“Qualcomm has been investing in wireless power for a number of years and the HaloIPT acquisition will further strengthen our technology and patent portfolio,” said Andrew Gilbert, executive vice president of European Innovation Development for Qualcomm. “Building on 20 years of development and innovation in wireless power at The University of Auckland and its commercialization company Auckland UniServices Ltd, the HaloIPT team, in a relatively short period of the time, had established itself as a leading developer in wireless electric road vehicle charging — with HaloIPT winning industry acclamation and awards.”

“We are immensely proud of what has been achieved by our team at HaloIPT over the past 18 months,” said John Miles, Executive Chairman of HaloIPT and a Director at Arup.  ”In that short space of time, we have brought world-class university research to the attention of the global automotive industry and, through really innovative design, demonstrated the potential for wireless charging in front of several of the world’s leading OEMs.  That has been a terrific achievement.”

In addition to the HaloIPT transaction, Qualcomm and Auckland UniServices, the commercialization company of the University of Auckland, have committed to a long-term research and development arrangement to promote continued innovation in the field of wireless charging for electric road vehicles by way of inductive power transfer.

“UniServices is proud to see the development of technology for the wireless charging of electric vehicles become an important area for Qualcomm,” said Peter Lee, chief executive officer, UniServices.  ”We believe Qualcomm is well positioned to make available this technology to third parties for the wireless charging of electric road vehicles, and the relationship will provide opportunities for continued research and development of this technology.”

Bruce Bigelow’s article in Xconomy:  Qualcomm Buys HaloIPT (and Patents) for Wireless Charging Technology

The frequent references to San Diego as a global leader in cleantech are usually illustrated by regional activities in solar, wind, water, smart grid, biofuels and energy efficiency.  A perusal of the CleanTECH San Diego company database also reveals a mini-Mo Town of 38 ventures in the Transport Technology category.  Achates Power is in the pole position.

Since 2004 Achates Power has been working to develop a fundamentally better internal combustion engine. Today the company announced its latest results, which include a 20 percent fuel efficiency gain when compared to one of the world’s best medium-duty clean diesel engines.  Also announced was an overall calibration that meets the stringent U.S. EPA 2010 emissions standards.  Bruce Bigelow of Xconomy describes their recent achievements in his article, “Achates Power Cites “Huge” Improvement in Diesel Fuel Savings, Emissions”. 

Achates Power has raised over $50 million to rev-up their efforts to build the internal combustion engine equivalent of Doctor Dolittle’s pushmi-pullyu.  The opportunity is worthy of their effort.  They note that in the U.S. under 5% of all vehicles consume over 26% of all road transportation fuel.  Therefore, a more fuel efficient solution will provide a huge payoff for fleet operators and anyone with lungs.

Take a video virtual tour of Achates Power and its San Diego-based headquarters, which houses more than 50 engineers and scientists.

Yesterday Synthetic Genomics announced the spin-off of Agradis, an agricultural biotech charged with commercializing its advances in plant breeding and genomics.  (See Bruce Bigelow’s Xconomy Coverage) With Series A funding of $20 million, Agradis’ initial focus will be castor, sorghum and other cash crops. 

Sorghum presents Agradis opportunities to build upon a compelling set of plant attributes to create more advanced varieties for an expanded menu of uses including biofuels.  The emphasis is on solutions which can be grown on land unsuitable for food crops. 

San Diego-based ChloroFill is also on the sorghum band-wagon.  Last week they announced two new sorghum-based renewable building material products.

ChlorOSB and ChlorOSB(p) are fiberboards made with sorghum stalks- an agricultural waste product- and a formaldehyde-free binder.  Sorghum stalks have long been used for building materials. Their high cellulose content makes stalks light while remaining pliable and strong.  Sorghum grows in warmer climate and tropical regions of the world. It is a hyper-renewable resource that grows over six-feet high in as little as 110 days. Sorghum is used for food, fodder, alcoholic beverages, and biofuels. Stalks have been used throughout the ages for thatch, fences, baskets, brushes, paper and brooms. The supply, however, exceeds demand and the remaining stalks are often considered agricultural waste and disposed of by burning in fields. The environmental impact results in tons of carbon dioxide and nitrogen into the atmosphere every year.

ChloroFill boards can be used in many of the same nonstructural applications as bamboo, fiberboards, particle boards, plywood and oriented strand boards (OSB). Designer applications include:

Counter tops
Architectural Elements
Wall and Ceiling Coverings
Furniture
Cabinetry
Wainscoting
Doors
Flooring

“We are excited to launch our new superior treeless wood products, and we hope that our products become the carcinogen-free choice in green building materials for the interior design, building and furniture industries,” stated Michael Hurst, CEO of ChloroFill.

Click for video interview of Michael Hurst, ChloroFill CEO at Clean Tech Expo

Calit2 Federal Funding Portal @ CONNECT

The enormity of the funds originating from Federal programs and grants is both an opportunity and a problem.  The smart people of UCSD have automated the process and are collaborating with CONNECT to make the resource available to local innovators and entrepreneurs.  Working with the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) CONNECT has developed a new set of tools to help member companies and local entrepreneurs identify federal research funding opportunities.  Click here to access Calit2 Federal Funding Portal @ CONNECT.

The X Lists

Last week Xconomy rolled out the X Lists, “the region’s best resource for innovators and entrepreneurs”.  Much of the entrepreneurial process is about accessing information and identifying people who have answers as efficiently and quickly as possible.  The X Lists are a great place to begin the journey from not-knowing to knowing.  Click here for Bruce Bigelow’s description of this valuable resource.

The overused words-of-wisdom about real estate are location, location, location.  Maybe the same should also be said about entrepreneurial innovation.  The cornucopia of resources available at the San Diego location provides a winning advantage to those who seek to grow their enterprise through innovation.

The goal of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE is to inspire a new generation of super-efficient vehicles that help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change.   Click here for contest details. 

The X Prize Foundation is the brilliant vision of Dr. Peter Diamandis.  In May we were fortunate to have Dr. Diamandis share an evening with us at the MIT Enterprise Forum.  Click here for Bruce Bigelow’s article in Xconomy.

Last evening I represented CleanTECH San Diego at a reception in a private residence to honor their Xconomists.  Xconomy has the enlightened strategy of aligning with several key thought leaders in each of their three cities.  The Xconomists are leading technologists, scientists, and business innovators. Click here for the impressive list of San Diego Xconomists who share their views and insights.