Kleiner Perkins’ Greentech Portfolio

I have been playing with this idea for some time and I finally decided to give it a go.

The idea is to try and learn from the “big guys”. Even though Kleiner Perkins (KPCB) has different investment objectives and methods than Israel G-Tek LLC or ABA Greentech Fund PLC they are definitely at the forefront of VC investing.

I want to try and learn the status of the KPCB Greentech portfolio. To do this I will refer to the companies listed in their website (if other companies exist under the radar – too bad)

Let’s start!:

Altarock Energy Inc:

What is it? AltaRock has filed patent applications for a portfolio of patents in the geothermal energy area and holds exclusive licenses for related intellectual property.

News:

December 11, 2009: Geothermal Project in California Is Shut Down (NY Times)

November 16, 2009: AltaRock Geothermal Gets New Boost. The DOE will sink $25 million into an “engineered” geothermal demonstration project in Oregon being developed in part by AltaRock Energy (Green Inc)

Amyris Biotechnologies:

What is it? Amyris has very fuzzy description of itself. The short story is this: they make Renewable Fuels (Diesel and Jet Fuel from sugar cane using synthetic microorganisms), Malaria Treatment (bioengineered process to obtain the vaccine) and other Chemicals (???)

News:

December 21, 2009: Changes in management: New COO and new Chief Commercial Officer (is there trouble or is it just growth?)

December 08, 2009: Letters of intent with 3 sugar and ethanol companies in Brazil. Amyris will distribute their product and also experiment to enhance production.

December 3, 2009: Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc., announced that it intends to acquire a 40% stake in the Boa Vista mill, an ethanol-producing mill owned and operated by the São Martinho Group, one of the largest and most efficient sugar and ethanol producers in Brazil. The parties will work together to convert this mill to produce Amyris renewable products with first production targeted for the 2011-2012 harvest season

August 21, 2009: Amyris, which makes biofuels from synthetic microorganisms, said today it edged a little closer to the finish line, acknowledging a $24.7 million first close of a potential $62 million Series C to ramp up its synthetic biology platform.

Ausra:

What is it? Ausra designs, manufactures and installs solar steam generators (solar thermal energy)

News:

January 29, 2009: Ausra announced that it no longer plans to build massive solar thermal plants across the southwest and California desert due to poor economic conditions, shifting its focus to smaller-scale power generation plants. Ausra’s new strategy came with its share of layoffs — about a dozen of its 108 employees have been trimmed from the staff since December. Several executives have also chosen to depart.

November 17, 2009: Ausra Solar Looking for a Buyer

November 5, 2009: First Solar will not build the 1,000 megawatts Carrizo project, and the deal has resulted in the cancellation of Ausra’s contract to provide 177 megawatts to P.G.& E

Bloom Energy:

What is it? (no information on the website) Bloom boxes, when hooked up to a renewable power source such as a wind turbine or solar panel, makes and stores hydrogen and oxygen. And at night or when the wind dies down, it changes direction and uses the stored gases to make electricity.(Bloom's system relies primarily on oxygen rather than hydrogen)

From LinkedIn:Bloom Energy, Inc. provides solid oxide fuel cell technology and products for distributed electricity and hydrogen generation. Bloom Energy, Inc. was founded as Ion America, Inc. and changed its name to Bloom Energy, Inc. in September 2006. The company is based in Sunnyvale, California

News:

December 7, 2009: The company won't comment on reports that the city of San Jose recently granted online auction giant eBay (EBAY) permission to install five fuel cells from Bloom Energy that will generate up to 500 kilowatts of power, nor that search giant Google (GOOG) is separately testing the system. But Bloom Energy does confirm it's aiming its initial systems at business customers that want to explore whether they can get reliable green energy at the same price or less than they now pay the electric company.

October 8th, 2009:Bloom is targeting the transportation industry in the company’s grand vision “Our device can either produce the electricity that will charge the car or provide you hydrogen if the transportation becomes a hydrogen based. So we’ve sort of become the gas station for the transportation industry.”

