Fjord IT opens its first data center space in Oslo and is banking on a air cooling technology and cheap hydropower to attract European customers who want low-carbon cloud services. Read more »
A startup that makes more efficient power conversion devices has raised money from, and partnered with, a group of Japanese electronics giants. Transphorm is a venture-backed startup and its move is a symbol of the growing importance of corporate partners as well as overseas investors in cleantech. 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 »
Do recent struggles dominating the news represent the beginning of the end for green technology? Nah, it looks like business as usual for Silicon Valley. Only one in ten start-ups ever make it, VCs like to say, and failure makes you stronger. Read more »
Power electronics that can boost energy production from solar panels has emerged in recent years as a favorite among venture capital investors. On Monday, that trend continues with the announcement that an Israeli startup, SolarEdge, has raised $37 million from VCs. Read more »
Figuring out ways to convert solar power efficiently is attracting a lot of public and private dollars these days. Google-backed Transphorm is teaming up with another startup, Enphase Energy, to develop a device using a novel material with financial support from Department of Energy’s ARPA-E. Read more »
Using radio waves to efficiently convert solar power — that’s the idea behind startup Array Converter, which spoke for one of the first times this week at the AlwaysOn GoingGreen conference in San Francisco. Read more »
It’s been hard to avoid the elephant in the room at the fourth annual National Clean Energy Summit. While the clean energy industry was eager to talk about the latest cleantech breakthroughs, the reality is that the industry is facing a difficult near-term funding future. Read more »
Data centers might not be the energy hogs anticipated in 2010, but they’re still offering a growing market for both energy efficiency technology and clean power. Read more »
Power conversion startup Transphorm has added yet another high-profile investor to its list of backers: George Soros’ investment fund Quantum Strategic Partners. On Thursday Transphorm announced that it has raised another $25 million from Quantum Strategic Partners, as well as existing investors. Read more »
Mark down yet another clean power project that Google plans to back. This morning, Google announced that it’s providing $55 million for part of the construction of a 1.5 GW wind farm being built by Terra-Gen Power in Southern California’s Mojave Desert. Read more »
Using silicon for converting power for electronics, gadgets and computing has reached its limit — or so says the CEO of startup Transphorm, Umesh Mishra. On Tuesday the company, which is backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Google Ventures, launched a 600-volt transistor. Read more »
Is the greentech industry headed for a breakout year or is it retrenching for hard times to come? The first three months of 2011 provided evidence that could support both assertions, with a big rise in venture capital investment and a big drop-off in global energy financing. Solar power remained the largest green technology sector in terms of venture capital investment, while in the world of electric vehicles, GM’s Chevy Volt hybrid and Nissan’s all-electric Leaf — the first two mainstream plug-in vehicles — hit the showroom floors in significant numbers. Meanwhile the smart grid sector’s relative dearth of VC investment was more than made up for by the massive round of acquisitions. Companies mentioned in this report include NRG Energy, Microsoft, Silver Spring Networks, Tesla and BrightSource Energy. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Presenting our 10 Big Ideas winners, which are some of the most innovative in the digital energy space, and have novel “Big Ideas” for how to use information technology to fight climate change. The winners will present at Green:Net 2011 on April 21 in San Francisco. Read more »
Enphase Energy has made a name for itself as a trailblazer of the microinverter market. But keeping that lead won’t be easy, and the company is launching a series of new products that are smaller and lighter and more tailored for different customer types. Read more »
Google Ventures has made its first biofuels investment. On Thursday afternoon, the venture arm of the search giant announced that it has invested in a startup called CoolPlanetBiofuels, which makes what the company calls “negative carbon fuels.” Bill Maris of Google Ventures explains. Read more »
Transphorm, the startup that emerged from stealth with plans for building energy-efficient power conversion modules and with $38 million in backing from investors Kleiner Perkins and Google Ventures, has unveiled its first product: power diodes made of gallium nitride that can be embedded in power converters. Read more »
Early-stage, high-risk, and potentially game-changing — those are a few things all the companies that have been funded by the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E program have in common. I’m at the ARPA-E Summit this week and here are 10 companies to watch for. Read more »
An invention that can run data centers more efficiently and cut electric use is no doubt dear to Google’s heart. So it’s not surprising that Google Ventures became a lead investor in a startup called Transphorm, which made its public debut Wednesday. Read more »
Here comes the biggest cleantech startup launch since Bloom Energy: Transphorm has emerged from stealth at Google Ventures’s headquarters, touting an energy efficient power conversion module and an enviable $38 million in venture capital from Kleiner Perkins, Google Ventures, Foundation Capital, and Lux Capital. Read more »
