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EnviroDaq 100
(as of 24/04/08)
126.11
Today: +0.13
Last 7 days: -0.21
New Solar Technologies Threaten Silicon Cells
Cells made from silicon are a core component for the solar photovoltaic industry, but with the cost of silicon skyrocketing, advances in competing technologies could open a new market for solar cells.
One technology being developed at the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory uses copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), to turn sunlight into electricity inside a thin-film solar cell that is generally less expensive than versions relying on polysilicon.
Silicon-based solar cells held 94 percent of the global market in 2006, according NREL data, with the remaining 6 percent split among thin-film companies, including CIGS makers.
To read more click here.
Britain may push for Biofuel Target Change
If a review of British policy shows rising biofuel production drives up food prices and harms the environment, then Prime Minister Gordon Brown will look at pushing to change EU biofuel targets.
In a statement, Gordon Brown said "We need to look closely at the impact on food prices and the environment of different production methods and to ensure we are more selective in our support (for biofuels)".
The EU's executive Commission said that it stood by its target of getting 10 percent of road transport fuel from crops and agricultural waste by 2020, despite criticism it could contribute to food shortages. From April 15th 2008, all petrol and diesel sold in the UK contains 2.5% biofuels.
To read more click here.
China Aims For First Zero Emission Power By 2015
By 2015, China hopes to have built a 400 MW emissions-free coal burning power station, putting it at the front of a tight global race to build the first commercial scale plant.
The plant could bring change to China's power industry and its international image, and potentially billions of dollars for operators GreenGen Co Ltd and state-owned utility provider Huaneng, which owns 52 percent of GreenGen.
China has a large supply of coal, which is currently used for 80 per cent of the country’s electricity. However, these plants are responsible for much of the smog in China, and are responsible for large amounts of carbon dioxide emissions.
To read more click here.
Shell’s Chief Executive Downplays Role Of Biofuels
Following worldwide protests concerning food price rises and shortages as a result of expansion of land-grown biofuels, the chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell said that biofuels will not solve the world's energy problem.
"The essential point of biofuels is over time they will play a role," Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, told reporters on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum.
The oil minister for Qatar, Abdullah al-Attiyah, also criticed biofuels for causing food shortages by saying, "I don't think we should blame oil, we should blame biofuels."
TOPLEAF Invests $20m in Range Fuels
Leaf Clean Energy Company, has announced its participation in the completion of a stock financing in Range Fuels Inc. with a $20 million investment. The funding will assist Range Fuels in deploying the first phase of its cellulosic ethanol plant in Soperton, Georgia, scheduled to commence operations in 2009.
Range Fuels will use non-traditional feedstocks such as wood chips and other forms of agricultural residues in conjunction with its innovative conversion technology to produce cellulosic ethanol.
Peter Tom, Chairman of Leaf, said, “This is an exciting investment for Leaf. Range Fuels is at the frontier of developing a world-class platform for next-generation renewable fuels derived from non-traditional feedstock.”
To read more click here.
Ludgate To Invest £4m In Environmental Packaging Company
Ludgate Environmental Fund, has announced its commitment to invest £4 million into Rapid Action Packaging Limited (RAP). RAP specialises in the design, manufacture and supply of innovative, ergonomic, cost effective and environmentally responsible packaging systems particularly for the “food on the move” marketplace.
The funds raised from the Placing will be used to refinance loan capital in the Company and to accelerate RAP’s next stage of growth with a strong focus on further expansion of the Company’s international business.
Nick Pople, Director of Ludgate Investments Ltd, said: “Food packaging is an integral and essential part of the supply chain protecting goods from damage … however, it is also now seen as a leading contributor to waste streams. It is estimated that in the UK alone over 5 million tonnes of food industry packaging enters the waste stream every year.”
To read more click here.
Regenersis Formally Opens New Romanian Facility
On a trade mission to Romania, the Minister for Trade and Investment at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and at the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, Lord Digby Jones has formally opened the new Regenersis facility in Bucharest, Romania.
It is anticipated that by December 2008, the new Regenersis facility will employ over 200 members of staff providing repair and refurbishment capabilities. The facility will have the capacity to handle over 30,000 products a month.
