Liquid Metal Battery Snags Funding From Gates Firm

Liquid Metal Battery, a company pursuing a breakthrough battery design, has attracted Bill Gates and an oil driller as seed investors.

Many battery companies are working to improve existing technology, but the founders of Liquid Metal Battery are taking an unusual approach that they hope will slash energy storage costs and deliver batteries able to store several hours of wind and solar power. The target of the company, which was spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is to have demonstration systems connected to the grid in three to five years, executives said. An official announcement of the series A funding is expected next month.

Liquid Metal Battery, as its name implies, is building a battery where all the active materials--the cathode, anode, and electrolyte--are in a liquid form at high temperatures. In most of today's common batteries, such as lead acid and lithium ion batteries, the cathode or anode are solid.

The all-liquid approach reduces the degradation of electrodes that can happen in batteries and allows for the high flow of current needed for bulk storage on the grid. Most importantly, though, it means the battery can built using relatively cheap components, said materials chemistry professor and co-founder Donald Sadoway. He conceived of the original idea by drawing on his experience around making metals, including giant aluminum ingots, using electrochemistry at an industrial scale.

Professor Donald Sadoway shows off a model of an all-liquid metal battery prototype under development.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

"I looked at how aluminum smelters take a giant hall with liquid aluminum and fill it and I said, 'That's where you can get economy of scale.' If you want a big battery, you build one big battery and you can't do that with today's technology," Sadoway said in an interview. "The scalability is going to be enabled by borrowing the lessons of 125 years of aluminum smelting."

Liquid Metal Battery has licensed technology developed at Sadoway's lab, where work will continue in parallel. Sadoway intends to take a yearlong sabbatical to be scientific adviser to the company. His lab received a three-year $6.9 million grant from the Department of Energy's ARPA-E research agency two years ago and a four-year, $4 million grant from oil company Total to research how to adapt this battery chemistry for home storage.

Sadoway decided to spin out a separate company because researchers were limited in their ability to test out larger prototypes which were initially about the size of a hockey puck. He also wanted to hire people with the engineering experience able to develop and test a commercial product.

"We're taking what we consider the top prospect chemistries from the lab study and we will look at how the laws of scale apply because no one has every built one of these before," he said. "If we do some very elegant science, that alone will not be considered a success."

The company is now working on a prototype system where each battery cell is about the size of a pizza box and able to store about 200 watt-hours and work at 1 volt. Its next task is to build a larger cell about the size of a Ping-Pong table, where many individual cells would be stacked in a battery pack. The target is to make a grid storage device able to deliver a few hours of power to fit into a shipping container, while a home battery would be about the size of a basement freezer, company executives said.

Layer cake
In the past few years, truck-size batteries have been connected to the grid for certain applications, such as maintaining a steady frequency or local back-up power. But batteries, in general, remain very expensive and are mainly used for delivering quick bursts of power. Batteries are starting to be used in conjunction with wind and solar farms, but Liquid Metal Battery is seeking to slash the cost of storage to the range of $100 per kilowatt-hour, several times lower than today's prices.

Providing many hours of storage at low cost, what many consider the holy grail in storage, would allow solar and wind farms to "firm up" variable wind and solar power, which sometimes rely on natural gas plants to provide a steady flow of power. Sadoway said different liquid metal chemistries could be used for different applications, such as storing energy at off-peak times and releasing it onto the grid at peak hours. That is now done by pumping water uphill to a reservoir and releasing it through a water turbine at night, which is cheap but limited in where it can be done.

This model of a prototype shows the makings of an all-liquid battery cell. The bottom red layer is the heavy liquid metal cathode, the yellow is the molten salt electrolyte, and the green above is the less dense anode. The container is surrounded by an insulator material.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

Sodium sulfur batteries and some types of flow batteries, which are already used for grid storage, use liquid electrodes today, said Luis Ortiz, the president and co-founder of Liquid Metal Battery. Where this company will be different is having liquid metal electrodes and a liquid electrolyte made of molten salt. The approach has performance and price advantages, he said.

"We have all-liquid components so it should last much longer because there won't be a build-up of stresses or cracks," Ortiz said. "We have reason to believe they could last tens of years."

One of the key technical challenges is to build a battery that is self-heating. For the metals and salt to remain liquid, researches have been working with metals at temperatures between 400 degrees and 700 degrees Celsius. Because the flow of large amounts of current generates heat, the battery itself can heat itself once it has reached the right temperature, but product designers need to sort out best battery shape, Sadoway said.

Early prototypes used liquid magnesium and liquid antimony as positive and negative electrodes. Because the metals and the molten salt electrolyte have different densities, they remain separated as three distinct layers, much the way oil and vinegar don't mix.

