Biochemical developer Aurora Algae raises $22M

Aurora Algae, a developer of biofuels and biochemicals produced from processed algae, announced today that it has raised $22 million in its most recent round of funding.

The company is part of a small set of funded biologically-produced chemical companies that produce a diverse number of biochemical products, such as feed stock and transportation fuel. These types of companies have experienced a recent string of successful exits. Biofuel makers Solazyme, Amyris and KiOR all successfully … Continue Reading

Biofuel investing falls as sector matures

Investing in biofuel companies that produce oil-alternatives fell 5.4 percent to $930 million in 2010, down from $980 invested in alternative fuel companies in 2009, according to a report from cleantech analysis firm Lux Research.

While investing in alternative fuels across the board fell, investments in biofuel companies that can produce a diverse number of products from typical feed stock rose to an all-time high of $698 million in 2010. That’s because the investment community … Continue Reading

Trash-to-fuel company Enerkem raises another $30M

Enerkem, a company that specializes in converting unusable waste into ethanol and other chemicals, announced today that it has raised $30 million in an extension of its most recent funding round.

Enerkem converts household garbage and leftover debris from demolition and utility poles into chemicals that appear in household objects. That includes ethanol and acetates. The company raised $60 million last month.

“Enerkem’s one of the strictly fuel-focused companies getting funding because they are flexible … Continue Reading

Kleiner Perkins leads slower Q2 cleantech investing

Investments in clean technology projects fell 10 percent in the second quarter this year to $1.83 billion when compared to $2.03 billion in the second quarter of 2010, according to research firm Cleantech Group.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers led venture capital firms in the number of fundraising rounds. The venture capital firm participated in a total of 12 rounds, including those of electric bus manufacturer Proterra and iControl Networks. Draper Fisher Jurveston had the … Continue Reading

Biofuel producer KiOR sets IPO price at $15

Biofuel producer KiOR has priced its initial public offering at $15 per share, down from $19 to $21 that the company originally announced on Wednesday.

A lot of media and Web 2.0 companies filing to go public, such as LinkedIn and Pandora, have ramped up their IPO price ahead of their trading debuts this year. KiOR’s latest move could be a signal that there is some concern regarding clean technology IPOs that have not reached … Continue Reading

Condoleezza Rice joins the board of biofuel maker KiOR

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced on Wednesday that she will join the board of directors of biofuels producer KiOR beginning July 2011.

Rice has some experience dealing with petroleum companies and biofuel companies, having served on the board of directors of Chevron. That is probably good enough for KiOR, which focuses on transportation fuel for cars, jets and the like.

KiOR seems to have brought on Rice more for her business expertise than … Continue Reading

Enerkem's trash-to-fuel talents bring in $60M

Oil and petrochemical giant Valero and existing investors have just dropped $60 million on Enerkem, a company that specializes in converting unusable waste into ethanol and other chemicals.

The company says it can convert household garbage, leftover debris from demolition and utility poles into ethanol, acetates and other chemicals that appear in household objects. Valero’s investment in Enerkem appears to be a strategic investment, meaning the oil giant might either use Enerkem’s technology to produce … Continue Reading

DOE to grant up to $130M for renewable energy projects

The U.S. Department of Energy said today it will grant up to $130 million to renewable energy projects that can’t find funding from private investors.

The projects the DOE plans to fund are riskier than their solar and wind power counterparts, focusing on the research and development of technologies that are not yet commercially viable.

The funding will come from the Advanced Research Programs Agency — Energy (ARPA-E). President Barack Obama created the agency in … Continue Reading

KiOR looks to $100M IPO to convert woodchips to biofuel

Biofuel company KiOR is going public and wants to raise $100 million for a new plant that converts wood chips to petroleum, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

KiOR is bucking the biofuel trend by focusing on transportation fuel — for cars, jets and the like. The company wants to produce gasoline that costs around $1.80 per gallon when produced from renewable petroleum.

KiOR’s technology converts wood chips to a substance … Continue Reading

Late-stage investments dominate cleantech sector in Q1

Investments in clean technology startups rose 13 percent in the first quarter this year in North America, Europe, China and India — to $2.57 billion from $2.28 billion in the first quarter of 2010 across 159 companies — according to a report by Cleantech Group.

Investors poured the most money into late-stage ventures that accounted for $2.39 billion of the investments in the first quarter this year. More than half of the deals were late-stage … Continue Reading

Nuclear crisis doesn't panic cleantech investors

An escalating crisis at nuclear power plants in Japan following a massive earthquake and tsunami has not changed the investing thesis about clean technology, according to a number of leading venture capitalists and researchers.