Lord Digby Jones said, “This facility is an excellent example of a technology company utilising the strong skill base and low cost operational facilities in Romania to deliver improved value to a pan-European customer base.”
To read more click here.
Protonex Win $1.62m Contract With Naval Research Laboratory
Protonex Technology Corporation has received a $1.62 million contract with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for advanced development of high power fuel cell systems for small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Development work under the program will focus on increasing power output of the company’s Pulse™ UAV fuel cell platform and improving overall efficiency of the system. The advanced system will be integrated into a small NRL plane designed specifically for extended flight testing.
Dr Paul Osenar, Chief Technology Officer, Protonex commented that “we have had outstanding success in our previous collaborations with the NRL, and this new program to extend our work with UAVs validates those efforts”.
To read more click here.
Proton Enters Partnership With Major Autos Company
Proton Power System’s wholly owned subsidiary, Proton Motor Fuel Cell, has signed a framework contract with AVL List, a leading Austrian automotive engineering company, to collaborate on the development of fuel cell hybrid systems and related measurement technology.
Under the contract Proton and AVL will share their expertise in engineering and simulation, improving the overall customer benefit. AVL and Proton Motor intend to co-operate very closely in the partnership, where AVL will serve as the powertrain engineering and measurement technology provider while Proton Motor will be the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system provider.
Felix Heidelberg, CEO of Proton Power Systems plc, said: “We are proud to be a partner of such an established and well known name in the automotive industry; the partnership is a testament to the success of the Proton Power team in establishing our technical credentials”.
To read more click here.
Tanfield Launch New Zero-Emission Electric Vehicles With Ford
Tanfield's trading division, Smith Electric Vehicles, has launched the Smith Ampere, a new product aimed at the light van sector. Ampere, which utilises the Ford Transit Connect chassis, and will be joint branded Ford and Smith, was designed and developed by Tanfield in collaboration with Ford.
Ampere is a pioneering pure electric vehicle in its class. It is aimed at urban operators using large fleets of light vans, in sectors such as postal and courier, utilities and telecommunications. It has a gross vehicle weight of 2,340kg, with payload capacity of up to 800kg.
Darren Kell, Chief Executive of The Tanfield Group Plc, said: "The launch of Ampere brings leading edge zero-emission technology to the light van sector for the first time.
To read more click here.
Zenergy Wins Prestigious Hermes Award
Zenergy Power plc has won the coveted Hermes Award. Regarded as one of the most prestigious annual technology prizes, the Hermes Award was presented to Zenergy at the opening of the 2008 Hannover Fair for its groundbreaking HTS induction heater; the first industrial application of its kind to employ superconductor technology to a widely used industrial process.
The Award is presented to the most exceptional new technical product that demonstrates substantial commercial benefit and has either undergone rigorous industrial trials or reached the industrial application stage.
Dr. Annette Schavan, German Federal Minister for Education and Research, presenter of the Hermes Award commented “Zenergy's HTS induction heater is contributing towards the fight against climate change and helping to safeguard the environment”.
To read more click here.
ReneSola Signs Six-Year Wafer Supply Agreements
ReneSola Ltd, a leading Chinese manufacturer of solar wafers, has signed six-year wafer supply contracts with Ningbo Solar Electric Power Co., Ltd. and Eoplly New Energy Technology Co., Ltd.
Under the terms of the Ningbo Solar contract, ReneSola will supply Ningbo Solar with 105 MW of solar wafers over a six-year period commencing in mid-2008. Ningbo Solar is a Chinese manufacturer of solar cells and modules headquartered in Zhejiang Province, China.
ReneSola has also agreed to supply Eoplly with 105 MW of solar wafers over a six-year period commencing in mid-2008. Headquartered in Jiangsu Province, China, Eoplly is a Chinese manufacturer of solar cells, solar modules and photovoltaic (PV) systems.
To read more click here.
Hat-trick for Foresight
Kent-based cleantech specialist Foresight has announced three new investments worth a total £14m. Biomass fuels company Land Energy secured £5m to help roll out its services nationwide. The group aims to build a network of plants to produce wood pellets from local sources, for burning in local on-site furnaces and CHP installations. The company is still working towards planning permission for its first plant in Helmsley, North Yorkshire.