When the battery is being charged, a chemical reaction causes compounds dissolved in the electrolyte to form magnesium and antimony metal. During discharging, the chemical reaction happens in reverse, releasing electrons to create an electrical current onto the grid. In a difference from most batteries, the electrolyte gets thicker and the two liquid metal electrodes get thinner while discharging.

The container that holds the liquids itself acts as a conductor. Actual batteries will need to be engineered with an insulator around the container because they operate at high temperatures.

Student Gates
The group is now working on a second-generation liquid metal battery that acts in principle the same way that today's lead acid, lithium ion, and nickel metal hydride batteries do, said Ortiz. In that design, metal ions pass between the anode and cathode and the electrolyte remains constant, he explained.

The company is cagey on exactly which metals researchers are working with. But in general, they are working with pairs of metals of different densities that are relatively cheap, Ortiz said. Similarly, the electrolyte used can be very cheap material, such as table salt or rock salt used to salt roads.

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The technology behind Liquid Metal Battery came to the attention of Bill Gates through the lecturing of professor Sadoway, whose solid-state chemistry classes can be viewed online. In an appreciation written for MIT's 150th anniversary, Gates singled out Sadoway's work on energy storage.

In forming a company, Liquid Metal Battery took funding from Gates' venture arm and a large corporation with the hopes of having long-term investors. "We were interested in taking patient money with deep pockets because these are large systems that take a significant amount of capital," said co-founder David Bradwell.

Gates, who has a deep interest in clean energy and climate change, said last year he has invested in five battery-related ventures because inexpensive storage is a "tough problem (that) may not be solvable in any economic way."

Research on the all-liquid battery approach has been going on for about five or six years and Sadoway said the group has met the technical and cost milestones set out by investors and ARPA-E. "We've got to get (total installed costs) down below $250 a kilowatt-hour. That's the issue--cost," he said. "Our work is cut out for us (but) I'm guardedly optimistic."

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20064404-54.html#ixzz1NHqZY5hX

Brammo Revs Up With Six-Speed EV Motorcycles

Brammo will offer its electric motorcycles with a six-speed transmission beginning in 2012, the company announced today.

The bikes will be unveiled this Friday in Las Vegas shortly before competing in the MiniMotoSX race.

Motorcycle manufacturer Brammo could make a big impact on the motorcycle world with this change.

While electric motorcycles have been around for some time, and even had their own race on the Isle of Man in June 2009, up until now they've mainly been seen as bikes for early adopters interested in green tech, or those who might otherwise consider a moped.

Electric motorcycles are relatively quiet, have a limited range, and arguably offer limited speed and performance when compared to comparable racing bikes with internal combustion engines. They're also fighting an image problem in a market famous for exuding a longstanding sexy, powerful, and adventurous appeal.

"Electric motorcycle design has always been a bit of a balancing act in direct drive systems where great acceleration performance comes at the expense of low top-end speed," Brian Wismann, director of product development at Brammo, said in a statement.

If Brammo's new line of six-speed electric motorcycles are finally able to join the ranks in terms of image and performance, an Italian engineering firm may be to thank.

SMRE's Integrated Electric Transmission (IET) which Brammo has exclusively licensed.

(Credit: Brammo)

SMRE Engineering has patented what it calls the Integrated Electric Transmission (IET), which allows a battery-powered motorcycle to have a six-speed transmission, and perform more closely to a traditional racing motorcycle.

"The IET is a mechatronic propulsion unit that emulates the feeling and performance of a traditional internal combustion engine, with a specially developed electric motor, clutch, and gear shift, that enables Brammo motorcycles to accelerate hard from the line up to a high top speed, something that is just not possible to achieve with a single ratio electric motorcycle," Brammo said in a statement.

That's quite a change from the single-speed electric motorcycles currently made by Brammo, Zero Motorcycles, and Native Cycles.

Brammo has acquired an exclusive international license to use SMRE's tech in its bikes, the company also announced today.

The line of Brammo motorcycles including the new technology (see video) will go on sale in 2012 and range in price from about $10,000 to $12,000, not including possible federal or state incentives offered for EVs.

Brammo already sells its Enertia all-electric motorcycles at Best Buy. No word on when or if the electronics retail giant will also offer the six-speed version in 2012.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20059695-54.html#ixzz1LUqQlQ3X

Nanosolar Lands Big Orders For Printed Solar Cell

Nanosolar thin-film solar cells are made using a roll-to-roll process and then the cells are assembled into panels in another factory in Germany.

(Credit: Nanosolar)

Thin-film solar company Nanosolar said today it has secured sizable customer orders and it expects to match solar industry cost leaders in a few years.

Nanosolar, one of dozens of companies founded last decade to use thin-film cells to lower the cost of solar, said it has customer orders that could be as much as 1 gigawatt worth of solar panels over six years if the company meets technical milestones and ramps up volume as it projects. The panels are designed for utility-scale solar projects over 1 megawatt in size.

