Tendril Networks, which makes energy-management technology for consumers and utilities, is partnering with an unnamed “major computer game manufacturer” to build a new computer game whose main character, an “eco-warrior,” will gain power as users reduce their energy consumption in their homes. Tendril CEO Adrian Tuck, who hinted at the partnership during a panel discussion [...]
Panel discussions at technology conferences are often pretty dry affairs, but smart grid expert Erfan Ibrahim of the influential group Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) proved today at a conference in San Francisco that even topics like home area networks can rile a crowd. Speaking at The Networked Grid conference hosted by Greentech Media, Ibrahim [...]
Ausra, the solar thermal startup backed by Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures, said today it is selling its Carrizo Energy Solar Farm project, a proposed 177MW project still under development, to industry giant First Solar. Sale of the project, which is in San Luis Obispo, Calif., represents part of a major strategy shift Ausra announced [...]
Terms Set for Panasonic’s Sanyo Takeover: Panasonic said today it plans to make a tender offer for a majority stake in smaller rival Sanyo after negotiating with regulators for approval of a $4.45 billion deal that would transform Panasonic into a cleantech powerhouse with business in solar panels, fuel cells and rechargeable batteries for hybrid [...]
For electric cars at Chrysler, the game won’t kick into high gear until 2011 and beyond. The Detroit automaker, which tapped A123Systems earlier this year to develop battery cells for upcoming electric vehicles, said in a meeting today detailing its five-year business plan that it’s working to introduce a test fleet of plug-in hybrid minivans [...]
Much of what information technology can do for the power grid, it can also do for water management. With the smart grid buildout, wireless sensor networks, software, and computing will be used to let utilities track energy use and identify problems in the network in close to real-time, delivering a more efficient grid that’s better [...]
If you can efficiently separate tiny molecules of salt from seawater, you probably have the technology to filter out the larger bacteria, protozoan cysts, viruses and other contaminants floating around in much of the world’s freshwater. That’s part of what Richmond, Calif.-based NanOasis hopes will allow the company to not only provide tech for desalination [...]
The Clean Tech Open, a nonprofit business plan competition for early-stage startups focused on renewable energy, green building and other cleantech markets, announced today the three winners in the Rocky Mountain region. New Sky Energy, Rivertop Renewables and SunTrac Solar will each receive $50,000 in cash and in-kind services and move on to compete (along [...]
Five years from now, Singapore may have a model of urban transportation that’s smart, green, and full of lessons for cities around the world. That’s the goal of a new project from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the National Research Foundation of Singapore called the Future of Urban Mobility.The pair announced plans last week [...]
Fisker Automotive Picks EU Distributor: Plug-in hybrid car startup Fisker Automotive has picked a large distributor to sell its vehicles in Europe and is looking for similar deals in China. The European retailer will be announced tomorrow. — ReutersAmpulse Raises $8M: Ampulse Corp., which is developing a thin-film photovoltaic technology called film-silicon tech, has raised [...]
MicroMedia Filtration, a developer of advanced water treatment systems, said today that it has closed its first round of funding (no word on how much) from SAIL Venture Partners. The Lake Forest, Calif.-based company was founded in 2003 and is already shipping its treatment systems to municipalities and commercial clients. With its technology in place, [...]
RecycleBank, which partners with cities to provide incentives for residential recycling, has just put another $28.25 million in the bank, according to a filing with the SEC. Separately this morning, the company announced a new partnership with Kashless.org, the re-commerce company founded by former Imperium Renewables CEO and serial entrepreneur Martin Tobias.In the five years [...]
The software that 3-year-old startup EcoFactor has developed to intelligently manage connected thermostats is one of those game-changing technologies that makes you think: Wait, the industry doesn’t already do it that way? It’s just so obvious. EcoFactor, which is officially launching and announcing its first customer (Texas utility Oncor) this morning, has developed a service [...]
“Inventing disruptive manufacturing innovations is every bit as hard as inventing new materials,” says Frank van Mierlo, President and co-founder of 1366 Technologies. Solar power, if it’s going to compete on cost with coal and other fossil fuels, needs both. It’s on that premise that 1366, a developer of new machines and processes that can [...]
