Tag: cleantech
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Energy Dept. Funding Solar Manufacturing Development
The Department of Energy has awarded three sets of grants to promote development of advanced solar photovoltaic (PV)-related manufacturing processes in the U.S. The $112.5 million awards over five years are part of the department’s SunShot Initiative that aims to make large-scale solar energy systems cost competitive without subsidies by the end of the decade.…
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Solar Developer, Energy Lab Sign R&D Deal
New Energy Technologies Inc. in Columbia, Maryland has signed a research and development agreement with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado to advance the company’s technology for generating solar electric power through window glass. NREL is a division of the U.S. Department of Energy. New Energy’s system, marketed under the trade name SolarWindow,…
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Energy Dept. Cuts Fees, Procedures on Nat’l. Lab Patents
The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has cut licensing fees to $1,000 and reduced paperwork for start up companies on 15,000 patents held by national laboratories. The initiative aims to double the number of start up companies coming out of the department’s 17 national labs. Any of the 15,000 unlicensed patents and patent applications held…
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Molycorp, Ames Lab to Partner on Rare Earth Magnets
Molycorp Inc. in Greenwood Village, Colorado and Ames National Laboratory have signed a research and development agreement to devise new methods to create commercial-grade rare-earth permanent magnets. Ames Lab in Ames, Iowa is a division of the U.S. Department of Energy. Rare-earth elements are key components in modern electronic technologies, such as televisions, fluorescent light…
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Electrolyte Nanocrystals Increase Efficiency of Fuel Cells
Researchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands found that adding small crystals to solid electrolyte material can raise the efficiency of fuel cells. The TU Delft team published its findings, the second recent article on this subject, in the journal Advanced Functional Materials (paid subscription required). Fuel cells are devices that…
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Kansas Winds Could Help Avoid Widespread Power Outages
A graduate student at Kansas State University in Manhattan is conducting research that shows how distributed energy sources like wind power can help reduce widespread power outages. Engineering doctoral student Sakshi Pahwa presented her findings earlier this year at the Capitol Graduate Research Summit in Topeka, Kansas. The research looks into distributed energy sources as…
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Finance Friday: 18 March 2011
Here are recent angel and venture finance transactions for science- and engineering-based companies, as reported by Xconomy and Venture Capital Reporter. Biomedical/Life Sciences Advanced Animal Diagnostics in Durham, North Carolina raised $11 million in equity funding with Intersouth Partners and Novartis Venture Funds, the venture capital arm of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and others. Chronix Biomedical in San Jose,…
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Engineers Research Grid Upgrades to Handle More DC Power
Engineers at University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania have begun research on upgrades needed in the U.S. electrical grid to better integrate direct current (DC) power in an infrastructure designed for alternating current (AC). Funding for the project includes a recent $600,000 support grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, as well…
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E. Coli Engineered to Produce High-Volume Biofuel
Researchers at University of California in Los Angeles have engineered the bacteria E. coli to produce butanol, a type of alcohol that can substitute directly for gasoline in today’s car motors, and in greater quantities than before. The team published its findings earlier this month in the online edition of the journal Applied and Environmental…
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Solar/Thermal Power Alternative Being Developed for Soldiers
A new type of personal power pack in development by six universities in the U.K. could reduce the weight troops carry when engaged on the battlefield. The solar and thermoelectric-powered system aims to weigh up to fifty per cent less than conventional chemical battery packs used by British infantry. The two-year project is being developed…