Escape From Berkeley: An alternative-powered fuels race to Vegas

Update July 19, 2008: Escape from Berkeley is now scheduled for Oct. 10-13, 2008.

Now this is something that I wish I could see.

Over the coming Fourth of July weekend, the folks who organize the Power Tool Drag Races will be putting on an entirely new kind of competition: Escape from Berkeley (by any non-petroleum means necessary), a race of alternatively powered vehicles from the liberal Bay Area town to Sin City.

"This 4th of July weekend, NASA scientists and junkyard fabricators once again square off in the perennial battle of engineering prowess and creative excess, this time … Read more

Khosla invests in turbine tech maker Pax

Updated 2:30 p.m. PST with funding amount.

Khosla Ventures, the venture capital firm of Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla, has invested in Pax Streamline, maker of turbines, heating and air-conditioning systems, and aerospace technologies.

Khosla and Pax Streamline CEO Jay Harman did not disclose the amount of the investment, which was formally announced Friday, but Harman said the funding is "substantial." According to a source familiar with the deal, Khosla invested an estimated $6 million in a series A round of financing; and if the company meets certain business goals, the VC firm will put in … Read more

Microsoft enviro chief: Software integral to clean tech

Microsoft's chief environmental strategist, Robert Bernard, spoke publicly for one of the first times this week, giving some insight into Microsoft's "green" strategy.

Bernard was named to the position about four months ago after working with Microsoft for 10 years on partnerships with other IT companies.

While other IT companies have launched "green IT" initiatives, Microsoft has been relatively quiet.

For example, IBM's Big Green Innovations, launched last year, is focused on data center energy efficiency but also includes consulting activities, such as advising companies on how to reduce carbon emissions within their … Read more

Better machines through origami

Is making machines more efficiently as simple as folding paper cranes? Industrial Origami is betting that its technologies for folding sheet metal will help manufacturers cut costs and waste on the factory floor.

Industrial Origami's metal forming techniques work with existing manufacturing equipment but slash costs by 70 percent, said president and CEO Rick Holman. It offers a software add-on for CAD design systems.

Industrial Origami focuses on car parts and home appliances as well as heating and air conditioning system. It licenses its fold-and-cut technologies to Whirlpool and Eaton Electric, which makes enclosures for electric equipment.

Key to … Read more

Building batteries that don't explode

Driven by fears of laptops and cell phones spontaneously bursting into flames, the U.S. government this year banned checking loose lithium batteries in luggage on flights. But that won't be an issue if Nanoexa has its way.

The company is taking a closer look at lithium-ion batteries to design a better, more stable breed. It's eyeing the growing energy storage market, especially for batteries used in hybrid and electric cars.

Nanoexa's software examines the ingredients of batteries at the atomic level. Computer modeling scrutinizes the contents, such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, to determine the safest … Read more

Government to help incubate clean-tech start-ups

The Department of Energy announced on Wednesday its choice of three venture capital firms to send promising clean-tech entrepreneurs to collaborate with national laboratories.

The government's new Entrepreneur in Residence plan is designed to speed the development of the green technology sector.

"Government has to cultivate the conditions for these technologies to thrive," U.S. assistant secretary of energy Alexander Karsner told attendees of the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco. "We felt very strongly we had to build bridges over the commercialization valley of death."

The venture capitalists include Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, and Byers to … Read more

'Negawatts' provider EnerNoc boosts revenue

EnerNoc, a company that makes money by throttling corporate energy use, on Wednesday reported a spike in fourth-quarter revenue, but a larger-than-anticipated loss drove down its stock price.

The company said that fourth-quarter 2007 revenue was $19.7 million, up 234 percent year over year, and full-year revenue more than doubled to $60.8 million.

The net loss for the quarter was $9, or 48 cents per share, more than the First Call consensus of 30 cents. EnerNoc's stock price dropped nearly 15 percent Wednesday on the news. Update: EnerNOC's stock was down over 27 percent by 1:… Read more

Another carbon sequestration idea: Turn it into chalk

BP has proposed capturing carbon dioxide underground. A start-up in Texas called Skyonic says it can capture the gas and turn it into baking soda.

And now Carbon Sciences says it will turn carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and factories into calcium carbonate, otherwise known as limestone or chalk. The company combines the gas with fine calcium powders in a way that doesn't require a lot of heat and pressure, or that much calcium for that matter. For every ton of carbon dioxide, you only need three tons of raw materials, says CEO Derek McLeish.

The good news … Read more

Can we actually reduce energy usage without hurting GDP?

I was thinking today, in cleantech we often talk a lot about energy efficiency. Californians often cite that this state has grown its economy for the last 20 years without a significant increase in energy usage per capita, compared to the rest of the country, where GDP per capita goes up, and energy usage goes up just as much. But of course, California has lost much of its manufacturing sector over that same 20 year period, too. Perhaps no coincidence?

But if we wanted to actually do it, where could we actually save energy without impacting GDP growth, make a … Read more