Ultracell raises $3.8M for portable fuel cells
UltraCell, provider of fuel cells for mobile applications, has brought in $3.8 million in capital, according to VentureWire. BASF Venture Capital, OnPoint Technologies, Espirito Santo Ventures and Miami Valley Venture Fund led the round. Based in Livermore, Calif. the company has raised $30 million in venture backing to date.
Ultracell says the new financing will be used to grow its manufacturing facility in Ohio and expand field testing of its leading fuel cell. Its products are… Continue Reading
PowerGenix gets $30M for electric scooter batteries
Alt-chemistry battery maker PowerGenix has significantly upped its funding with a $30 million fourth round. The company plans to make batteries for electric vehicles, power tools, electronics and other applications.
One of PowerGenix’s most ambitious plans is to crack into the market for electric scooters, which we recently covered. Its nickel-zinc (NiZn) batteries are cheaper than lithium-ion, the best battery type available, yet more powerful than standard lead-acids.
The company also has potential markets in hybrid electric… Continue Reading
PowerGenix hopes to overtake NiMH dominance with alt-chemistry rechargeable batteries
With the market for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) finally starting to heat up in earnest, several companies are making big bets on advanced rechargeable battery technologies. One of these is PowerGenix, a San Diego, Calif.-based startup that makes nickel-zinc (NiZn) batteries.
Another is ZPower, a startup that hopes to oust lithium ion as the dominant technology by developing advanced silver-zinc (AgZn) batteries. While they offer greater power density, AgZn batteries haven’t been used much because they… Continue Reading
Will lithium ion get replaced? Longer lasting, recyclable batteries due in laptops this summer
Lithium ion technology batteries have been on the market for over 16 years now, and like a human of the same age, the technology’s growth appears to be slowing. Improvements in the battery technology are lessening each year, and the power demand from electronics, fueled by chip advances, makes it feel as if time is standing still for lithium ions — phones and laptops don’t stay charged much longer than they ever did.
We’ve reported on… Continue Reading
Akermin raises $5M for fuel-cell bioenzymes
NOTE: This item also appears in Monday’s daily briefing at VentureBeat Life Sciences.
Akermin, a St. Louis developer of new biocatalytic enzymes, raised $5 million in a second tranche of its first funding round. Investors included Prolog Ventures, OnPoint Technologies, Chrysalix Energy and the St. Louis Arch Angels.
Akermin works with catalytic enzymes — molecules that speed particular chemical reactions — developed with biotechnology that could replace precious-metal catalysts now used in fuel cells. The company is developing… Continue Reading
Life sciences briefing: Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007
Featured companies: Akermin, Fluxion Biosciences, iCardiacTechnologies, Wellocities
UPDATED: Expanded items on Fluxion, Akermin, and Wellocities.
Fluxion Bio draws in $6.9M for cell-analysis tools — Fluxion Biosciences, a San Francisco developer of cellular-analysis tools, raised $6.9 million in a second funding round, VentureWire reports (subscription required). Investors included Kodiak Venture Partners, Claremont Creek Ventures and Life Science Angels.
Fluxion takes the idea of running chemical reactions against living cells — a key step in screening and analyzing the activity of drug… Continue Reading