ecomagination

Building GE's Ecomagination 'ecosystem' (Q & A)

BOSTON--In one respect, green-tech companies are realizing what IT manufacturers did many years ago: just selling a box will only go so far.

To get a high volume of products sold, technology suppliers need to combine hardware with software and with consulting services to solve a problem.

This idea of developing a "solution" around energy-related gear is high on the mind of Mark Vachon, vice president of Ecomagination at General Electric. To do that, there needs to be an "ecosystem," or network, of partners who can pull the various pieces together.

Launched six years ago, the … Read more

GE invests in storage unit innovation

SustainX announced today it's received $14.4 million in funding from GE subsidiary GE Energy Financial Services, Cadent Energy Partners, Polaris Ventures, and Rockport Capital.

The New Hampshire-based company is a start-up that grew out of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College in 2007, and has been developing a compressed-air energy storage unit intended for integration with smart grids.

Simply put, its innovative storage unit uses compressed air to store, then generate electricity. But unlike other compressed-air storage units, which use a compressor to store air underground, SustainX stores the air in a standard tank located above … Read more

GE's next Ecomagination challenge: Home energy

LAS VEGAS--General Electric today said the next phase of its $200 million entrepreneurship challenge will focus on home energy management.

GE at the Consumer Electronics Show said that the contest, called "Ecomagination Challenge: Powering Your Home," will begin January 18 and run through to March 1.

In July, GE launched the first phase of the contest with four venture capital companies to seek out business ideas for modernizing the grid from the general public. In November, it said it will provide grants or invest directly in several power grid-related companies, covering everything from way-out ideas such as solar-powered … Read more

GE funds energy start-ups in smart grid contest

Having scoured the globe via the Internet for promising power grid technologies, General Electric today said it and its partners will invest $55 million to into 12 energy-focuses start-ups.

At a press conference in New York, CEO Jeffrey Immelt said that GE will also give out five $100,000 grants to scientists with less mature technology ideas. In another initiative, it will make $10 million available starting next year in a new University Challenge to spur more expertise and research in grid-related technologies, such as power electronics and materials science.

In July, GE announced that it and four venture-capital companies-- … Read more

GE challenge stirs radical ideas for cleaner grid

It's like a giant online science fair hosted by a giant corporation. And it's generated some a flood of ideas.

General Electric's $200 million Ecomagination Challenge, launched in July with four venture capital companies, ends tonight after 10 weeks of receiving submissions. People from around the world have offered ideas for making the electric grid cleaner, more efficient, and more reliable. Now a panel of judges gets to pick the winners.

By the end of October, GE will announce the contest entrants with which it plans to pursue commercial relationships. There will be five $100,000 awards … Read more

GE, VCs offer $200 million in smart-grid challenge

General Electric and four venture-capital companies are putting up $200 million to award entrepreneurs for coming up with innovative ways to modernize the electricity grid.

At an event at San Francisco, the companies launched the "GE Ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid," a competition designed to cultivate smart-grid technologies. The money is being made available by GE, Emerald Technology Partners, Foundation Capital, Rockport Capital, and Kleiner, Perkinsk, Caufield & Byers, each of which are investing in green-technology start-ups.

"This challenge is about collaboration and we are inviting others to help accelerate progress in creating a cleaner, more efficient … Read more

GE to invest $10 billion in Ecomagination initiative

General Electric announced Thursday plans to invest $10 billion over the next five years in Ecomagination, the green-focused research and development program it began in 2005.

Since Ecomagination began, GE has invested a total of $5 billion in its research and development as of the end of 2009. The technology and products to come out of that program have generated $70 billion in revenue over the past five years, according to GE statistics released Thursday.

In view of that revenue success, GE has decided to double investment for the program between now and 2015. The announcement is not entirely surprising, … Read more

GE: Solar business is our 'next wind'

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--General Electric plans to give its solar business a charge within two years by introducing panels with the same solar cell material used by industry cost leader First Solar.

In 2011, the energy giant expects to produce solar panels made with cadmium telluride, a thin-film solar cell material, Michael Idelchik, vice president of advanced technologies at GE Global Research, said here Wednesday at the EmTech conference. The company now sells solar panels that use silicon solar cells, but its long-term bet is on thin-film--and specifically cadmium telluride--because it offers the cheapest cost per watt, he said.

Last year, … Read more

GE to make heavy-duty batteries in New York

General Electric on Tuesday committed $100 million to open a factory in upstate New York to manufacture batteries for hybrid locomotives and other industries such as power grid storage.

CEO Jeffrey Immelt dedicated the facility at a press conference at GE's Niskayuna, New York research and development facility along with New York governor David Paterson and other politicians.

GE has been testing sodium-metal chloride batteries for heavy-duty industrial applications, such as hybrid locomotives and trucking equipment in mining. The technology can also be used for back-up power in data centers, plug-in electric vehicles, and to smooth electricity flow across the grid, … Read more