From solar-in-a-suitcase to super-efficient irrigation systems, my time at the CleanTech Open’s North Central awards show proved that the U.S. has no shortage of innovators, entrepreneurs, or passion. I came away feeling hopeful about our future, patriotic about the diversity of our country, and humbled by the perseverance of our entrepreneurs.
Tag:
cleantech
The prestigious research firm Cleantech Group has just published its fourth annual Global Cleantech 100 list, which lists the upcoming private companies to watch in the global cleantech arena. Israel, which ranked as the #2 country in the 2012 Global Cleantech Innovation Index, is in a unique leadership position, with companies that are both innovative
With October now upon us, data providers are beginning to issue their preliminary analyses of cleantech investment in the third quarter of 2012 that just closed. This quarter, the Clean Energy pipeline service of London’s VBResearch is the first to weigh in, counting cleantech venture capital & private equity investment (excluding buyouts) as approximately $1.7 billion.
Data from other providers, like Dow Jones
Given the opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in the cleantech industry who are creating everything from micro hydroturbines to small, lightweight, three-wheeled electric cars, I’ve learned that bigger is not always better. Yet in the case of a new wind power innovator, their approach has been to go big – in this case, tall – or go home.
Their innovation is made possible by combining ideas from the past with the design technology and capabilities of today.
In Hanover, Germany, a 100-meter wooden tower is rising that – when completed – will be crowned with a 1.5-megawatt wind turbine weighing 100 tons that will produce electricity for about 1000 households. The tower, currently more than 90 percent complete, will be the equivalent of a 30-story building and online by end of year.
The company responsible for this towering achievement is a German cleantech startup called TimberTower, who I briefly mentioned in an earlier post on renewable energy sources. This innovative company, headquartered in Hanover, has made it their mission to develop wooden towers that can be used as the base for wind turbines. (At its simplest, a wind turbine is composed of a tower, a drive train, and rotor blades. TimberTower is strictly focused on the towers, taking a vendor-neutral approach to the other components, “future-proofing” the base as technology advances).
While wood might not seem like the most cutting-edge material, it turns out that if you’re going to build a massive wind turbine tower—the large heights are necessary to increase yields—there are several compelling reasons to create them out of wood.
First of all, wind turbines with conventional steel towers cease to be financially viable at hub heights greater than 85 meters, largely owing to the rising price of steel.
Secondly, since TimberTower uses flat panels of laminated wood to construct its towers, the loads are easily stackable and transportable, in contrast to steel tower segments. The entire TimberTower kit can be transported using standard container vehicles, rather than having to be transported as an abnormally-sized load—a logistically challenging procedure that can be up to 10 times more expensive.
Third, building towers out of wood makes sense for a forest-rich region like Germany, where the raw materials can be easily sourced close to the point of use from woodlands given the stamp of approval by the largest sustainable forest certification system in the world.
Using a timber alternative for a 100-meter tower saves around 300 tons of sheet steel, which requires an enormous amount of energy to produce. And at end of its life, the wooden components that make up the towers can be easily disassembled and reused for construction purposes, or even transformed into wooden pellets (about 180 tons worth) for energy recovery.
Pretty nifty. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of TimberTower’s innovation is the way it borrows an idea from the past and reinvents it for the future: windmills, after all, have used wooden towers as the base for their turbines for centuries.
Just goes to show that cleantech—innovative and futuristic as it is—isn’t always about discarding the old ways of doing things. Sometimes it’s about taking an idea that’s been around for a long time and helping it reach new heights.
Anyone can look up at the sky and make a guess at tomorrow’s weather. But having actual data informs your opinion and makes your guess a little more accurate.
Which is why, as a managing director of a leading cleantech data provider and responsible for the presentation of its quarterly global cleantech data, I
With issues such as pollution, climate change and deforestation plaguing our planet these days, it’s no wonder that so many people are beginning to change their ways and habits to make more mindful, sustainable choices. Businesses are starting up green initiatives, consumers are demanding more environmentally-sound options and colleges
Eric McAfee is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropist, founding and funding companies in renewable energy, oil and gas, agriculture, networking devices and enterprise software. Given that level of success, I tried to absorb every word of his talk at last week’s Renewable Energy Finance Forum.