Waste-to-energy business AWP Environmental (trading as BCB Environmental Management) meanwhile raised £6m for its proposed £18m, 9MW advanced gasification plant near York. BCB says it has £12m debt arranged for once they get planning consent.
Finally, plastics recycling group Lynwood raised £3m. Also based in Yorkshire, Lynwood recycles plastics waste into new products including outdoor furniture and the 'invincible bucket'. The fundraising will help the group double capacity and expand nationally.
Eco2 launches tidal fundraising
Renewables consultancy Eco2 has invested an initial £150,000 in Tidal Energy Limited (formerly Tidal Hydraulic Generators), kickstarting a planned £6m fundraising. Eco2 plans to invest a total £1m, while Carbon Connections, a tech transfer company at the University of East Anglia, is providing match funding.
Tidal Energy is developing a free-standing tidal energy device called the DeltaStream. The current fundraising aims to cover deployment of a 1.2MW prototype generator.
SSE goes to ground
In a corporate venture deal, utility group Scottish and Southern Energy is investing £15m in Coventry-based Geothermal International, in return for a 20% stake. The firm designs and installs ground-source heating and cooling systems, with a current portfolio of over 1300 systems totalling over 90MW capacity.
To read more click here.
£2m for Onzo
Domestic energy monitoring firm Onzo also raised corporate investment from Scottish and Southern, as part of a £2m fundraising. SSE invested £1m and placed £7m worth of orders, while asset manager Sigma Capital Group also invested £1m equity. London-based Onzo produces networked displays which continually monitor and report on household energy use, helping householders to identify and fix inefficiencies and save money and emissions.
The following case studies of companies in the EnviroDaq index were penned by the companies themselves and have not been edited by the EnviroDaq editor. We therefore accept no liability for the accuracy of the information contained within them and they should not be used as a prospectus for investment purposes.
Company: AEA Technology
AEA Technology is a world class environmental consultancy that tackles energy and environmental issues for public and private sector clients, in the UK and internationally.
The environment, with climate change the headline grabber, is an area that has been steadily creeping up political and business agendas for the last 20-30 years. And as regulation becomes a reality for businesses, many are seemingly still unaware of the actual cost it imposes on the bottom line.
High energy using businesses will be familiar with the government using punitive measures such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the Landfill Tax, to encourage energy and waste reduction. However, lower energy using businesses, financial institutions for example, will be much less familiar with this type of legislation and may not be prepared for new measures, such as the Carbon Reduction Commitment which will come into effect in 2010 and affect just this type of business.
“All companies over a certain size, effectively those with annual energy bills above about £500,000, will be affected by this legislation and will probably balk at the costs involved.” Commented Daniel Waller, AEA Knowledge Leader for Energy Policy. “There will be some however, that will see this legislation as representing an opportunity to improve efficiency, bolster profits and gain a competitive advantage.”
Employing world experts across the energy and environmental markets, AEA has recently created a Knowledge Leadership Team to centralise its expertise, share learning and to better inform and meet the demands of its customers. Drawing upon the extensive capabilities of its personnel, AEA gives control back to businesses, addressing specific environmental concerns and enabling businesses to manage change properly.
The EnviroDaq 100 Index is the first index for UK-listed environmental technology companies. It indexes the 100 largest UK-listed companies which derive at least 60% of their turnover from environmentally-focused goods and services. These include renewable energy; energy efficiency equipment; renewable materials; waste management; water and waste water treatment; air pollution control equipment; environmental monitoring and instrumentation; and cleaner technology processes.
The EnviroDaq 100 website (www.envirodaq.com) provides detailed company information, including key financials, company background, broker recommendations and investment ratios. It includes a graphing feature which allows you to create flexible and customisable share graphs for each of the EnviroDaq component securities.
Gareth Jones, EnviroDaq Manager
UK CEED, Eco Innovation Centre, Peterscourt, City Road, Peterborough, PE1 1SA
t: 01733 311644 | f: 01733 808168
g.jones@ukceed.org | www.ukceed.org | www.envirodaq.com