Fisker Automotive:

What is it? Premium sports car company with a mission to create a range of beautiful environmentally friendly cars (mostly Hybrid and electric – for now)

News:

December 4th 2009: What does Joe Biden have to do with Fisker Automotive? On the surface, the answer would seem to be nothing at all.. or at least it did until the Vice President himself revealed the startup automaker's plans to introduce a new series of electric vehicles under the Project Nina banner. Not only that, Fisker just so happens to have decided to build cars in Biden's home state of Delaware. Coincidence?

December 3rd 2009: No one but the hopelessly naive will be surprised to learn that production of Fisker’s Karma will not be hitting customers hands by the end of this month (as once promised). For a company that was only founded two years ago, to get an all-new design engineered and produced in 18 months is a near impossibility. The new target for the for the Karma sedan to hit dealers in the U.S. is September of 2010. Fisker has lined up 42 dealers in the U.S. to sell and service the Karma, along with three European distributors that will provide cars to about 100 dealers there

GreatPoint Energy:

What is it? GreatPoint Energy, Inc. engages in commercializing a process for converting coal into natural gas. The company’s product, bluegas converts feedstock into natural gas

News:

August 13, 2009: GreatPoint Energy Inc., which built a 200-foot-tall coal-to-natural-gas test facility in Somerset, Ma on the campus of the Brayton Point Power Station, will take the results of its testing and build a full-sized conversion facility in Texas. Building a full-scale production facility will probably take three or four years

April 27, 2009: GreatPoint Energy Inc. and Dow Chemical Co. announced the signing of an agreement giving Dow Chemical Co. the option to purchase natural gas from GreatPoint Energy-developed facilities

Hara Software:

What is it? Hara provides environmental and energy management solutions which help organizations grow and profit while optimizing natural resource consumption and reducing environmental impact

News:

May 31, 2009: If Congress passes legislation that puts a price on carbon emissions, companies will need to track and report the waste from their operations. Hara, a start-up that on Monday will start selling software to help businesses measure and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

November 19, 2009: Hara Software Inc. announced that News Corporation has selected Hara to help reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions

Kotak Urja:

What is it? (website was down!) India's leading Solar Photovoltaic and Solar Thermal Energy Solutions provider. Kotak Urja Pvt. Ltd. engages in the design, manufacture, and installation of solar based equipments in lighting and heating systems

News:

June 9, 2009: First 'Green' Commonwealth games, the commite decided to install Solar Water Heater in the Commonwealth Village in Delhi. Kotak Urja Pvt Ltd, Banglore has been awarded the contract to install solar water heaters.

October 31 2008: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), Sherpalo Ventures and a US company have invested $8 million in renewable energy company Kotak Urja Pvt Ltd

Lehigh Technologies:

What is it? Lehigh Technologies recycles tire rubber into fine, engineered powders with performance and cost advantages to rubber and specialty chemicals. Its powders can be used to extend the availability of rubber, improve existing product performance, create new specialty products and inspire innovation in sustainability.

News:

April 16, 2009: Lehigh Technologies, LLC announced the appointment of Kedar Murthy, Vice President and General Manager of Tire and Rubber, and Frank Papp, Technical Manager of Tire and Rubber

(No news is good news?!)

Lilliputian Systems:

What is it? Miniature fuel cells for portable electronic devices and wireless applications. No formal products yet

News:

April 2, 2009: Lilliputian Systems secured $28 million in new funding from new and existing investors. Returning investors include Atlas Venture of Waltham, Fairhaven Capital of Cambridge,  Rockport Capital of Boston and Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers of California

Mascoma Corporation:

What is it? Biofuel company that produces cellulosic ethanol made from wood and switchgrass (warm season grass native to North America). (Still in research stage)

News:

January 7, 2010: Mascoma Corporation today announced the appointment of William J. Brady as the new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately (trouble in paradise?)