The contracts are a boost to San Jose, Calif.-based Nansolar, which has raised close to $500 million but replaced its CEO last year, a sign of some troubles at the company. The contracts are with existing partners, solar developers Belectric from Germany, EDF Energies Nouvelles of France, and Plain Energy from Germany.

By the end of this year, Nansolar expects to manufacture solar cells at a rate of near 115 megawatts per year in San Jose. Those cells are transported to Germany where another factory makes panels specifically designed for utility customers.

Once it's at full capacity in its San Jose plant, Nansolar expects its production costs will be at a $1 per watt, making its costs lower than panels made with traditional crystalline silicon cells, according to Brian Stone, Nanosolar's vice president of sales and marketing.

The company expects that improved efficiency of its solar cells, from 10 percent now to 14 percent in 2014, will get production costs below 60 cents a watt by the end of 2013, making it competitive with other thin-film solar manufacturers. The key to its lower production costs is Nansolar's roll-to-roll cell manufacturing, said CEO Geoff Tate, who joined the company about one year ago.

Most thin-film solar companies use a vaccum deposition process where solar cell material is layered on to a substrate. Nanosolar's photovoltaic material, made from a combination of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium (CIGS), starts in a liquid form and is coated onto an aluminum foil. The layer evaporates and then is heated to create a crystalline structure needed for a solar cell, explained Tate.

The manufacturing process, where cells are essentially printed, allows for faster production and greater cost reductions over time, compared to both other CIGS makers and companies that make cadmium telluride thin-film cells, including industry price leader First Solar.

"We believe CIGS has higher efficiency potential but printing is actually more important than whether we are doing cad tel or CIGS because it gives us a cost structure that none of the others have," said Tate.

The solar panels themselves are designed specifically for utility-scale projects, with relatively large panels able to produce 200 watts each and a mounting system which saves on material and cabling.

To get to the company's projected volume target, Nansolar doesn't need to raise any more money. In 2008, the company raised $300 million, bringing the total raised to near $500 million. After ramping up to full scale at its current locations in California and Germany, the company intends to double its manufacturing capacity with new plants, said Tate.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20057991-54.html#ixzz1KrDI2meF

Volkswagen Unveils Third-Generation Beetle

The new and improved Volkswagen Beetle.(Credit: Volkswagen)

The Volkswagen Beetle enjoys a long and storied history. And now, it's moving into its third generation.

The Volkswagen Beetle is arguably one of the most recognizable cars on the road. First launched in the U.S. in 1949, the car was a staple in the country for 30 years. Over that span, Volkswagen sold nearly 5 million Beetles in the U.S. alone. After being discontinued, the Beetle was brought back in 1998. Through 2010, the New Beetle's sales topped 477,000 units in the U.S. All told, more than 22.5 million Beetles (first- and second-generation) have been built.

The latest Beetle, which Volkswagen is calling its third-generation model, features a new design that might surprise those who have grown accustomed to its iconic look. According to Volkswagen, the third-generation Beetle is "substantially wider, the front hood is longer, the front windshield is shifted further back and has a much steeper incline." In fact, the 2012 Beetle is 3.3 inches wider than its predecessor and half an inch shorter in height. The body is also 6 inches longer.

In addition, the Beetle comes with a panoramic top that's 80 percent larger than the previous option, and offers both a "turbo-charged TDI Clean Diesel and turbo-charged gasoline engines." The Clean Diesel engine, the company says, is the most fuel-efficient option ever available in a Beetle, offering 40 miles per gallon on the highway and 29 miles per gallon in the city.

On the tech side, consumers should find quite a bit to like. The 2012 Beetle comes standard with eight speakers. If customers opt for the premium VIII audio system, they will get an integrated CD changer, along with an SD card slot and touch screen. In addition, customers can opt for the first time to get navigation in the Beetle.

For better sound, customers can choose the Fender Premium Audio System, which delivers "an additional subwoofer and 400 watts of output power," Volkswagen said. For the first time, Volkswagen is also bringing keyless access to the Beetle, letting owners open the doors and start the engine without requiring an ignition key.

The 2012 Volkswagen Beetle is scheduled to launch in the U.S. in September or October. Volkswagen has yet to reveal pricing.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20054899-17.html#ixzz1JzaWPPor

Microsoft And Toyota Partner On Smart-Grid Tech

Toyota Motor has agreed to develop and deploy telematic services, including its smart-grid technology for running electric systems more efficiently, on Microsoft's cloud-based Azure technology.

Toyota wants to use the technology to give customers navigation and diagnostic services, much like General Motors' OnStar service. Toyota also envisions scenarios in which drivers would be able to turn on heaters or air conditioning at their home with voice commands from their car. "We'll boost the value of today's vehicles by making them information terminals," Toyota President Akio Toyoda said at a press conference today, which was Webcast.

