Science and Enterprise

Tag: cleantech

  • Energy Dept. to Fund $102M for Small Business Research

    The U.S. Department of Energy says it will fund research projects by 104 small businesses in the U.S. to develop energy-related technologies for market. The grants, made under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, total $102 million. The projects cover technologies applying to energy efficiency, particularly for industrial…

  • National Lab Opens Battery Manufacturing R&D Center

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, part of U.S. Department of Energy, has opened a research and development center for battery manufacturing. The lab says the facility is designed for open collaboration among participating companies, although the lab did not disclose which companies are taking part. The facility, which the lab says costs $3 million,…

  • Nanotech Window Glass Developer Lands $55M in Venture Funds

    Soladigm, a developer of energy-efficient office building window glass in Milpitas, California, secured $55 million in series D venture funding, the fourth financing cycle after initial start-up. The funding round, led by Reinet Investments and NanoDimension, join current investors DBL Investors, GE, Khosla Ventures, Navitas Capital, Sigma Partners, and The Westly Group. Soladigm’s lead product,…

  • Nanotech Method Devised for Capturing Firefly Light

    Researchers at Syracuse University in New York and Connecticut College in New London have found a new process using nanotechnology for efficiently harnessing bioluminescence, the natural light emitted by fireflies. The findings of the team led by Syracuse chemistry professor Matthew Maye, which offer the potential for a natural non-fossil fuel light source, appear online…

  • Solar Developer Secures $70 Million in Venture Financing

    Nanosolar Inc. in San Jose, California says it has raised $70 million in new capital for further research and development and to expand production. This later-stage investment round includes current and new investors OnPoint Technologies, Inc., Mohr Davidow Ventures, Ohana Holdings LLC, and Family Offices. In February, the company secured $20 million in venture financing…

  • National Lab Develops Demonstration Community Fuel Cell

    Engineers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington have created a more efficient fuel cell system that can provide electric power for neighborhoods. The PNNL researchers published their findings last month in the Journal of Power Sources (paid subscription required). The solid oxide fuel cell system developed at PNNL, a division of the…

  • Company, University Lab Design Thermal Solar Collector

    An engineering company in Madrid, Spain, working with a research group at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), has designed a new central receiver for a solar thermal energy plant recently installed in Spain. Sun to Market is an engineering and IT services company in the solar energy sector that collaborated with UC3M’s Energy Systems…

  • National Lab, Investment Fund to Support Battery Companies

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and CalCEF, a not-for-profit group in San Francisco supporting clean energy technologies, unveiled a program called CalCharge to help new energy storage companies. CalCEF has two divisions, the California Clean Energy Fund and CalCEF Innovations that designs business models, financial products, and public policies to foster clean energy. CalCharge aims to…

  • Venture Fund Raises $50M for Cleantech, Materials Start-Ups

    Pangaea Ventures Ltd. in Vancouver, British Columbia has raised $US 50 million for its Pangaea Ventures Fund III that aims to invest in early-stage cleantech companies using advanced materials technologies. Pangaea says the new investment fund expects to eventually raise $100 million. The limited partners in the fund are corporate and private-equity venture investors including…

  • Circuit Manufacturer Acquires Wireless Network Developer

    Silicon Laboratories Inc. in Austin, Texas has acquired Ember Corporation in Boston to supplement the Silicon Labs product line in low-power networking for home and business applications. The initial value of the purchase is placed at $72 million. Ember is expected to contribute $10-$12 million in revenue in the second half of 2012. Silicon Labs…