October 5, 2009: Mascoma Corporation today announced that the company has made major research advances in consolidated bioprocessing, or CBP, a low-cost processing strategy for production of biofuels from cellulosic biomass

Miasole:

What is it? MiaSolé is a pioneer in the development of Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) thin film photovoltaic products. Our goal is to enable grid parity solar energy by 2012 through high volume manufacturing of low cost solar modules

News:

Company History (from Wikipedia): Miasolé was founded by veterans of the hard disk industry who leveraged their expertise in hard disk manufacturing to introduce new manufacturing processes into the thin-film solar industry. [3] In December 2006, the company's CEO announced that 50MW of manufacturing capacity as well as an IPO is imminent but the company failed to deliver on the milestone. In September 2007, semiconductor equipment executive Joseph Laia was brought in as CEO to move the company to volume production. [4] The company has 40 MW of production capacity at its Santa Clara facility, and claims that as of May 2008 it was making modules at 9% to 10% efficiencies on those production tools. The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory has since independently verified two 10% Miasolé CIGS modules.[5] At this time, none of the company's founders is with the company any longer. Kannan Ramanathan, who served as chief research officer at Miasolé from 2006 to 2008 has left the company in November 2008.Dave Pearce stepped down as CEO and helped hire Joseph Laia. Mr. Pearce then left the company to startup another solar company called Nuvosun

December 16, 2009: MiaSolé Breaks the silence, moves into production. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company – which has maintained a low profile in the market for the last year and a half – started to send its solar panels to customers for them to check out the products' performance in June this year. The company now has a factory with an annual production capacity of 60 megawatts, and is in the process of expanding that to 140 megawatts. MiaSolé has raised at least $300 million in venture capital since its inception in 2001

RecycleBank:

What is it? RecycleBank partners with cities and haulers to reward households for recycling (offices in New York City and Philadelphia). Households earn RecycleBank Points that can be used to shop at over 1,500 local and national businesses.

News:

December 02, 2009: Philadelphia will unveil its latest ambitious recycling initiative Thursday, an incentive-based program that city officials say could reward households $240 a year for their participation and save the city millions of dollars in landfill fees.

November 16, 2009: Waste Connections of Kansas and RecycleBank Team Up with the City of Derby to Increase Recycling Volumes

RPX Corporation:

What is it? RPX Corporation is a member-based Defensive Patent Aggregation service that mitigates members’ risk against litigation from non-practicing entities (NPEs) -- also called patent trolls -- which acquire patents for the sole purpose of licensing and asserting their patent rights (WHY IS THIS IN THE GREENTECH PORTFOLIO??)

Silver Spring Networks, Inc.:

What is it? Building the smart grid will require the products and services of multiple technology providers. The Silver Spring Smart Energy Platform provides the network, software, and services needed as the foundation

News:

DECEMBER 15, 2009: Silver Spring Networks Inc. secured $100 million in a new round of financing to help the company expand its smart-grid business in the U.S. and abroad

September 9, 2009: Silver Spring Network CEO says considering IPO, but not this year .Says they have not discussed any acquisition with Cisco. Sees 2010 as strong year for bookings

December 8, 2009: AT&T Announces Teaming Agreement With Silver Spring Networks. Agreement Simplifies 3G Wireless Connectivity for Silver Spring's Solutions for U.S. Electric Utilities

Verdiem:

What is it? Verdiem Corporation develops and sells power management software for PC networks in North America. Its products include SURVEYOR, an enterprise PC energy management solution that allows organizations to manage and measure energy consumption on PC networks; Edison, an energy monitoring application, which enables consumers to control PC's energy consumption and household's carbon dioxide emissions; and Computer Energy Consumption Analysis that assesses the current energy consumption of networked PCs. The company serves school districts, colleges, universities, government agencies, and corporations

News:

January 4th, 2010: Verdiem has raised $4.71 million of a $5.93 million round from investors including Kleiner Perkins and Catamount Ventures, according to a filing with the SEC. The Seattle-based company was founded in 2001 and as of 2007 had raised a total of $15 million.

December 30, 2009: Marshall & Ilsley Corporation Partners with Verdiem and Reduces PC Energy Consumption

December 18, 2009: Verdiem Corporation announced that John Scumniotales has joined Verdiem as Vice President of Engineering to lead the company's product development organization

January 27, 2009: Cisco Systems announced today the release of software developed in partnership with Seattle-based Verdiem to automatically save energy in idling computers, phones, networked devices, and eventually, whole buildings

On the next opportunity I will try to analyze this porfolio to draw some conclusions. Until then, SHALOM and Happy New Year!

