THE BUSINESS OF TECHNOLOGY
With their new smart-enabled scooters and sleek vehicle designs, Japanese company Terra Motors delivers Jetson’s-level transit tech that’s as elegant as it is efficient. And as high fuel costs and environmental concerns plague Asia’s drivers, Terra’s making clean energy the smart choice––and the cool one. “We need...beautiful design to change … [Read more...]
By MATT GALLAGHER, Red Herring Harnessing the power of ammonia, Ductor hopes to revolutionize both garden farming and gas tanks by the end of this summer. The company is developing what it claims to be the world’s first industrial scale ammonia and phosphate production technology based on a 100 percent biological process that actually reduces … [Read more...]
Google closed a $200 million investment in the Spinning Spur Wind Project, a 161 megawatt West Texas wind farm that will generate enough electricity to power 60,000 homes. Each of the farm's 70 Siemens wind turbines carries a 2.3 megawatt capacity. The project will bring the bulk of Google's renewable energy assets to an impressive 2 gigawatts, … [Read more...]
Hanergy Holding Group, China's largest clean energy company, finalized its purchase of MiaSole, the world's largest thin film-PV company, in an agreement that gives it a 100 percent stake, the AP reported. The group's financial backing will help MiaSole invest in research and development as it rides out a downturn in the global solar market that … [Read more...]
by Matt Gallagher, Red Herring journalist LightSail, an innovative Berkeley company that uses air compression, water droplets and some creative thermodynamics to store clean energy for the long term, has raised $37.3 million from none other than Bill Gates and Peter Thiel. One of the biggest drawbacks of clean energy is that it comes and goes … [Read more...]
by MATT GALLAGHER, Red Herring In the world of bio-based plastic, Ecospan not only closes the loop, producing a solid, industry-suited plastic from 100 percent natural materials, but it does so at a cost efficiency that more than pays for itself in the end. Using bio-based, petroleum-free materials, the company produces a material strong … [Read more...]
As part of the SunShot Initiative, the US Department of Energy has awarded a $2 million grant to Solar Mosaic, a crowdfunding platform for solar projects. The company aims to make solar more cost competitive and mainstream through an online crowdsourcing platform that enables the average citizen to create and fund solar projects. About 25 … [Read more...]
A company founded in a Palo Alto public library has created a new silicon carbon battery that carries roughly twice as much energy per gram as current batteries, opening up the road to long distance electric cars to drive up to 300 miles on a single charge. Envia System creates lithium-ion battery packs that produce 400-watt-hours per kilogram, … [Read more...]
Imagine fuel converted from the emissions of a smoke stack, thanks to a bacteria originally discovered in the intestinal tracks of rabbits. Thanks to a recently landed $55.8 million in Series C funding, LanzaTech may soon be delivering that fuel to a gas station near you. The round was led by the Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund. New … [Read more...]