Here’s 13 rare battery startups working on next-generation manufacturing, chemistry and printing technologies. These battery companies could create innovation that could revolutionize electric cars, the power grid and how we charge up our gadgets and cell phones. Read more »
Liquid Metal Battery — a promising battery startup backed by Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures and oil giant Total — has changed it’s name to Ambri, a shorter and less literal word that’s a nod to Cambridge, where the company was founded. Read more »
Despite that venture funding for cleantech is cooling off, some companies are still able to get money for growth. For example, biochemical company Elevance Renewable Sciences has raised a $104 million Series E round from oil giant Total’s investing arm, and Malaysian conglomerate Genting Berhad. Read more »
Solar startup Konarka’s bankruptcy, announced last week, wasn’t just the latest case of the solar industry being hit by the dropping cost of silicon, and cheap modules and panels from China. The company’s technology just “could not compete on cost, efficiency, or lifetime,” says Lux Research. Read more »
Konarka Technologies, a maker of organic solar thin films, said Friday it’s going bankrupt, an announcement that may not be so surprising to many who have watched and waited for the venture-backed company to try to build a viable business. Read more »
SunPower, whose fight for survival forced it to find a new owner and embark on a significant cost-reduction plan, said on Monday that it will stop producing cells at one of its factories to save money. Read more »
Investors and entrepreneurs don’t always connect via the standard VC pitch. According to Phil Giudice, the CEO of a battery startup called Liquid Metal Battery, his company found their most high profile investor, Bill Gates, through a more unusual way: the classroom. Read more »
SunPower said on Thursday in its earnings call that it will be going on the offensive in 2012, aggressively selling solar projects and residential leases, and developing more efficient solar panels. Read more »
The solar industry has begun 2012 with some trepidation, with many on the warpath to cut costs and reduce output. These moves give the market a chance to reduce inventories and get production more in sync with demand. But recovery will likely come slowly. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
When it comes to cleantech investing, we’re in the early innings of a long ball game. The last in a 4-part series from Venrock’s Matthew Nordan. Read more »
A lack of progress for battery technology is (arguably) the single biggest barrier for gadgets, electric vehicles, and the power grid. But there’s hundreds of researchers, entrepreneurs, universities and large companies working on battery breakthroughs. Here’s 25 you should know about: Read more »
What can you do when profits are hard to come by and your targeted market hasn’t taken off? For Ascent Solar Technologies, that means selling a stake of the company and licensing its technology to a Chinese conglomerate. Read more »
Declining solar incentives in key markets such as Italy and Germany have disrupted sales for many solar companies, and SunPower in particular has been hit quite hard. On Tuesday the company posted second-quarter losses and promised to speed up plans to reduce costs. Read more »
Brace yourself for reports of lackluster sales and profits for solar companies for the second quarter. SunPower did just that Monday by warning that it expects to post a lower gross margin and a loss for the period. Read more »
Recently-public biofuel and chemical maker Gevo is holding the official ground breaking ceremony for its first commercial-scale project, a retrofit of an old ethanol plant in Luverne, Minn. on Tuesday. Read more »
Changes in solar incentives in key markets such as Germany and Italy are making life difficult for major players such as First Solar, which reported a flat first-quarter revenue and lower earnings on Tuesday afternoon. Read more »
SunPower, a stalwart U.S. solar manufacturer in Silicon Valley, plans to sell 60 percent of the company to French oil and gas giant Total Group, the companies announced Thursday. SunPower will get much need financial backing through the deal. Read more »
While biofuel maker Amyris unveiled that it had scored some major partnerships and investment earlier this week, the good news doesn’t distract from the fact that Amyris is generating the majority of its revenues from selling third-party ethanol. Read more »
Amyris disclosed in a filing this week that it has hooked up with French oil giant Total, which bought a 17 percent stake in the biofuel developer and could help deliver a lot more confidence with investors for its upcoming IPO. Read more »
Thin-film solar startup Konarka said this morning that the massive French oil and gas company Total has become its largest shareholder, investing $45 million for a stake of slightly less than 20 percent. Total says it aims to boost its crystalline silicon-based solar cell production, and […] Read more »
