company — they all have early stage technology that could break through next year. Read more »
Barring snafus, an X-51A WaveRider “Scramjet” could hit speeds of nearly 4,000 mph in a test flight on Tuesday. Such hypersonic flight, if proven viable, would cut the time of a cross-country trip from five hours plus to a mere 46 minutes. Read more »
SpaceX is one of 3 rivals competing — with NASA’s help — to power the next U.S. manned space launch. Boeing, Sierra Nevada (no not that Sierra Nevada) and SpaceX will benefit from NASA expertise — and millions of dollars of its dough — under the 21-month contract. Read more »
Cloud computing is at the top of virtually every CIO’s interest list and is expected to grow 126.5 percent over the next two years. A new report on GigaOM Pro details each sector of cloud computing and forecasts a shift toward hybrid models in the enterprise community. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Arden Realty sells expensive data center to Griffin Capital. The sole tenant, AT&T, gets to continue to enjoy the benefits of leasing the facility in favor of owning it, avoiding the risks of data center ownership such as high taxes, carbon reporting issues and data privacy ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Solar thermal company Stirling Energy Systems has filed for bankruptcy, according to Renewable Energy World. Stirling Energy Systems developed solar concentrators based on stirling engines, which use the sun’s heat to produce electricity, and planned to build projects to sell the power to utilities. Read more »
The U.S. military has stepped up efforts to invest and use more cleantech at its bases and battlefields, including renewable electricity, energy storage and a host of energy efficiency technologies. Here is a list of plans and projects underway. Read more »
Southwest Airlines is rolling out new fuel-efficient flight-path technology that could save the company up to $60 million a year — and help the global airline industry shave its carbon footprint as well. Read more »
The Department of Energy quietly handed out about $19 million in grants this week for five interesting smart grid experiments, including underground wireless communications and energy storage circuits. Read more »
