Ballard Power Systems (BLDP), a nearly three-decades-old forefather of the fuel cell industry, said today it’s “reviewing strategic alternatives” for its automotive fuel cell assets — corporate speak for a possible sale. In explaining the move, the Vancouver, B.C.-based hydrogen fuel cell developer cited “the lengthy projected timeline to commercialization and high cost of [...]
This week, the 2007 Farm Bill, having passed in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry with an overwhelming majority, is expected to move to the Senate floor. Besides the old subsidies for high-fructose corn syrup and new programs for farmers markets, the farm bill brings new funding for the biofuel industry. The estimated [...]
The solar thermal startup Ausra only started talking publicly in September, but already the Khosla and Kleiner Perkins-backed Silicon Valley company is one of the more high-profile cleantech startups around. This morning, Ausra provided additional details about a planned solar thermal power plant in California and an agreement to sell solar power to California utility [...]
A new Ivy League spin-out startup is targeting the off-the-grid power market with a fuel cell and a little dirt. Living Power Systems, formerly known as Fiat Lux (”Let There Be Light”), is the brainchild of Peter Girgius, a professor of microbiology at Harvard. The company’s product is a microbial fuel cell (MFC) — which [...]
It might elicit protests from the college crowd, but university and corporate research partnerships are a lifeline for emerging innovation in the cleantech industry. There was two more of these big academia/big industry cleantech unions this week.This morning BP and Arizona State University, as well the Science Foundation Arizona, announced a research partnership to work [...]
The maturing of the car-sharing industry was illustrated by ZipCar and Flexcar announcing a merger, this week. Perhaps the market is ready for an even more sustainable approach developed by researchers at MIT: the City Car, a personal, stackable, electric, goldfish bowl-esque mode of transport, meant to be picked up in one location — and [...]
Unlike the “green guerillas,” IBM believes in the power of financial markets to help fight climate change — and bring in customers. This morning, Big Blue said it will offer customers “energy efficiency certificates” in exchange for reducing the energy consumption of their data centers. Participants in the program will be able to trade the [...]
The burgeoning carbon trading industry is getting prominent enough to have its very own “greenwash guerillas.” These two eco-activists briefly take over the podium at a New York carbon trading conference, offer attendees a “Deed to the Sky,” and declare carbon trading a scam. OK, so they’re a bit hardcore, but the industry is controversial [...]
Golden Soybeans: A team of researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia have discovered how to make gold nanoparticles chemical-free by using only gold salts, soybeans and water — Eureka Alert.TeleSoft Taps Energy Software: VC firm TeleSoft Partners says it has acquired a majority interest in Energy Software & Consulting I and II which, together, are [...]
In the quest to find the best types of tiny algae for biofuel production, Big Oil is teaming up with Big Government.Chevron (CVX) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratories announced yesterday that they are joining forces to select and develop algae that can be processed into biofuel. Chevron Technology Ventures will fund the project. CTV [...]