The service, a centerpiece of Toyota's green initiative, will provide energy management technology for Toyota's electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012. Drivers will be able to choose to charge those cars when energy consumption is lowest and prices are cheapest. "We must find a planet-friendly way of using energy," Toyoda said. Toyota hopes to roll out a more advanced platform to handle a wider variety of applications globally by 2015.

Microsoft's Steve Ballmer

(Credit: Microsoft)

The new technology will be tested as part of the Toyota Smart Center pilot program, currently running in Japan. The trial gives consumers detailed information about energy consumption in their cars and homes so they can manage their use more efficiently. Toyota has said it believes such smart-grid systems can help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 75 percent.

The deal calls for the two companies to invest a total of $12 million in Toyota Media Service, a Toyota subsidiary that will provide digital information services to Toyota's car customers.

The deal gives Microsoft a marquee customer for its Azure technology, which provides companies the ability to offer applications as a Web-delivered service. And it's not just Toyota that will take advantage of the technology. The car maker intends to open up the service to other developers who could create services of value to drivers. "Getting the platform right opens a lot of opportunities," Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said.

For Microsoft, the deal moves the company further into the automotive business. The software giant has already partnered with Ford for its Sync in-car connectivity system that lets drivers access their phone and music device with voice commands. It also helps Microsoft expand its drive into smart-grid technology. Just Monday at the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference, Microsoft's Chief Environmental Strategist Rob Bernard told CNET that since consumers and utilities have not taken up its Hohm energy-monitoring application as hoped, the company is increasing focus on electric-vehicle charging.

Related links
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• Microsoft tries plan B with Hohm energy app
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Neither Ballmer nor Toyoda offered up much detail for the kinds of scenarios that might be available. There was some broad discussion about energy-monitoring applications, and some speculation about GPS services that could reroute drivers based on traffic. But whatever is ultimately offered, Toyoda acknowledged that consumers will foot the bill. "To a certain extent, we will have to ask customers to shoulder the expense," Toyoda said.

Toyoda expects the new technology to work in concert with the Entune service, which Toyota unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. That service allows drivers to use voice commands to buy movie tickets, make restaurant reservations, and listen to music. With the technology created by the Microsoft partnership, Toyoda said, "we will be able to offer much broader applications for Entune."

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20051357-75.html#ixzz1JFI403DV

Tax Per Gallon, Or Per Mile?

As the Nissan Leaf does not use any gasoline, its drivers do not pay for highway maintenance.(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

A report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), requested by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), looks at the feasibility of taxing drivers based on miles driven. To implement the tax, the CBO found that technology exists to seamlessly record and transmit mileage.

Conrad requested the report to explore means of raising money to fund a $556 billion budget request by the Obama administration to maintain highways. Currently, funds are raised from an 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal tax on gasoline and a 24.4-cent-per-gallon federal tax on diesel. Conrad suggested an alternate per-mile tax due to lower revenues from the gas tax as vehicles become more efficient.

While saying per-mile metering devices were feasible, the report fell short of estimating the cost of implementing metering devices. It said that, while it would be less expensive to require manufacturers to install metering devices as original equipment, the phase-in would take many years.

Implementing a per mile tax would face many similar hurdles. If everycar in the nation could not be equipped with a factory-installed or aftermarket metering device all at the same time, the tax would need to allow some drivers to pay the per mile tax, and others to continue to pay the per-gallon tax.

Both Oregon and Washington are already considering some means of taxing cars that use little or no gas. Previously, Oregon considered a per-mile tax. Both states are currently looking into a road tax aimed specifically at plug-in vehicles.

Source: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20047354-48.html#ixzz1Hvn0eWT1

Ford Focus Electric Will Connect With AT&T

The new MyFord Mobile smartphone app will allow owners to plan trips, locate charging stations, remotely lock/unlock doors, and more.(Credit: Ford)

The Ford Focus Electric will use the embedded AT&T wireless connection to send and receive data about thecar, Ford announced today.

Through the new MyFord Mobile smartphone app, owners will be able to plan trips, monitor their vehicle's state of charge, locate charging stations, remotely lock/unlock doors, use a built-in GPS system to locate the car and receive alerts.

"With a wireless connection, we're putting battery charge and vehicle range information, along with an interactive, data-driven trip planning app, directly at the fingertips of our customers," said Ed Pleet, product and business manager for Ford Connected Services. "This technology will keep drivers connected to vital information, enhancing their electric car ownership experience. The AT&T network is an important part of this equation, and we're pleased to have AT&T on board."

The MyFord Mobile app will be available for most major smartphones as well as via a secure Ford Web site.