Greentech business and climate change

First of all I would like to apologize to my “audience” for being absent since August (I can’t believe it’s been that long!).

The truth is we have been very busy in Israel G-Tek; we have executed our first investment in a wind turbine technology company IQWind which was recently named top 100 cleantech company of the world; we are also in the process of negotiating other deals.

Since August I attended the Boston Cleantech forum, went on a business trip to San Diego and then went on to Israel to, amongst other things, be part of Watech (one of the largest water and alternative energy conferences).

Also, since August the book Start-Up Nation came out, becoming an unintended marketing campaign for our fund.

So, let’s get right to the point: WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE’S ROLE IN GREENTECH BUSINESS?

First of all I want to disclose that I don’t consider myself a “tree-hugger”; my business associate is even less of a believer than me, he is into Greentech because he wants to stop oil dollars from going to countries such as Iran and Venezuela.

Regardless of your beliefs in climate change, there is a direct correlation between the truth of climate change and the future of greentech. More specifically, the relation is between people’s perception of climate change and the future of greentech (like my marketing expert wife says “perception is reality”)

Recent scandals in the scientific community have placed a black veil over climate change, bringing more people into the “doubters” side of the equation. But, what if I told you that we are in an almost irreversible path to wipe out humanity from the face of the earth?

If there was undeniable proof of extremely negative consequences, then people’s actions and business decisions would be very different. Perhaps CNN’s show will shed some light into this issue (Dec 9 CNN 8pm EST “Global Warming: Trick or Truth”).

The ugly truth is that the cards have already been played. We are not changing fast enough to prevent a global catastrophe (remember: we need to counter carbon emissions and pollution at a faster rate than they grow PLUS revert the existing damage already affecting the globe; in other words: the counter action has to be many times greater than the existing trend). Therefore we are set in a path to possible human annihilation (I am not exaggerating), our only hope is that we would be able to partially save ourselves with “last minute measures” or that the whole thing of climate change is a scam. What do you think?

GERMAN GIANT SIEMENS BUYS SOLEL FOR $418 MM

“Siemens and Solel are a perfect match. Solel enriches Siemens’ capacities… Israeli companies are very successful, backed by years of experience, development and production of field equipment for the creation of solar energy,” – Peter Loescher, president and chief executive of Siemens.

German industrial conglomerate Siemens is buying Israel’s Solel Solar Systems Ltd. for about $418 million so as to expand its business with solar thermal power plants.

It is Siemens second solar power acquisition in Israel. Two months ago Siemens bought 40% of Arava Power for $15 million.

Solel’s products optimally complete Siemens’ current offering. With the acquisition of Solel, Siemens significantly expands its access to the product technology necessary for the establishment of solar thermal power plants, enabling it to offer about 70% of the components to its clients

“In the future, we’ll be able to offer the key components for the construction of parabolic trough power plants from a single source and to further enhance the efficiency of these plants,” Siemens’ Renewable Energy division head Rene Umlauft said.

Unlike photovoltaic solar panels, which use the sunlight to create electricity, solar thermal power plants use the sun to heat water which then creates the steam required to power a turbine generator which produces electricity to the grid.

Solel is one of the world’s two leading suppliers of solar receivers, – key components of parabolic trough power plants. The company has been active in Spain since 2006, supplying key components for 15 solar thermal power plants with a combined capacity of 750 megawatts. The firm is also active in the US.

Israel ranked #5 on “The top 10 cleantech countries of 2009”

“Israel, the 'Silicon Valley' of water technology, is fast becoming the cleantech incubator to the world (see Israel to export $2.5B in water technologies by 2011). Israel recycles 75 percent of its wastewater, invented drip irrigation, and is home to the world's largest reverse osmosis desalination plant (see Israel plans largest desal plant in $513M deal). Israel certainly isn't the world's biggest cleantech market, but it might just be one of the world's most important centers of cleantech innovation and R&D, with innovative companies such as CellEra, Aqwise, and Emefcy. Better Place is also making Israel the first test-market for a nationwide electric vehicle recharge network (see Electric cars are coming to Israel). Leading Israeli VCs include Israel Cleantech, Aqua Argo Fund and Terra Ventures.”