Clean energy innovation in the United States is moving to financially friendlier shores—like China
Looking at 2011 VC investment figures, it seems like the cleantech industry in the United States is doing just fine. According to the Cleantech Group, a market intelligence advisory group based in San Francisco
Vancouver’s Fenix Energy Helps to Makes Geo-Exchange a More Affordable Reality
written by Walter Wang
We all produce heat. In winter we need more, summer, we want the opposite. Every day in all seasons, facilities managers work to ensure those who inhabit their office, condos and shopping centers are comfortable. Making us comfortable takes a whole lot of energy-and with that the price of a large carbon footprint.
“Fenix Energy has pioneered a new approach to installing renewable energy in urban centers that shaves months off new construction timelines.” says a Vancouver-based cleantech firm. [1] This is big news.
Like other renewable energy projects, existing infrastructure can act as an inhibitor to technologies such as geo-exchange. But with the right solution and commitment, geo-exchange can take on a greater role in greening buildings.
What’s geo-exchange?
According to the Canadian GeoExchange Coalition, geo-exchange is a term used to describe “an alternative to traditional oil- gas- or coal-fired heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.” [2] The technology is also known as geothermal heat pump systems. Since the ground has both heating and cooling properties, through technology we can harness it to heat and cool buildings, instead of using fossil fuels. “This heat ‘exchange’ between the ground and the building is accomplished by using standard pump and compressor technology.” [3]
Aside from reducing the carbon emissions associated with fossil fuels, geo-exchange saves a whole lot of money. The only caveat is that a geo-exchange system is installed prior to a building’s construction stage, because it requires a horizontal drilling underground. That is about to change with the Fenix Energy approach.
What’s different about the Fenix Energy method?
By drilling vertically, there is minimal disruption to existing surroundings. Recently a completed project at the soon-to-be headquarters of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) set a new precedent in construction methodology. Fenix Energy completed the installation of a geo-exchange system after the building’s first three floors were in place. “Unlike a conventional geo-exchange installation, this unique approach allowed for trades such as plumbing, electrical and glazing to be on-site, working in parallel with the drilling process.” [4]
Saving time and money for a construction project can sometimes determine whether or not an alternative energy solution is implemented. “Fenix Energy’s new approach shortens overall project timelines from two to four months, improving cash flow for the builder and providing a competitive advantage in the green building market,” reads a news release for the ETFO project. [5]
The new ETFO headquarters, located in Toronto, will include office, classroom and meeting space. The design firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB), and construction firm Bird Construction are integral to the implementation of this sort of innovative project. Taking a collaborative approach to the design and construction of buildings is paramount because it can lead to ‘outside the box’ thinking. Buildings have a long lifespan so the decisions we make today, affect the future – specifically, how much energy we use and how clean the energy source is.
Why does this technology matter?
With buildings as one of the largest sources of global GHGs, clean technologies can provide some of the solution. However, the answer to our environmental problems is hardly an issue of technology only. Firms such as Fenix Energy, among many other companies, provide the tools to reduce our collective environmental footprint. It is up to decision makers and businesses to see the opportunity and invest for the long-term.
Article by Meirav Even Har of Justmeans, appearing courtesy 3BL Media.
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NOTES
[1] F?nix Energy: Cleantech Firm F?nix Energy Proves Concept – Shaves Months off Construction Timeline for New Commercial Building (press release August 21, 2012)
http://fenixenergy.com/news-resources/cleantech-firm-fenix-energy-proves-concept—shaves-months-off-construction-timeline-for-new-commercial-building/
[2] Canadian GeoExchange Coalition: What is GeoExchange?
http://www.geo-exchange.ca/en/what_is_geoexchange_p10.php
[3] Ibid
[4] [1] F?nix Energy: Cleantech Firm F?nix Energy Proves Concept – Shaves Months off Construction Timeline for New Commercial Building (press release August 21, 2012)
http://fenixenergy.com/news-resources/cleantech-firm-fenix-energy-proves-concept—shaves-months-off-construction-timeline-for-new-commercial-building/
[5] Ibid
China Becomes Second BRIC to Embrace Green Patents as SIPO Launches Fast Track
written by Walter Wang
The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) of China recently enacted a prioritized examination program for invention patent applications directed to a number of technology areas, including several categories of green technologies (see the translated program administrative measures here).