The Ford Focus Electric was unveiled at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show. A 240-volt charging station will also be available for charging the Ford Focus at home, the company said.

Source: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20046093-48.html#ixzz1HdKsLM1u

CMU Shows Off Honda Civic Made Electric

This Honda Civic is ChargeCar's latest conversion. It can travel at least 40 miles in mixed driving on a charge. (Credit: CMU)

If you're sick of high fuel prices, Carnegie Mellon is running acar conversion project that takes gasoline-powered Hondas and makes them all electric.

The automaker showed off an electric Fit last year that can travel 100 miles per charge, but if you want a greener Civic, the CMU Robotics Institute's ChargeCar Electric Vehicle Conversion Project might be for you.

Researchers such as Illah Nourbakhsh of the institute's Create Lab work with local mechanics in converting Civics. At an open house near CMU on March 25, they will unveil a 2002 Civic EX four-door sedan that's been electrified.

The converted Civic's battery pack.(Credit: CMU)

The Civic's conventional powertrain has been replaced with a 35-horsepower electric motor and 33 lithium-iron-phosphate batteries.

According to a CMU release, the car can drive more than 40 miles in mixed urban and highway driving, and has a top speed of more than 70 miles per hour (CMU would not specify an exact number).

The project has details on the conversion of a 2005 Honda Civic LX with the same stats; charging takes about 10 hours. Check out the photo gallery here.

How much does conversion cost? Jobs vary, but a CMU official said the best estimate he's seen is $17,000 or more. Ouch.

That price may fall as the project continues. Meanwhile, a Create Lab staff member is going to order and pay for the first commercial conversion in the program.

An interesting part of the conversion project is that researchers are trying to make the cars more efficient through better power management and AI.

Batteries are linked to a supercapacitor, a high-capacitance energy storage device, and artificial intelligence algorithms are used to decide when energy is drawn from batteries and stored in the supercapacitor. The goal is to improve battery life.

You can see the converted Civic at the upcoming open house and sign up to electrify yours too; see details here.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20044737-1.html#ixzz1HG2JFMlu

Zero Motorcycles Wins $17 Million In Financing

The all-electric Zero DS gets 58 miles on a single charge and is notably quiet by motorcycle standards.

(Credit: Zero Motorcycles)

Zero Motorocycles has secured $17 million in financing from a group of investors led by Invus.

The Santa Cruz-based motorcycle manufacturer said today that it closed the financing deal on March 3 and plans to use the funds to increase its production capacity and expand its international sales. In addition to the initial funding, the company said it also has the opportunity for an additional $9 million in the coming months per the terms of the deal.

Zero Motorcycles, which is known for its all-electric drive train on street-legal motorcycles, does its manufacturing at a plant in the U.S., although some parts are imported from international suppliers. The company employees about 70 people.

Its 2011 lineup represented a major overhaul of the Zero's products. Most notably, the company introduced the ability to accept DC (direct current) power from fast-charging stations with the use of a plug-in accessory to fit a standard SAE J1772 plug. Zero also switched from a chain to a belt drive system, which in addition to making maintenance easier has also made the bikes very quiet for a motorcycle.

Two of the motorcycles, the Zero DS and Zero S, also got battery upgrades, making it possible to drive more miles between charges. The 2011 Zero DS has a range of about 58 miles and retails for about $10,495. Its biggest advertisement seems to be that its 2010 version was adopted by a California police department, with several more departments evaluating the new version.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20044206-54.html#ixzz1GyNC5Tca

Florida, Carolinas Getting Smart Grids In $500M Push

Progress Energy is moving forward with its plan to spend $500 million to upgrade two of its electric utilities in Florida and the Carolinas to a smart-grid system.

Together the two utilities provide electricity service to over 3.1 million customers. The Raleigh,N.C.-based company is paying for the upgrade in part with a $200 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The grant came out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and is part of the high-profile push by the Obama administration and many state leaders to upgrade U.S. electric grids.

The project is also a boon to IBM's efforts to grow its presence in the potentially lucrative industry of smart-grid analytics. Progress Energy plans to use IBM's WebSphere software platform as a tool to integrate distribution management and demand response systems. Big Blue has also been hired to help install and implement the systems in conjunction with Progress Energy, IBM announced today.

IBM has run several pilot programs to test smart-grid systems in the past four years, including a consumer-level one in North Carolina in 2009 which found that on average, the introduction of smart-grid technology and smart meters cut electricity use by 15 percent.

In the case of Progress Energy, however, IBM's services will concentrate on equipment and system upgrades, analytics, and management that will enable the company's utilities to better control things like voltage levels, as well as electricity distribution across power lines.