Read about full ranking at http://cleantech.com/news/5127/top-10-cleantech-countries-2009

Electric vehicle strategy

Today’s article in the NY Times about electric vehicles (Toyota, Hybrid Innovator, Holds Back in Race to Go Electric) pulled me out of my summer vacation mode and inspired me to share my insights about the electric vehicle race to market.

When in college I was a big fan of “Game Theory” (According to Wikipedia: “Game theory attempts to mathematically capture behavior in strategic situations, in which an individual's success in making choices depends on the choices of others”).

During that time I also became an admirer of Toyota, their “just in time” inventory process and their ability to bring quality to market in a fast and efficient way impressed me as I was becoming an MS in Manufacturing Systems Engineering.

And here we are today, they lead the market of Hybrid vehicles. Their Prius is the flagship of alternative fuel cars (although it’s not much of a change from gas powered cars).

But, wait a minute! Are you telling me that since 1997 when the first Prius was launched to the market Toyota has been unable to improve on their original product by making a plug-in hybrid or a full electric vehicle???? WHY?

Could this be a case of Game Theory being played out?

Mitsubishi is launching an electric vehicle (the i-MiEV). The city of Berlin is setting a goal of a million electric vehicles by the year 2020. Tesla is starting to show signs of success with their all electric vehicle product line. The famous Project Better Place intends to reshape the vehicle market with their battery swapping and city-wide recharging stations.

So why is Toyota letting their leadership slip away?

Scenario A: most of these electric vehicle companies will build their products around the first generation of batteries. A new generation of more efficient batteries will be developed and Toyota will leap over their competitors to take the lead again

Scenario B: Toyota is miscalculating the power of the electric vehicle market and will be left behind with an obsolete plug-in Hybrid Prius

Which scenario do you think will prevail?

Comments from “Things that make sense”:

First of al I want to add another thing that does NOT make sense (and I forgot to mention). Allowing people to drive while talking on the cell phone. It is inconceivable that some states like Florida are still  allowing drivers to talk while they drive, even though it has been proven more dangerous than drinking and driving.

“I'm confused at your stand on plug-in hybrids. Are you for or against? I agree that the standard hybrid gets 100% of its energy from fossil fuel. I consider that, however, its biggest short-coming. Perhaps because I just spent the last 40 years in the electric utility industry, I'm partial to using electricity as a transfer fuel. It can be generated cleanly and renewably (although it often is not). It can be shipped across the country and directly to the consumer without a lot of loss and with no additional fuel. And, can be used cleanly and with no pollution or byproducts at its ending destination.
I'm also confused (although not by you) at the hybrid vehicle concept. Large railroad diesel locomotives get 100% of their motive power from batteries which are constantly recharged by the big diesel engine running a generator. The diesel has no direct connection to the wheels. Is this less efficient than the auto hybrid that connects the small gasoline engine both to the wheels and to the generator and uses the electric motor only to boost acceleration? “

“all good points, of course. (perfectly designed waterless/odorless/attractive toilets have been around for decades). the bottled water thing is criminal and non-sustainable. 99.8% of all "information/news" in print, online, & TV & radio comes from 6 worldwide media companies whose board members interlock with boards of all, or most other corporations. all "news", is corporate news. all "making sense" is corporate centered. “

“You are so right ...it is really frustrating”

“I had the same feeling commissioning one of my project this year, but after 16 years in engineering design, I know that common sense(knowledge) is not common practice”

“Sami,
I posted my idea on your link but for those that may not venture to a great story you have told, here it is:
Dryer Sheets - They are thrown away by the thousands every day and I have found them to be a really good cleaning tool. They have just enough grit to take crud off of mirrors, doors, walls, jewelry, CHROME, and I am sure a myriad of other things”

“Interesting article. For the toilet perspective, dual flush toilets have done their bit towards minimizing the amount of water that is used for flushing purposes. More emphasis should be made on their use (if not to say imposing an eco-tax on those not having a dual flush system) and retrofitting existing cisterns with water bags or something which reduced flushed volumes.
The argument related to bottled water can also be extended to the impact of soft drinks which are canned or bottled in plastic. What is the energy that is recovered from these packaging. Interestingly in Malta we had a law which obliged soft drinks to be bottled in reusable glass bottles. Ironically with Malta's accession to the EU this law had to be removed as it was perceived as a barrier to trade”

Until next time: SHALOM!