A number of green patent complaints have been filed in the last several weeks in the areas of biofuels, LEDs, gasoline recycling, and smart grid.
Biofuels
Butamax Advanced Biofuels v. Gevo, Inc.; Gevo, Inc. v. Butamax Advanced Biofuels
As readers of this blog know, green patent activity continues at a record pace. Accordingly, Cleantech companies of all sizes need to stay aware of general trends in patent litigation, as the increasing number of green patents in circulation concomitantly increases the likelihood of litigation either now or in the future.
Most people would agree that developing clean, renewable sources of energy is an ecologically sound proposition. The images of pristine power derived from the sun are inherently beautiful. But what if that new wind turbine is constructed of components that cannot be recycled? And what if that hydroturbine contains toxic materials that pollute the water? Suddenly that cleantech product isn’t looking like part of the solution: it’s looking like part of the problem. And that is not beautiful at all.
For example, when aging wind turbines are replaced by newer-generation models, what happens to those old turbines? This is a problem that wind farms nationwide will have to deal with at some point. Solano County, California, to name one location, recently replaced 235 old 100-kilowatt turbines remaining from a wind farm installed in 1989.
While many parts from the old turbines can be reused or sold for scrap, much of it cannot. The parts that can’t be salvaged include the fiberglass blades, which require “special landfilling,” as do the parts that are coated with hydraulic fluid and would cost more to clean than their salvage value. The result? More contributions to the 175 million tons of landfill that the United States generates each year.
As for that hydroturbine: the first thing people want to know before you drop something into their water system is whether or not it will contaminate their water. Ten million tons of toxic chemicals are released into our environment by industries each year, of which over 2 million tons per year are recognized carcinogens.
Clearly, materials choices matter for cleantech companies if they want to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Fortunately, eco-impact analysis software is allowing companies to make more informed choices about the materials they put into their products.
For example, Freiezo, a Missouri-based supplier of residential and commercial wind power systems, is taking advantage of this type of software to develop a turbine that is close to 99 percent recyclable—bringing them extremely close to their goal of being a zero landfill manufacturer.
Meanwhile, Washington-based Hydrovolts, mentioned in my last posting, is a manufacturer of micro hydropower turbines that run in constructed waterways (such as irrigation canals and water aqueducts).
They have used software to examine the environmental profiles of different materials—say, fiberglass vs. aluminum—before they use them to construct a turbine, and create an environmental footprint for each design option. As a result, Hydrovolts doesn’t just make a product that makes the world a better place by generating clean energy—they ensure that the product itself was designed with sustainability in mind.
As the UK-based sustainability guru Edwin Datschefski notes in his book The Total Beauty of Sustainable Products, “[a product] can’t really represent the pinnacle of mankind’s genius if it is made using polluting methods.” By using tools that help them pay attention to the materials that they put in their products, cleantech companies are taking a step closer to being “totally beautiful.”
Article by Susan Gladwin who leads the Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program, which provides emerging cleantech companies powerful software and opportunities to help them develop solutions that address our most pressing environmental issues. In North America, Europe, Japan and Singapore, the Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program offers $150,000 of Autodesk software for $50 to qualified clean tech innovators.
Not many cleantech start-ups can claim a 40 million dollar deal only a year and a half after founding. But WateRevive, which was selected as one of the most promising Israeli cleantech start-ups by Calcalist newspaper in 2012, and which is active in water purification through constructed wetland, just closed such a deal in China. The Company is also