cleantech

Venture capitalists expect greater investment next year, while CEOs of VC-backed firms are looking at more work and more hiring, according to a report (PDF) released today by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and Dow Jones VentureSource.

Among the venture capitalists polled for the "2011 Venture View" survey, just over half (51 percent) are looking for investment to pick up next year. Only 24 percent expect it to stay level, while the same percentage believe it will decline. CEOs running venture-backed companies were also optimistic, with 58 percent eyeing an increase in venture investing next year and … Read more

This year's Cleantech Open 2010 Business Competition winner, announced last week, is Puralytics, a company developing photochemical water purification products.

Since 2006, the Cleantech Open has offered a venue for competition among green tech start-up companies looking for funding. Winning alumni of the contest include Cool Earth Solar, Green Volts, and Micromidas.

This year's winner, Puralytics, is an Oregon-based start-up that uses natural sunlight or LED lighting as the catalysts to remove pathogens, petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals from waste water. Its processes under development have applications for both industrial manufacturing facilities and small rural communities. Puralytics will receive $250,… Read more

EcoFactor has been awarded Cleantech Open's national award, which includes $100,000 in seed capital.

The awards ceremony for one of the leading environmental start-up competitions took place at the Masonic Center in San Francisco following a day-long conference in which contestants and venture capitalists had a chance to mingle.

EcoFactor has developed software that works in conjunction with a two-way thermostat to better maintain stable desired temperatures in homes. The system relies on outside data like weather as well has the thermal habits of the home, and self-regulates based on those factors. The process helps heating and cooling … Read more

California regional finalists for the Cleantech Open were announced Wednesday.

Think of the Cleantech Open, which started in 2006, as a Western divisions-only March Madness for environmental techies looking for funding. Contestants initially compete against each other in three Western U.S. regions: California, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific Northwest. Since its inception, the contest has garnered more than $125 million in funding for its contestants, according to Cleantech. It's also helped companies like Cool Earth Solar, and GreenVolts get noticed.

This year the California region judges had an initial pool of 278 teams, which it narrowed down to 49 … Read more

Two companies said Wednesday that they have developed a method for turning sewage sludge into ethanol.

Israel-based Applied CleanTech and Marlborough, Mass.-based Qteros created a joint development project that combines sewage treatment technology and a microbial process for converting biomass into ethanol.

The method can turn municipal solid waste into a fuel and reduce the amount of sludge processed by traditional treatment facilities, the companies said. Many researchers have been studying ways to extract usable energy from sewage sludge but there are not any commercial operations that make liquid fuel.

Applied CleanTech's core technology, which is already used … Read more

Paving the way for the so-called Hydrogen Super Highway, California Fuel Cell Partnership released a roadmap that details plans for 46 retail hydrogen fueling stations in six targeted California communities by 2014. Hydrogen is considered to be the holy grail of clean transportation because Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCV) emit only water when driven, but a lack of infrastructure is one of the major roadblocks to this advancement.

"By 2017, automotive manufacturers plan to place 50,000 zero-emission fuel cell vehicles in customer hands. FCVs will provide the performance, durability, driving range, and comfort that customers want, and meet the nation's need for a domestic fuel that is better for the environment," said Catherine Dunwoody, CaFCP's executive director in a press release.

For the moment, only six of the state's 26 hydrogen refueling stations are open to the public. Most are privately owned and operated for corporate fleet or testing vehicles. The CaFCP gave details for the cost of building 40 stations by 2012, which is projected to be $181.5 million and is expected to be funded largely by the government to incentivize the industry to begin the transition to hydrogen. … Read more

With the roll-out of plug-in and electric vehicles this year, car owners are going to need to know where else besides their home they can charge their car. Communities are working to accommodate these new vehicles by installing public charging facilities, but that won't help much if no one can find them.

Tying the pieces together is the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Map created and maintained by the Cleantech Authority, an environment-conscious information hub that provides actionable resources for readers to use. … Read more

INDIAN WELLS, Calif.--There's a new cliche in the clean-tech investment community, and we can thank Charles Dickens for it.

As Dickens put it at the start of A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Who knew pulp fiction about pre-revolutionary France had lessons for 21st-century clean-tech investment?

Here at the Clean-Tech Investor Summit, investors say that signs indicating the energy business is poised for dramatic change have never been stronger, with an Obama administration making energy central to a massive stimulus package.

To understand the "… Read more

Green-tech venture capital funding soared last year, aided by megadeals in thin-film solar companies, according to preliminary figures released Tuesday by the Cleantech Group.

During 2008, green-tech venture investments jumped to $8.4 billion, a 38 percent increase, according to the report.

Solar investments helped drive the growth, capturing 40 percent of green-tech investments. Thin-film solar deals did particularly well, capturing the three largest investments in green technology last year.

NanoSolar raised $300 million last year, followed by Solyndra with venture investments of $219 million and SoloPower with $200 million.

Cleantech Group's senior research director, Brian Fan, said in … Read more