Getting up to speed in cleantech is like learning a new language.  Lesson one for algae begins at the website for the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology (SD-CAB).  I found the Q&A to be particularly useful. 

Algae lesson number two is the Algal Biofuels Symposium 2010 “The Science to Support Algal Biofuel Commercialization” to be held this Friday April 23rd at the Salk Institute in La Jolla.  This all day event features a dozen of the top experts in the field of what many believe will be the leading alternative fuel for transportation, algae biofuel.  Just $25 covers the event including lunch and a hosted reception.  Click here for details. 

You will want to become a SD-CAB Associate Member.  Click here to join for $100.

For five more useful algae resources see Algae spoken here which was posted below on October 21, 2009

By GUEST AUTHOR Mariana Gerzanych CEO |  350Green

San Diego won a 1 in 30,000 jackpot when it became a city that both GM Volt and Nissan Leaf electric cars will be introduced in this fall.  Nissan dropped the price bomb last month, the war that promises to be fierce has begun.  Leaf ended up at $20,280 MSRP after a $7,500 Federal Tax break and $5,000 CA Rax rebate (or a $349/month lease).  The price astounded many, including competitors like Mitsubishi that immediately responded by dropping the price for their all-electric iMiev by $6,700. 

Even though the Leaf is priced unexpectedly low, Nissan is still making a profit.  The most expensive (more…)

The press conference which Aptera Motors held on Wednesday achieved its goal.  The Aptera 2e story has all the elements the media desires.  It visual, exotic and cutting edge with an aura of economic suspense.  On top of which, the vehicle is about to be shipped-off to compete for the $10 million Automotive X Prize.  Popular Mechanics’ coverage of the media event hit the techie high-points of the all-electric vehicle which looks like a cross between an albino lobster and George Jetson’s commuter car.  The fact that the two-person transporter has “a coefficient of drag that’s below 0.15” supports Aptera’s claim that the car is an energy miser. 

Charlie Neuman has some great photos on SignOn San Diego of the local solution for energy-efficient transportation.

By GUEST AUTHOR Mariana Gerzanych CEO |  350Green

Electricity providers and consumers have had a good marriage since the 1800s, small breakdowns here and there, sometimes scandals, regulation and deregulation but overall it’s been even keeled. That is until consumers decided they want more, demanding more electricity for their new toys: Electric Cars. Utilities ignored the whim for a decade but are starting to take notice. A study of EV impact on (more…)

Clean technology is a big tent which covers things as diverse as 25-story wind towers, 10 acre algae ponds and processing plants which convert ocean water into drinking water.  The common thread is efficiency.  Anything which can be done can be done better.  Inspiration for many cleantech innovations emanates from solutions which have evolved in nature over eons. 

While man has been keying off nature’s designs for millenniums, it has been only recently that the process was given a name, biomimicry.  (The word is not even in the Microsoft Word spell-check I am using).  Biomimicry is the science of taking inspiration from nature, its systems, processes and elements to solve design problems in a sustainable matter.  Biomimicry has a substantial, robust connection to both cleantech and San Diego.

Cleantech applications of biomimicry include super-efficient wind turbines modeled on the fins of humpback whales, energy-efficient buildings designed after termite mounds and lightweight building materials based on the structure of an abalone shell.  Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, MIT researchers are developing a process that will allow the sun’s energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases.  Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.

San Diego-based Biomatrica’s technology enables the storage, transport and assaying of DNA, RNA, proteins, cells and virus samples at room temperature without degradation, allowing labs to reduce their reliance on freezers and drastically reduce shipping costs.  Currently, more than 98% of all biological materials are protected from degradation through the “global cold chain” storage on which the world spends more than $34 billion annually.  The founders of Biomatrica, Rolf Muller and Judy Muller-Cohn, got their inspiration while visiting a toy store.  They observed sea monkeys, which are really brine shrimp that are in a dried state but come back to life when rehydrated.

The phenomenon that makes a butterfly’s wings shimmer is the same process used in Qualcomm‘s mirasol displays.  The display works by reflecting light so that specific wavelengths interfere with each other to create color.  The innovation offers low power consumption and superb viewing quality for mobile devices.

Last October, the San Diego Zoo and the Biomimicry Institute held the second annual Biomimicry Symposium in San Diego.  Janine Benyus, an eloquent proponent of biomimicry, is the president of the Biomimicry Institute.  Her presentation was the high point of the two day event.  We can anticipate that the San Diego Zoo will continue to be a key player in this fast growing field.  Like the Zoo, the City of San Deigo is also committed to building on the region’s strengths in the field.  An active champion for biomimicry, Jacques Chirazi is the Program Manager of the Cleantech Initiative in the Mayor’s Office. 

On April 20th CONNECT will present Exercising Your Imagination through Biomimicry.  The presenters will be Lee Hagey, Ph.D. Biomimicry Expert, Zoological Society of San Diego, Project Scientist, UCSD School of Medicine and Jon Prange Venture Business Manager Zoological Society of San Diego.  Click here to register.

To learn more about how technology imitates life, visit the websites for the Biomimicry Institute and Bioneers.

Click video for 2009 Biomimcry Conference

By GUEST AUTHOR Lee Barken, IT practice leader at Haskell & White, LLP

Peter Fusaro knows environmental finance markets.  As Chairman of Global Change Associates, Fusaro is an energetic and tenacious green markets cheerleader with over 34 years of government policy and industry experience.  When he took the stage at his 9th annual Wall Street Green Trading Summit last week in New York City, audience members perked up and paid attention. 

From carbon markets to green energy loans and Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs, more than 225 professionals gathered at this conference to learn about a variety of innovative financing mechanisms.  “This conference has always been the practitioners’ conference,” said Fusaro.  “This is about people doing things: innovative things, risky things, pushing the envelope and moving forward.”

 Restarting the Green Engine

 If the path to economic development is paved with green technology, some suggest that the car is in neutral.  Unfortunately, for the past few months, the political machine of Washington has been consumed by partisan wrangling over medical insurance.  Now, with the healthcare debate behind us, there seemed to be a renewed sense of optimism among conference participants.

 “The lack of interest in carbon is appalling, (more…)