IBM is one of a number of blue-chip companies getting into the smart-grid industry in recent years through software and services. Many of them have done so by buying smaller companies with existing technology, as is the case with Johnson Controls' purchase of EnergyConnect, Honeywell's purchase of Akuacom, and Siemens' acquisition of Site Controls.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20041579-54.html?tag=mncol;title

Retroficiency App Sizes Up Building Energy

Retroficiency's Web application is designed so energy auditors or building managers can get a quick idea of energy use and evaluate efficiency projects.(Credit: Retroficiency)

Start-up Retroficiency today officially launched its service for streamlining efficiency projects in commercial buildings and said it has raised a seed round of funding.

The Boston-based company said it has raised $800,000 from local angel investors and World Energy, which operates online auctions for bidding on energy supply contracts.

Retroficiency's Web-based application is designed to quickly create a picture of a commercial building's energy profile and potential efficiency upgrades. It can be used by energy auditors to speed up creation of their reports or by buildings' facility managers to prioritize projects.

Many building owners or occupants are interested in improving efficiency, but the manual process of sending out an energy services professional can be time-consuming, said CEO and founder Bennett Fisher.

With the application, users fill out a survey with basic information, such as square footage, occupancy, and year built. Drawing on a database of existing buildings, it can infer more specifics, such as the type of lighting used and estimated electricity and gas usage. People can later update the profile with more specifics.

"There's a huge bottleneck of finding efficiency opportunities and going after this. New York City wants to audit 20,000 buildings. How are they going to do this with a guy walking around with a clipboard counting lightbulbs?" said Bennett.

So far, Retroficiency has signed one customer--commercial building manager Jones Lang LaSalle--for its service and is in trials with a handful of others.

In the commercial building efficiency area, there are dozens of large and small companies seeking to find a niche for their goods and services, in part because there's a lot of potential to save money and lighten buildings' environmental footprint. Bennett said he has found that its "identification and qualification platform" competes largely with manual processes and spreadsheets.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20041035-54.html#ixzz1G9EoGnR6

EPA Approves New Air Conditioning Refrigerant

Automotive air conditioning of the future will not be the environmental blight it has been in the past. The EPA on Monday announced it has approved the refrigerant HFO-1234yf for use in vehicles.

Designed by Honeywell and DuPont, HFO-1234yf has a global warming potential that is 99.7 percent less than the current chemical (HFC-134a) used in most car air conditioners.

General Motors last summer announced it planned to use HFO-1234yf in 2013 models pending final approval.

GM will be joined by other automakers eligible to receive greenhouse-gas emission credits for 2012-2016 models by adopting eco-friendly refrigerant, thanks to new laws passed last year.

Over the next few years, HFO-1234yf will become the new standard for U.S. automakers; the refrigerant has also been approved for use in Europe and Japan. The change will be better for the environment, the EPA said.

Prior to the use of HFC-134a, car air conditioners generally used CFC-12, which the EPA calls "a potent greenhouse gas and ozone-depleting substance."

"This new chemical helps fight climate change and ozone depletion," said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. "It is homegrown innovative solutions like this that save lives and strengthen our economy."

Source: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20038449-48.html#ixzz1FxG08oKF

Coda Aims To Sell 50,000 Electric Cars By 2015

Electric car start-up Coda Automotive aims to sell 50,000 vehicles by 2015, mostly in the United States, chief executive Phil Murtaugh told reporters today.

Coda, like Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive, is one of several new companies that are banking on mass-market adoption of electric vehicles. Major automakers including Nissan Motor and General Motors are also racing to launch electric cars.

Coda's electric sedan.(Credit: Coda Automotive)

Coda is making its first vehicle, the Coda EV, in China in partnership with Hafei, which is controlled by state-owned China Changan Auto, and is scheduled to begin selling it in the United States in the second half of this year.

It will be sold to fleet buyers in California initially and slowly expand into other states, Murtaugh told reporters in Beijing.

"Once we start selling to fleets and get a feel of how we are doing, we will start selling to consumers. Our plan is to go slowly," he said.

Coda has set a target to sell 10,000 to 14,000 units in the first 12 months after its launch.

The Santa Monica, Calif.-based company also has a battery joint venture with Lishen Battery Power.

The company had in January tapped Murtaugh, a former GM and Chrysler executive with extensive experience in China, as its new chief executive.

Story Copyright (c) 2010 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20038244-54.html#ixzz1FTtx3cz6

GlassPoint Greenhouse Uses Sun To Pump More Oil

GlassPoint's glass buildings are about 20 feet high and have mirrors inside which makes steam.(Credit: GlassPoint)

 

In a meeting of solar energy and oil and gas drilling, California start-up GlassPoint yesterday hosted the ribbon-cutting of an oil field partially run by solar-generated steam.

The company claims it's the only operation that uses solar power for enhanced oil recovery, where steam is pumped into wells to draw more oil from existing wells. The commissioning was in Kern County, California and construction of the facility took six weeks.