Fears of a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan sparked a new wave of criticism of nuclear energy — and a rally in clean-energy stocks on Monday. But that interest quickly waned as stocks in the sector dropped … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Toyota sells 3M hybrid cars, Progress Energy drops $500M for smart power grids

Here’s some of the latest action happening today on the GreenBeat:

Toyota announces that it has sold 3 million hybrid vehicles. The car company has 18 hybrid models, which use a mix of conventional fuel and electric power to increase fuel efficiency. It first launched its hallmark electric car, the Prius, in 1997. The company is on track to sell 1 million hybrid vehicles each year.

Progress Energy will drop $500 million into developing smart … Continue Reading

Monsanto invests in Sapphire for algae, crops research

Global agriculture and biotechnology giant Monsanto has taken an undisclosed equity stake in biofuels player Sapphire Energy. The two companies will also team up for a multi-year research collaboration.

Sapphire is working on what it calls “green crude” created from algae, which can be refined into gas, diesel and jet fuel. Monsanto, a top supplier of genetically modified seeds, is on the hunt for genes that can be applied to agriculture, especially those that increase … Continue Reading

Biofuels to anti-age your face. Seriously.

Biofuels for your face will be on sale soon.

Well, that’s the gist of it, anyway. The story: Algae biofuels company Solazyme has formulated a skincare line called Algenist using “anti-aging breakthrough ingredient alguronic acid” that will go on sale this spring in eight countries, via makeup shop Sephora and TV shopping company QVC. The skincare products use Solazyme’s technology and research on microalgae strains, through which the company discovered alguronic acid.

Yeesh. Maybe we … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Solyndra's star fades, admits to mistakes; Khosla says new biofuel IPO coming

Here’s the latest action we’re following today on the GreenBeat:

Solyndra star fades, admits to mistakes — Once-bright rooftop solar startup Solyndra (pictured) has had its share of troubles lately. After raising $1 billion, the company was forced to slash costs, close a factory and cancel an IPO. Now its $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy is under investigation by Congress. Its recent $75 million secured debt round forced several equity investors … Continue Reading

Genomatica raises $45M for renewable chemicals

Renewable chemicals company Genomatica has raised $45 million for a demonstration-scale production and early commercialization plans for a green version of butanediol (BDO), a chemical used in spandex, automotive plastics and running shoes.

“It’s all about making the same chemicals that are made today from oil and gas, but from renewable feedstocks and at a cheaper cost,” chief executive Christophe Schilling told VentureBeat last year.

The company has developed organisms (pictured) that can make BDO … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Geothermal wins $96.8M loan guarantee, ethanol could suffer in national budget cuts

Here’s the latest action we’re following today on the GreenBeat:

Oregon geothermal project wins $96.8 million loan guarantee – The Department of Energy has finalized a loan guarantee to a project sponsored by U.S. Geothermal. The funds will go to back the construction of a 23 megawatt geothermal power project in southeastern Oregon, known as Neal Hot Springs.

Germany cuts solar subsidies by 15 percent — The cuts came six months earlier than planned, according … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Khosla strikes back at WSJ, Gevo served a suit by BP and DuPont JV

Here’s the latest action we’re following today on the GreenBeat:

Vinod Khosla strikes back at the WSJ — Range Fuels, a biofuels startup backed by billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, got dealt a pretty tough criticism in a WSJ editorial this month that also tackled the government’s support of Range. Khosla has fired back with two strong responses to the editorial. While the WSJ piece said Range received $76 million in DOE grants only to produce … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Abengoa to build bioethanol plant; Solar demand stronger than expected this quarter

Here’s the latest action we’re following today on the GreenBeat:

Abengoa to build biofuels plant in Kansas — Spanish multinational corporation Abegnoa said today it will build a 26.4 million-gallon capacity bioethanol plant in Hugoton, Kansas.  It is the largest commercial bioethanol production plant using biomass to date and is being jointly developed with the Department of Energy, and will use maize straw and wheat as feedstock. The company is behind a solar thermal plant … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Tessera sells Imperial Valley Solar project, Tesla posts fourth-quarter losses

Here’s the latest action we’re following today on the GreenBeat:

Tesla posts losses for fourth quarter — Electric car company Tesla released its fourth-quarter and 2010 earnings yesterday and said it would be looking to raise another $150 million to develop its all-electric SUV concept the Model X. The company posted $51.4 million in losses last quarter, up from $24.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. Revenues increased from $36.3 million for the fourth … Continue Reading