Cleantech startups have stopped seeing GE as an adversary and have started realizing the company can help them make a difference, Kevin Skillern, a managing director at GE Energy Financial Services, said in a keynote speech at a Thomson Reuters conference called “Financing the Cleantech Vision” in Palo Alto on Wednesday.
In spite of the recession, Skillern assured the audience that the long-term business opportunity for cleantech is still there, though it will require “a strong stomach and a lot of patience” to cash in on it. He also called climate change “one of, if not the biggest, societal challenges of our time” and said technology was an essential part of the solution.
Scientists have discovered a remarkable, unexpected and cheap way to store hydrogen fuel– using carbonized chicken feather fibers.
The problem of storing hydrogen as fuel has traditionally been a perplexing and expensive dilemma. For instance, a car with a 20-gallon hydrogen storage tank made from carbon nanotubes or metal hydrides– two of the best ideas so far– would add $5.5 million or $30k respectively to the price of that vehicle.
A storage tank made from carbonized chicken feathers, however, would only mark up the cost a measly $200. The green bio-material would also help solve the problem of how to dispose of the 2.7 billion kilograms of chicken feathers generated each year by commercial poultry operations.
15 year old Javier Fernández-Han invented a truly innovative solution to meeting the basic needs of many of the world’s poor, and won Ashoka’s Invent Your World Challenge with his algae energy system, called VERSATILE. His holistic approach uses an efficient, modular system to meet multiple needs.
“An invention that is narrowly focused on solving a single problem often inadvertently creates more problems because nature is highly complex and interconnected.” - Javier Fernandez-Han
When it comes to environmental news, doom and gloom often rules the day. And it’s easy to get discouraged. But scientists from Yale University say most polluted ecosystems can recover in as little as 5 or 10 years.
The study means it’s not too late to turn things around if societies commit to cleanup, restoration and sustainability, according to Yale’s analysis of 240 independent studies. The findings appear in this month’s issue of the peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE.
Electric cars have been getting plenty of attention recently, but what about electric jetskis? The ECO Jetski–the first all-electric jetski–reaches speeds of 50 MPH and has an impressive battery life of three hours. Check out a video of the yet-to-be-released jetski in action below.
Everybody is jumping on the green-car bandwagon, even manufacturers who traditionally produce low-volume, high performance vehicles like Lotus. The Lotus tends to be a “driver’s car,” meant for flogging around corners on weekend race tracks, and to see one outside of its native track enviroment in something of a rarity. But if Koenigsegg can make a low-emissions racer, why not Lotus?
Today, Los Angeles based OriginOil announced what they’re calling a breakthrough in algae processing, leading to a simpler and more efficient mechanism for producing algae-based biofuels.
Move over, corn: there’s a new biofuel in town. A tiny flowering plant called duckweed, often seen in shallow ponds, produces significantly more starch per acre than corn according to researchers North Carolina State University. The plant thrives on animal waste, quickly transforming it into a leafy starch that can be turned into ethanol.
The BioMara research project investigating the feasibility of using microalgae and seaweed to produce biofuels was launched on Friday by Scotland’s Energy Minister, Jim Mather.
“Effectively, seaweed harvested off a beach in the Outer Isles could be heating a crofter’s kettle for their cup of tea the next morning.” - Laila Sadler, spokesperson for BioMara
Google only announced its PowerMeter smart-meter platform in February (see our posts on the announcement here, here and here). But some startups are already chomping at the bit to access the platform.
In fact, two of the startups that presented at Earth2Tech’s Green:Net conference last week specifically said they are interested in using PowerMeter when it becomes available.
On Monday at the Denver Auto Show, Lightning Hybrids unveiled their concept 100-MPG hydraulic-hybrid that will vie for the Automotive X Prize.
Since we first covered this ‘biodiesel hydraulic-hybrid,’ the team at Lightning Motors has been working around the clock to finish in time for this debut.
15 year old Javier Fernández-Han invented a truly innovative solution to meeting the basic needs of many of the world’s poor, and won Ashoka’s Invent Your World Challenge with his algae energy system, called VERSATILE. His holistic approach uses an efficient, modular system to meet multiple needs.
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