The Evolution of Clean Tech Finance

Karina Funk is an expert in the finance of early-stage technology ventures. After discussing the topic at a recent conference, Jon Guice conducted the following e-mail interview.

What are some innovative finance mechanisms that technology executives would be interested in?

Recently we’ve seen innovations that spread risk and return over a wider net:  some engineering companies are starting to get comfortable giving independent performance guarantees; voluntary markets, aided by state policies, are unlocking the value of renewable or energy efficiency attributes and are creating new revenue streams; and investors can manage risk across a portfolio of assets rather than one special purpose entity.

Read the full interview

Electric Sports Cars

The next generation of electric cars that merge efficiency and advanced technology with performance and style are finally coming to market. In the San Francisco Bay Area alone at least two startups are developing electric vehicles that match or exceed the performance of gas-fueled sports cars. On July 20, one of them, Tesla Motors, unveiled the first such vehicle available for purchase: the Tesla Roadster. The Roadster features a 135 mpg equivalent, goes up to 250 miles on one charge and still manages to accelerate from 0 to 60 in just 4 seconds.

BusinessWeek Launches Inside Innovation Quarterly

In June of this year BusinessWeek launched a new quarterly titled IN: Inside Innovation. The inspiration for this new resource is the principle that "making innovation work is the single most important business challenge of our era." The first issue includes tools for inspiring creativity in employees and using innovation to reach untapped markets, profiles of successful innovators and case studies of companies and products that are breaking the status quo.

Scavenging Vibration Energy

For years the field of energy scavenging (also referred to as energy harvesting) has been investigating ways to take advantage of minute releases of energy to generate electricity. For example, vibrations from the operation of industrial equipment, transportation mechanisms or even human movement can be captured through a resonator and converted to electric current. One UK-based company, Perpetuum, has developed microgenerators based on this principle that utilize the vibrations in industrial facilities to produce power for the sensors, microprocessors and transmitters in wireless sensing networks. Perpetuum has deployed pilot networks where these microgenerators enable the operation of wireless, battery-free networks that monitor equipment efficiency, temperature and other critical metrics. This technology has the potential to overcome one of the greatest barriers to widespread deployment of wireless sensing networks.

Clean Technology Innovation Speaker Series: Green My Ride
September 26, Stanford University
This event, organized and sponsored by GreenMountain Engineering, will explore emerging technologies in the transportation sector and examine the potential for silicon valley upstarts to impact the transportation industry. Confirmed speakers include Tesla Motors and CalCars.

Cleantech Venture Forum XI
September 20-22, New York
The Cleantech Venture Forum brings together clean technology entrepreneurs and investors.

Solar Power 2006
October 16-19, San Jose, CA
The largest business to business solar event in the US, featuring exhibitors, speakers, workshops and special events over 4 days.

GreenMountain Engineering, LLC is the design engineering consultancy serving renewable energy and other cleantech companies. GreenMountain specializes in the design of new devices, products and production systems and is known for innovative approaches to new products and new manufacturing equipment. The firm’s solar power practice—with clients such as Evergreen Solar, SunPower Corporation and DayStar Technologies—encompasses the entire supply chain, from fundamental technologies and cells to modules and systems. GreenMountain Engineering offices are located in San Francisco and just outside Boston in Waltham, Massachusetts.