Right now, oil fields use natural gas steam generators whereas GlassPoint's system uses a series of mirrors in a greenhouse to generate heat. The mirrors reflect the light onto tubes carrying water, which turn into steam.

Solar generators for enhanced oil recovery were tried in the 1980s. GlassPoint says that it has driven down the cost to the point where oil drillers will use the technology for economic, not environmental, reasons.

With lower-cost options for making steam, oil drillers can get more from existing facilities rather than start new ones, GlassPoint CEO Rod MacGregor said yesterday, according to a report in the Bakersfield Californian. "If you move the economics, you can extract more oil," he said.

One of the company's executives is John O'Donnell, who was founder and former president of solar thermal company Ausra, which was acquired by energy company Areva. Concentrating solar power companies typically use mirrors to generate heat for making steam. To make electricity, that steam is passed through a turbine, but the steam has other industrial uses.

In a similar test, BrightSource Energy has been contracted by investor Chevron to build a solar thermal array to test the effectiveness in replacing natural gas for making steam.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20036475-54.html#ixzz1FHv2ARKA

Rolls-Royce Develops Its First Electric Vehicle

Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a unit of German auto giant BMW, said over the weekend that it had developed a fully electric-powered car, but did not say when the model would enter production.

Rolls-Royce said the prototype, dubbed the 102EX and based on its top-end "Phantom" model, will be put through various tests during 2011.

The normal Phantom is powered by a 6.75 liter 12-cylinder engine, at least three to four times the size of the engine on a typical family sedan, and gets about 14 mpg.

Rolls-Royce said it will display the prototype at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1, but said there are no immediate plans to develop a production version.

Rolls-Royce says that the 102EX is "a one-off, fully electric powered Phantom," which it plans to show off at the Geneva Motor Show next week.

(Credit: Rolls Royce)

Story Copyright (c) 2010 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20034772-54.html#ixzz1Ej7p1Ave

Cisco Ties Knot With Control4 For Smart Home

Control4's Energy Management System (EMS) 100 will be used by Cisco in smart-grid deals.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

Cisco Systems has invested in Control4 and intends to use Control4's home automation software in large deals with utilities and cities.

The deal, announced today, calls for Cisco to sell Control4 products, such as its home energy management dashboard, under the Cisco brand and to create closer ties between the two companies' products. Cisco invested an undisclosed amount but was the lead investor in a recent round of private funding in Salt Lake City-based Control4.

Control4's software is like an operating system for connected devices in a home, including consumer electronics, home appliances, lights, and thermostats, said company CEO Will West. Having access to Cisco's sales force and relationships with cities and utilities will accelerate the move to the connected home and home automation, he said.

High-end home media systems use Control4's software and touch-screen controllers to, for example, stream video and audio to different rooms. Its home energy management system, a small dashboard device tied to a utility meter, has been picked by some utilities as part of smart-grid programs.

Cisco intends to tie Control4's software to its consumer products, such as its home networking gear, consumer videoconferencing, and voice over IP phones, said Paul Fulton, vice president and general manager of Cisco's prosumer business unit. Cisco also has an Internet-based development platform for writing applications for these connected devices.

The goal is to have a full suite of products when selling home automation to utilities, helping consumers to improve efficiency by controlling and monitoring energy use. It also ties into Cisco's "smart and connected communities" strategy for urban development through which cities invest in a modern technology infrastructure, including broadband access and connected devices.

Cisco already has its own home energy management system, similar to Control 4's Energy Management System 100. Fulton said that Cisco's product, which costs more, will continue to be offered to utilities. The deal between the two companies is not exclusive.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20031954-54.html#ixzz1EAJCTCwE

PowerTrekk Charges Phone With Water, Hydrogen

(Credit: PowerTrekk)

With the increasing number of tech gadgets we carry around, even on hiking trips, having a reliable power source is a serious consideration. While solar-powered battery packs have been around for a while, the reliance on a consistent sunlight source is a big concern in some regions.

The pocket-size PowerTrekk Fuel Cell charger out of Sweden offers two solutions to the personal energy crisis. Besides an internal battery pack that can be charged from the mains, the device also utilizes disposable fuel cell packs. The device splits water to create hydrogen that goes through the fuel cell to create an electric current, which can be used to either power up USB-connected devices or charge the internal battery pack.

The PowerTrekk is being demonstrated at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. While it's one of the first hydrogen fuel packs for phones and mobile devices to hit the market, others, like Horizon's HydroFill, operate on a similar principle.

Details on pricing and availability for the PowerTrekk are not provided at this time, as the company is still sourcing for distributors. In the meantime, see how the PowerTrekk works in the video below.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20031841-1.html#ixzz1Dyei4o9C

E-waste Recycler Goes High-Tech To Boost Volume

Tons of electronics will be transformed back into raw materials using a highly automated series of electronic machines in a new facility in Ontario, Canada.