Things that make sense

Sometimes I look at certain things that, to me, obviously don’t make sense. The solution is so obvious that I get frustrated just thinking about it!

Case in point when I see a motorcycle rider without a helmet! (although this example is not Greentech related, I wanted to include it to illustrate the point). Why would any government that punishes suicide attempts and that has such a bitter discussion about a 3 week fetus being an individual, allow these people to roam around 70 MPH without any headgear? Same issue with cyclists, who foolishly think they look faster by avoiding the helmet.

Another example is using over ONE FULL GALLON of perfect tap water to wash down a man’s or a woman’s single “serving” of pee (a typical adult initiates bladder reflex contraction with 0.1 Gallon of urine). How hard can it be to mandate a water container that stores rain water and upon availability is used to flush toilets? or simply to create a toilet that does not require water for urine (and does for “other” uses)?

A third case for general non-rationalization is allowing plastic bottles for drinking water, or even worse allowing “imported bottled water”. With the world water situation as it is (very bad, if you have not heard!) why would no one step up and prohibit companies from shipping bottled water from halfway around the globe just to create a “premium” market. Even worse, why don’t we wake up and recognize that plastic bottles are killing our environment and start using another material for our water containers (how hard can that be?).

“In the U.S., more than 30 billion
plastic water bottles end up as garbage or litter
each year”

When the cost of plastic became more attractive than glass all  bottling companies jumped into the new technology! With a little cooperation between government and industry a big difference can be achieved. Here is a NY Times article related to this issue (An Environmental Group’s Campaign of Wry Lies Against Bottled Water)

My forth and final example of “obvious irrationality” is the case for plug-in-hybrids. Here, I admit, there may be other factors unknown to me. But, as far as I can tell, the step from transforming a regular hybrid car into a plug-in hybrid is very straightforward. Granted, the battery pack in a plug-in may be a bit bigger (and heavier). But, the biggest difference is that energy will come from an OUTSIDE SOURCE into the car, as opposed to the minimal optimization achieved by regular hybrids (where energy is recuperated from the gasoline engine in two forms: directly and through the inertia of the car while breaking). Some smaller companies offer kits to transform regular hybrids into plug-ins. Why can’t big car companies do this transformation from the inception of the car???

Makes no sense!!… Do you agree, disagree or do you have any other examples of things that make no sense??

Here are some comments from Do you have the drive to be in Greentech?:

“I watched the Warren Buffet special last night on CNBC and he made it clear, "if you don't invest now, you will not come out on top". Most people don't understand that now is the time to get involved. Products are cheaper, and you can usually work out some great deals for services.”

“While there has been a bit of a shift of mindframe away from Greentech, due to the economy, I believe that there has been enough momentum and drive built up that it will push through the downturn. It also helps that the downturn seems to be hitting bottom instead of getting more severe...”

“I wanted to say I fully agree with you, despite the overall mindset. I myself have been in the industry for quite sometime now both on the investment side and the entrepreneurial”

“You are right, yet I think that comparing Greentech to the Internet Bubble is somewhat of a stretch because this is more tangible, it is more of the "Old Economy". People can calculate real ROIs and this is where I see the main challenge to industries worldwide.
Without Governments' support and incentives, the current ROI on a PV system (as an example) is completely uneconomical. Greentech has to succeed - we have no other choice so industry will come up with viable and affordable solutions that make sense”

“Personally... I think its pretty straight forward: The greentech companies that can actually make money (not just promises) will thrive and get funding. The ones that simply "paint pictures for the future" will likely not make it through the tough economy”

“The U.S. government doesn't have the drive to be in Greentech. It may talk a big game, but there's little investment for new ideas. Venture capital (at least outside of California) doesn't appear to have the drive to be in Greentech. The investors we speak to can't articulate how you generate ROI”

Until next time: SHALOM!

