Scientists turn seaweed into fuel with E. coli
The next time you get an order of miso soup, take a look at the seaweed lurking in your bowl. That same type of seaweed could some day power your car.
Scientists from Bio Architecture Lab, Inc (BAL) and the University of Washington in Seattle have found a way to turn seaweed into fuel with the use of genetically modified Escherichia coli, most commonly known as E. coli, the Scientific American reported. E. coli … Continue Reading
Has cleantech investing lost its glamour? Khosla Ventures loses two partners
Two partners are leaving storied cleantech investment firm Khosla Ventures, as excitement has started to peter out in the once-buzzing clean technology space.
Khosla Ventures partners Jim Kim and Alex Kinnier have followed former partner Gideon Yu in leaving the cleantech investing firm. The turnover has clouded the future of clean technology investment firms, which are exposed to higher risk and lower returns now that the initial excitement has died down.
“Not unlike most sectors, … Continue Reading
Google's first biofuel investment: CoolPlanetBiofuels
Google Ventures, the venture-capital arm of the search engine giant, has invested an unknown sum in CoolPlanetBiofuels, a company developing alternative fuels with byproducts that help remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Google would not release the specific details of its first biofuels investment, but a Google spokeswoman said that it was not the lead investor in the $20 million Series B funding round.
CoolPlanetBiofuels, headquartered in Camarillo, Calif., makes “negative carbon biofuels” out of … Continue Reading
Algae biofuels for less than $40 a barrel?
That green stuff in your koi pond could power the world for less than $40 a gallon, if Australian biofuels company Algae.Tec has its way.
Pilot plant studies show that the firm could produce energy-rich materials from algae at the equivalent of less than $40 a barrel, a steep drop from current crude oil prices of more than $100 a barrel and comparable to the cheapest price we’ve seen for crude, which bottomed out at … Continue Reading
Did Solazyme just drop the "fuel" in biofuel?
Biofuels producer Solazyme inked a massive deal with Dow Chemical today to ship up to 60 million gallons of its algae-based oil as an insulating chemical for electric transformers in 2015.
Solazyme makes an oil produced from algae that is to replace petroleum that works in just about everything — including jet engines. But some of the most lucrative prospects for biofuel companies like Solazyme aren’t in the fuel business at all. They’re in producing … Continue Reading
On the GreenBeat: Boeing will test Chinese biofuel, ClearEdge raises $10 million
Here are the cleantech stories we’re following on the GreenBeat today:
Boeing will test biofuel made by PetroChina, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Chinese solar stocks have stumbled since Friday’s news that the U.S. government is investigating subsidies that the Chinese give its solar companies, Investors Business Daily reports. The United Steelworkers unions filed a complaint saying the subsidies have allowed Chinese solar companies to undercut American companies in price.
WeatherBug announced a … Continue Reading
On the GreenBeat: GE acquires Opal, top 100 cleantech companies listed
Here’s the top cleantech news we’re following today:
GE announced today it has acquired Opal Software, a move that expands the company’s smart grid portfolio. Australia-based Opal supplies software and data migration capabilities to utilities. GE also recently announced two moves into thin-film solar.
Rubenius plans to build a first-of-its kind, $4 billion, 1-gigawatt energy storage warehouse in Mexico, Greentech Media reports.
The Cleantech Group has released a report naming the top 100 … Continue Reading
2015: The future of biofuels and biomaterials
Production of biomaterials will grow faster than biofuels and increasing biofuel capacity is highly reliant on technology from innovative startups. These are some of the conclusions in a report just issued by Lux Research on the biofuel and biomaterial markets.
Biomaterials can be used instead of plastics and polymers currently produced from petroleum, but at current capacity the materials can replace a mere 1 percent of plastics. Lux Research expects this market to grow by … Continue Reading
On the GreenBeat: Amyris weathers first day of trading, California to double solar capacity
Biofuels and biomaterials company Amyris’s stock held up in its first day of trading, closing last night at $16.50, up three percent from its opening price of $16. The stock peaked at $17.44, the San Francisco Chronicle writes. The report estimates about 2.4 million shares were traded yesterday. The stock was reportedly priced below range. Earth2Tech deemed the IPO a “decent exit” for investors, estimating the worth of investors stakes: $67 million for Kleiner … Continue Reading
On the GreenBeat: MiaSolé to raise $100 million ahead of IPO, Amyris shoots for $122 million
MiaSolé aims to raise $100 million in sixth-round funding in advance of a 2011 IPO, according to Green Tech Media. The article cites a report from Birchmere Ventures, which names Morgan Stanley as the underwriter for the thin-film solar panel maker’s planned IPO. Thin-film has lagged in producing efficiency rates equal to that of its crystalline silicon counterparts – and Applied Materials abandoned its thin-film efforts this year. Key is MiaSolé’s claim (and the … Continue Reading
DEMO: With MicroFueler, one man's trash is his gas tank's treasure
E-Fuel is one of 70 companies chosen by VentureBeat to launch at the DEMO Fall 2010 event taking place this week in Silicon Valley. After our selection, the companies pay a fee to present. Our coverage of them remains objective.
In the renewable energy sector, customers face a variety of options, like solar and wind. Today at the DEMO conference, E-Fuel is launching a new clean-energy model that allows users to affordably convert their own … Continue Reading
On the GreenBeat: Unilever invests in Solazyme, Frito Lay launches electric trucks
Unilever joined biofuel company Solazyme’s fourth round of financing as a strategic investor, Solazyme announced yesterday. The companies already share an R&D agreement: Solazyme’s oils are already used in Unilever’s Lux soap, with the plans to incorporate more renewable oils into its personal care products, such as algal oil, a substitute for palm oil. Solazyme announced last month that they had raised $52 million in fourth-round fundraising, with Chevron Technology Ventures and agribusiness leader … Continue Reading
Range Fuels opens plant to commercialize methanol
Range Fuels, one of the more successful biofuel startups backed by Khosla Ventures, announced today that it has opened up its first commercial plant to make cellulosic methanol out of non-food feedstocks. Located in Georgia, the facility is expected to pump out 20 million gallons of ethanol and biodiesel every year.
The company’s plan is to use wood waste generated by timber plants located around the Soperton, Ga. site (pictured above). It will convert that … Continue Reading
Another biofuel IPO: Gevo files for $150M sale
Only a couple of days after algae-to-fuel company PetroAlgae filed for a $200 million IPO, Gevo — a startup boasting catalysts that can convert waste and cellulosic feedstocks into fuels — has also filed to raise $150 million on the public market.
It’s an interesting move for Gevo, considering how poor green sector IPOs have been performing so far this year — with the exception of Tesla Motors’ $226 million sale at the end of … Continue Reading
Glucose biofuel cell could revolutionize medical technology
Only a couple of days after algae-to-fuel company PetroAlgae filed for a $200 million IPO, Gevo — a startup boasting catalysts that can convert waste and cellulosic feedstocks into fuels — has also filed to raise $150 million on the public market.
It’s an interesting move for Gevo, considering how poor green sector IPOs have been performing so far this year — with the exception of Tesla Motors’ $226 million sale at the end of … Continue Reading
