khosla

A second company promises 100 mpg engine

At the Detroit auto show, attendees are going to be talking about the magic 100 mile per gallon mark.

EcoMotors will be at the show to talk about its diesel engine which it says will let cars go 100 miles a gallon by 2011. At that level, you could get across the country and only have to stop once for gas.

Khosla Ventures has invested in the company. The firm also has an interest in Transonic Combustion, which has developed a fuel injection system for getting diesels (as well as other types of engines) to go 100 miles per gallon. … Read more

Desalination without a membrane

People have wanted to turn sea water into drinking water for years. Unfortunately, it's not cheap.

The reverse osmosis process, which separates out salt with a membrane, costs about 50 cents per cubic meter of water. Reverse osmosis systems also have to be monitored so that the membrane doesn't get fouled or clogged. Last year, Ashkelon in Israel opened a $250 million plant that will ultimately churn out 100 million cubic meters of water annually.

Quos, a stealth company out of Chicago, has come up with a technique for removing the salt and other impurities without membranes, according … Read more

Investor Vinod Khosla: Advanced biofuels are closer than you think

Start-up Range Fuels on Tuesday will host a groundbreaking ceremony in Soperton, Ga., where the company will build a plant that will make the fuel ethanol from wood chips.

If successful, the company claims it will be the first to build a commercial cellulosic ethanol plant, using a feedstock that's cleaner than corn--the primary source of ethanol in the U.S. today.

Green tech venture capitalist Vinod Khosla is one the investors in Range Fuels and a high-profile advocate of ethanol and other biofuels.

The numbers behind making ethanol from wood waste, rather than corn, are compelling, he says: … Read more

Fake petroleum on tap at industrial microbe conference

Start-up LS9 has stated in the past that they plan to produce a synthetic version of petroleum with the help of microorganisms. This week, it will provide some information on how the process works.

Stephen del Cardayre, who heads up LS9's research, will deliver a paper this week on the process at the annual meeting of the Society of Industrial Microbiology taking place this week at Denver.

Industrial microbiology, one of our favorite topics here, essentially revolves around exploiting the properties of naturally occurring or genetically enhanced organisms. Microorganisms, after all, are little chemical factories. Feed sugar to certain … Read more

Solar Stirling engine company gets $9.5 million

Solar thermal is heating up.

Infinia, which makes a Stirling engine that can generate electricity or household heat by harvesting heat from the sun, has raised $9.5 million, the company said Thursday. Investors include Idealab and Khosla Ventures. As part of the deal, Infinia bought Stirling Cycles, one of Idealab's companies.

Stirling engines were invented in the 19th century as an alternative to steam engines. A Stirling motor has a closed cylinder that houses a gas, such as hydrogen, and a piston. Applied heat expands the gas to move the piston that, in turn, pumps other mechanisms, such … Read more

Organic-plastic company gets $15 million

Why make a shampoo bottle out of petroleum products when it can be formed out of agricultural-waste products? That's the premise behind Segetis, which today said it has raised $15 million.

The Minneapolis-based Segetis is one of a number of outfits trying to displace petroleum in household products like countertops, bottles and other items. Using organic matter cuts down on pollutants in the manufacturing process and makes recycling far more feasible.

Organic plastics have historically cost more than their petroleum counterparts, but the rising price of oil, coupled with other factors, is making organics more palatable.

Other companies in … Read more