Do you have the drive to be in Greentech?

I say: Greentech will become a major force in world economics; it will be a huge industry.

Right now, though, there is a lot of skepticism. People are focusing on the state of the economy, the safety of their investments, the availability of credit and the state of their mortgages.

So, what will it take to come on top of the Greentech wave?

We will need determined entrepreneurs. People who are determined to succeed, who will be able to balance a vision with a solid day to day operation.

Greentech entrepreneurs have to grow (just like the internet entrepreneurs did) into successful businesses people. First of all they have to overcome the image internet entrepreneurs left on their wave. Investors and fellow industry leaders will look at them with suspicion. They have to prove they are capable of running a serious business; they have to prove that money will be managed and put to good use.

Investors also have a challenge. They have to overcome the fear that the recent downfall of the economy left on their heads (and their balance sheets). Investors will also need to brush up on their science knowledge. It’s not the same to analyze a business opportunity of selling shoes online versus a business opportunity of generating energy from solar rays.

Last, but not least, government and banks will have to shift gears as well. Regulation will be the vehicle to bring this industry to life and banks will have to understand the risks involved, and have capital ready to be put to good use.

So, do YOU have the drive to be in Greentech?

I got a lot of comments from “A couple of VERY interesting videos”:

“Shai Agassi and his scalable model for the car 2.0 make diffusion of his innovation plausible. Yes, a good deal of infrastructure still needs to be put in place to make his idea work, but the story he is telling makes sense.
Saul Griffith's idea seems more of a novelty than a future reality”

"I like Agassi's talk, although I disagree strongly with his premise that one can apply Moore's Law of semiconductor electronics evolution to batteries. The world has needed a better battery since the dawn of the previous century, when Baker and other electric cars lost out to steam and ultimately to internal combustion”

“Agreed, although there is room for significant improvement in batteries, certainly from commercializing a range of nano materials, probably 2x-5x increase in power and energy density in next decade, possibly to 10x. I am aware of several projects in commercial testing that can deliver 20%-40% more than current”

“If you plot the evolution of any figure of merit related to batteries (energy density, recharging cycles, etc.), you will notice only a linear improvement over the years, if any. Certainly not a Moore-like exponential growth”

“For the second idea, I think desertec is more realistic
www.desertec.org”

“If demand for electricity increases due to charging car batteries all this would mean is more coal "base-load" powered stations. There are also many inefficiencies in the transmission of energy, conversion and also in use. Plus you have the issues of short range limits. I believe at this point perhaps the idea of natural gas approach may win over in the short term. For sure in the long term the car engine will transform from combustion engine to electricity driven”

“300M vehicles / 8M vehicles per year = 37.5 years. It doesn’t sound short-term to me, and that’s not counting growth, upon which the entire economy is predicated. Further math, 300M vehicles x $50K per vehicle = $15T, plus whatever new infrastructure will be necessary, and in perspective the US GDP is $13.8T”

“One thought I have is that, even with the investment in a strategically placed network of feasible and convenient battery swapping infrastructure, before investing $20,000 in an all electric vehicle, there would have to be a critical mass of electric vehicles on the road for people to believe that it is a stable technology and here to stay. Sort of a chicken and the egg syndrome”

“1. We need to move away from driving everywhere and build societies where we can walk.
2. Private transport must be replaced by communal public transport, which is far more efficient - less traffic, less congestion, less manufacturing and therefore waste”

“It sounds as if Shai Agassi's idea is already out of the gate. India and China are ahead of the curve on Electric Vehicles. There is incredible new technology with electric motors that is going to continue to progress this model forward where you get tremendous torque with less amp draw. Thanks for the videos”

“As for wind turbines on kites, they can work to produce power. Sadly, every NIMBY group in the nation will find problems with them. They are ugly. They kill birds. The cause epileptic fits in fieldmice. If it is visible, some group will fight it until the bitter end. The legal fees alone will prevent it from ever being financially viable”

Until next time: SHALOM!