Sims Recycling Solutions flipped the switch on an e-waste recycling and refurbishing operation yesterday in Mississauga outside Toronto, which converts all incoming material. The facility will be able to treat and resell 75,000 metric tons of e-waste annually, including CRT monitors, TVs, PCs, and other electronics gadgets, such as digital music players and mobile phones.

In the U.S., electronic waste is a fast-growing source of waste. In 2007, about 18 percent of TVs and PCs were recycled, and about 10 percent of cell phones were, according to the EPA.

The Sims operation will rely on a number of techniques to automatically separate and collect plastics, glass, and metals from the incoming stream of e-waste. Using belts, optical sensors, and metal-separation machines is already done for single-stream household recycling, but Sims is using this technology, rather than manual sorting, to handle e-waste.

Sims made the investment in anticipation of higher e-waste recycling rates due to mandates from Ontario and other Canadian provinces, said Cindy Couts, president of Sims Recycling Solutions. In Ontario, there is a fee on electronics at the time of purchase which is used to fund recycling programs, she explained.

"Without that eco-fee and the collection of funds, then there isn't enough economics in the program to drive higher rates of recycling," Couts said. The first year of the program fell far short of its target but now after some changes were made, Sims expects more significant uptake and a profitable operation.

X-Rays and optical scanners
The Mississauga center is built around a series of processes to shred and then separate different materials, even capturing the dust that's created from the shredding process for recycling.

After shredding, waste goes to through a shaking hopper to spread goods out evenly on conveyor belts. A magnet sorts out ferrous metals and then transparency sensors pick out glass from plastics. There's a step with an X-ray machine to differentiate glass from glass with lead, which is used in old CRT monitors.

Optical sorters, which can be calibrated for size, color, and density, identify different materials, such as printed circuit boards. To take out non-ferrous metals, there's a machine with an eddy current--a rapidly alternating magnetic field--which sends materials into a separate bin while the rest falls onto another belt.

Toxic material is sorted out beforehand by hand, such as florescent bulbs which contain mercury or batteries, according to the company.

Couts said that this center can handle so many different materials in one place because it incorporates e-waste recycling technologies from so many different sites. "It's high-tech in the demanufacturing world," she said.



Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20031323-54.html#ixzz1Db0gjCE2

LEDs, EnergyStar Drive Flat-Screen TV Efficiency

The newer your flat-screen TV is, the more energy-efficient it is, according to a study released today by industry group the Consumer Electronics Association.

The CEA commissioned an analysis, done by technical services company Tiax, which found a significant decrease in power consumption by flat-screen TVs from mid-decade to 2010. (Click for PDF.)

The average "active mode" power use of LCD flat-screen TVs in the 35-inch to 54-inch category was about 250 watts during the years 2005 to 2007, but is now closer to 100 watts, according to the study. From 2003 to 2010, the LCD power density--or wattage per square inch--fell 63 percent in active mode and dropped 87 percent in standby mode.

Plasma TVs have traditionally drawn more power than LCDs, the study said, but there was improvement in efficiency over the past few years. From 2008 to 2010, the active mode power density for plasma TVs fell 41 percent and the standby mode fell by 85 percent.

According to CNET's TV Energy Efficiency Guide, the average power consumption for plasma TVs is 301 watts. For a traditional LCD, it's 111 watts and 101 watts for LED-lit LCDs.

The three biggest factors determining power consumption are the size of the screen, the type of TV, and the picture settings, according to CNET's guide. The settings for stores are designed to be very bright but consumers can save a significant amount of energy by adjusting those retail settings.

Older cathode-ray tube TVs can be less efficient per square inch, but many consumers buy larger TVs when they buy flat-screen TVs.

EnergyStar and industry competition helped propel the efficiency trend, according to the study. On a technical level, the study said that increased use of LEDs, rather than fluorescent lighting, and improvements in power electronics helped cut standby power.

"Energy Star, competition, innovation, and technology improvements have all been responsible for lower power draw," it said.

The CEA-commissioned study did not examine what impact 3D TVs will have on power consumption. But initial tests by CNET's David Katzmaier found that 3D TVs will consume more, with plasmas showing about double the power than when they are 2D mode.

Update: On Friday February 4, the CEA released a revised study to note that plasma TVs as a group "traditionally drew more power than LCD TVs, primarily due to their relatively larger screen sizes." In 2010 models, both TV technologies have similar power densities, the CEA said. This article was changed to reflect the change in the study.

Also, because CNET tends to test larger, higher-end TVs, CNET's average wattage ratings do not reflect the average wattage for the market overall, Katzmaier said.



Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20030596-54.html#ixzz1DPMg3bS1