LanzaTech turns industrial waste into fuel, raises $55M

LanzaTech, a biofuel company that turns waste gasses into fuel, announced Monday that is has secured $55.8 million in its third round of funding.

Creating biofuels and biochemicals from factory waste emissions is LanzaTech’s specialty. The company uses carbon monoxide emissions from steel mills, factories, oil refineries, and other waste sources to create ethanol, using a gas-liquid bacterial fermentation. LanzaTech captures  the carbon monoxide, pumps the gases into a bioreactor, and mixes with liquid. Bacteria … Continue Reading

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

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

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

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

Khosla-backed Gevo raises $107 million in biofuels IPO

Biofuels company Gevo raised $107 million in an initial public offering yesterday, pricing 7.1 million shares at $15 each.

The company, backed by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and Virgin’s Richard Branson, sold the shares at the high end of its range of $13 to $15. Biofuels companies Amyris and Codexis IPO’d last year, but at the low ends of their ranges. Gevo originally filed last summer for a $150 million IPO but scaled down its … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: BrightSource to power up Crete, cars made after 2001 cleared for E15

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

BrightSource to power up Crete — The Greek island of Crete will install a 38-megawatt solar project with BrightSource’s solar thermal technology, which uses thousands of mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a boiler filled with water atop a tower, generating steam to turn an electrical turbine.

EPA approves ethanol-blended fuel — Cars and light trucks made between 2001 and 2006 are now permitted to use … Continue Reading

Coskata grabs biggest slice of USDA's $405M in biofuels loan guarantees

The U.S. Department of Argiculture today awarded $405 million in loan guarantees for biofuel refineries.

All three recipients, Coskata, Enerkem and Ineos Bio, make biofuels by using waste as a feedstock, which is considered an advantage in the crowded biofuels market. It’s also a sign of good news for the industry, where biofuels makers have struggled to bring technologies to commercial scale production.

The Department of Energy’s loan chief hinted to us last year that … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: SoloPower raises $51.6 million, Stion plans $150 million IPO

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

SoloPower picks up $51.6 million – The thin-film solar startup  (solar module pictured) has raised the cash from backers that include Hudson Clean Energy Partners and Crosslink Capital, according to an SEC filing cited by Earth2Tech, which also notes solar manufacturer Stion is looking to raise $100 – $150 million in an IPO in the next few years.

Nvidia Tegra chips to power Tesla’s Model … Continue Reading

Qteros raises $22 million to debug ethanol production

Biofuels technology startup Qteros announced today it has secured $22 million in the first phase of its third round of financing.

It’s a sign that the venture-capital industry hasn’t entirely given up on ethanol, a sector in which startups have chewed up a lot of capital without delivering great returns. Though it has not secured all of the funds it is seeking for this round of financing, it’s likely that Qteros’s ability to snag funds … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Abegnoa finalizes $1.45 billion DOE backing, oil refiners refuse to sell E15

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

Abengoa finalizes $1.45 billion loan guarantee for solar thermal — The Department of Energy has finalized the deal, which is its largest renewable energy loan guarantee ever, Reuters reports. The plant (pictured) will be located in Arizona and have a capacity of 250 megawatts, enough to power up to 75,000 homes.

Oil refiners are refusing to sell E15 – The EPA recently greenlit … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Buffet's BYD nixes electric sedan in China, A132 exec joins Digital Lumens

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

BYD reportedly cancels electric car – The Warren Buffet-backed Chinese automaker saw lukewarm sales of its plug-in hybrid, Autoblog Green reports, selling just over 100 F3DMs (pictured) in the first year of production — well shy of the its goal of 10,000. Lack of charging infrastructure fueled the weak sales, Gasgoo writes, leading BYD to cancel plans for the all-electric F3e sedan.

U.S. … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Hara announces Abu Dhabi deal, ethanol braces for subsidy cuts

Here are the stories we’re following today on the GreenBeat:

The U.S. ethanol industry is bracing for subsidy cuts — Ethanol subsidies that offer tax credits to fuel blenders and place tariffs on imported ethanol are due to expire at the end of this year. Analysts say that Congressional renewal of such subsidies will be difficult and that there would likely be an immediate drop of 10 to 15 percent in ethanol production if the … Continue Reading

In crowded ethanol market, waste has the edge

This week saw some bad news for ethanol. The American petroleum industry’s main lobbying arm filed a lawsuit to fight the EPA’s new ruling that cars made in or after 2007 can use a 15 percent ethanol blend.

On top of that, it looks like Congress is considering not renewing generous ethanol subsidies (which will expire at the end of this year) and opening up the U.S. ethanol market to outside players like companies in … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: A123 posts sharp Q3 losses, Sage gets $80 million for smart building glass

Here are the top cleantech stories we’re following on the GreenBeat today:

Declining subsidies in top solar markets like Germany are pushing down the stocks of solar companies, Reuters reports, citing Chinese solar firms JA Solar and Solarfun and industry giant First Solar as examples.

Top glass and construction materials manufacturer Saint-Gobain announced it will make an $80 million strategic investment in Sage Electrochromics (pictured), which makes a glass technology that absorbs heat is … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: First Wind plans IPO, BMW tries the Zipcar route

Here are the stories we’re following today on the GreenBeat:

Wind farm developer First Wind Holdings is planning a $300 million IPO for this week, Reuters reports. Look for more on this story on the GreenBeat today.

Subsidies for ethanol are slowly losing federal support– instead, the government is looking to boost next-generation biofuels by supporting infrastructure like biofuel pumps and flexible-fuel vehicles, the New York Times reports. The current tax on imported … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: LED installer Redwood raises $15 million, smart grid's Accent brings in $7 million

LED lighting systems installer Redwood Systems announced this morning it has raised $15 million in equity. Backers include Battery Ventures, U.S. Venture Partners and Switzerland-based Index Ventures.

Smart grid semiconductor company Accent announced it has raised $7 million in a second round of fundraising from Tallwood Venture Capital.

Newer cars will be allowed to use higher levels of ethanol in gasoline, the Wall Street Journal reports — as high as 15 … Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Enfinity acquires ClearPeak, Google invests in $5 billion wind transmission project

Solar project developer Enfinity announced it has acquired solar developer ClearPeak, adopting the latter’s pipeline of renewable energy customers and projects. The acquisition will expand Enfinity’s reach coast-to-coast.

SmartSynch and Sprint (NYSE:S) announced today a residential utility smart meter that communicates over the Sprint network and uses SmartSynch’s network management. This follows SmartSynch’s announcement last week that it would team with Verizon to release a smart grid communications solution for residential utilities, and shows … 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: SolarCity eyes 2013 IPO, Serious Materials makes building management push

SolarCity could be looking at an IPO in 2013, CEO Lyndon Rive told the Wall Street Journal. The solar installer is expanding — it hired 300 people in the past year and expects to add 100 more to its staff in the next six months. Key to its growth: the company’s energy savings for primarily residential customers has started to attract commercial customers. The company announced its biggest deal to date last week with … Continue Reading