Will Wireless Vehicle Charging Become Like EZPass?

Image via Wikipedia

A rather poor diagram of inductive charging.

Qualcomm, long a leader in the wireless and mobile space, is expanding into in the electric vehicle (EV) charging market with its acquisition last week of HaloIPT.

The acquisition, reportedly $70 million, has some in the EV charging space scratching their heads. Not because of Qualcomm's interest, but because they went after such a small player in the space.

HaloITP developed its wireless electric car charging technology out of the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Wireless inductive charging, a process explained here allows an electric vehicle to drive over or near a mat that provides a charge without plugging in.

I've written about the need for and benefits of wireless EV charging technologies previously on this blog and, in the interest of full disclosure, I've done some advisory work with one company, Momentum Dynamics of Malvern, Pennsylvania.

According to sources close to Momentum, the company has already bested Halo, which had been doing 7,200 watts, achieving 30,000 watts. That's the level of power needed for commercial vehicles, which is Momentum's target market, and almost 10 times more powerful than WiTricity and Evatran can transmit 3,300 watts (more or less the capability of a low-powered Level 2 plug-in charger).

Momentum has been regularly getting 10,000 watts with greater than 90 percent efficiency. They are so efficient, my source tells me, "you can keep your fingers on them and barely detect that they are warm."

Toyota and GM are investor-partners in WiTricity and Powermat, respectively, and Nissan, meanwhile, is reportedly working on its own wireless charging technology. And Google tested Evatran's technology earlier this year.

With a big wireless player like Qualcomm moving into the space, is it only a matter of time before wireless EV charging becomes EZ and as ubiquitous as wireless toll collecting?

Green Skeptic Friday LinkFest - 01/14/11

Okay folks, the picture at right has nothing whatsoever to do with cleantech, the environment, or green...well, unless you count the Jets colors. 

As my readers and Twitter-followers know, I am a lifelong New England Patriots fan, from the time they were the Boston Patriots.  (The famous Patriots place kicker, John Smith, of the "Snowplow Game" was a substitute teacher in my elementary school. Nice guy.)  Anyway, go Pats!

Here are my links for this week:

Home energy upgrader Mark Group Wins $1.7M Contract with PGW.

Global investment in green energy hit record in 2010, according to a report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

On electric vehicles:

Martin LaMonica of CNET's Green Tech blog, pointed us to this old study from NRDC about the emissions reductions of hybrid vs. plug-in cars. "Hybrids are clutcher than you think," said Martin: Plug-in (PDF),

Treehugger featured an interesting comparison of the life cycle environmental costs of combustion and electric vehicles: EV vs CO2,

and Mercedes-Benz Unveils its Electric Supercar at Detroit Auto Show.  I hope they have it in Philly in Feb!

Our pal Gregor MacDonald pointed out that new governors in Ohio and Wisconsin are "killing rail and building highways. Because driving cars on government roads with imported oil = freedom."

Meanwhile, my pal Wes at the American Partnership blog wrote about "The 112 Congress, Federalism and Transportation Policy"  


On the China-US relations front, three important posts:

Dance of US-Chinese 'Mutual Dependence' Moves from Wall Street to Main Street.
 

US Must Cut $100 Billion from Defense to Compete with China on Clean Energy. 

China’s Green Ambition, US Sees Red.

Finally, if you like my Tweets (or what you read here) please nominate me for a Shorty Award

Have a great weekend and Go Pats! (No offenths Jets fans...)

Green Skeptic Friday LinkFest - 01/07/11

Hockey in 1901.

A new year and some of the same old arguments and debates.  Will this be the year we break the logjam and get the new green economy running in the US?

Here are my links for the first week of the new year:

The Breakthrough Institute's Shellenberger and Nordhaus on Why Climate Science Divides Us But Energy Technology Unites Us

The new Chair of the House Science and Technology Committee, Texas Republican Representative Ralph Hall is not a climate skeptic.  He believes it is happening but wants to Probe 'Quality' of Climate Science

In a curious twist, the Sierra Club is suing to stop a landmark solar development: Whose Side Are They On?

Meanwhile, China's Goldwind wins wind energy order of 76.5 MW in Ethiopia: Goldwind.

and Arch, Peabody seek coal exporting deals to Asia. 

Ciris Energy raised $24 million to biochemically convert coal to methane at large scale and low cost: Serious about Ciris,

and battery company Ener1 Completes $25 Million Capital Raise, while

CleanTechies blog speculates that Electric Vehicles are in for Remarkable Ride in 2011.

And, finally, Paul Kedrosky talks about the "Webification" of Energy in Harvard Business Review's HBR Agenda 2011.

Have a great weekend everybody.

My Interview with Sheeraz Haji of Cleantech Group

Sheeraz Haji of Cleantech Group

I sat down the other day with Sheeraz Haji, President of Cleantech Group, which was hosting its Cleantech Forum New York this week.

Haji has been in his position for almost two years after a stint at McKinsey and a few successful software startups. He came to Cleantech Group because he saw an opportunity to "take a great brand and transform it into the leading market research firm on cleantech innovation."

But his interest in the environment goes back to his childhood. His father worked for World Bank in various developing countries, which gave the young Sheeraz some direct, personal experience with environmental issues. Water was a particular concern.

"I went to go swimming in a lagoon in Cote d’Ivoire (Africa)," Sheeraz says. "But my father said to me, 'You don't want to swim in there; that water's dirty, it'll make you sick.' I looked at the other kids, local kids splashing around in the water and responded, 'But there are children swimming in there…' That opened my eyes."

Water is one of the subsectors that Cleantech Group tracks, and the firm has a partnership with the US EPA to map innovation across the water sector. They also have a research partnership with the US Department of Energy on smart grid solutions. In addition, the firm provides data, research, and advisory services to companies and investors to need such information to make business and investment decisions.

What challenges are you seeing for the cleantech sector?

"Financing. Financing is still an issue. We're hearing that throughout the conference."

What about all that government funding? Was the US government's stimulus not successful?

"I think the stimulus package has been successful considering how complicated it is. Matt Rogers had a tough job; the government was in a tough spot. They did it fairly, I think, as fairly as possible. Of course there are critics. And I understand where they are coming from. Government has a big role to play, not just in money, but in providing a policy framework to inspire innovation."

What issues are out there looming?

"Water. Water is a huge global issue, which is why we're focusing on it here. It has been ignored when compared to the scale of the challenge."

Can you share some trends you're seeing?

"In our latest research, transportation received the most investor money. EVs, of course, but also things like the "ZipCar for China" -- eHi Car Service of Shanghai; EcoMotors; and car-sharing in general. ZipCar is a really strong model and brand.

"Resource sharing in general. How can you get more energy efficient than sharing office space or even personal cars. I mean, why shouldn't someone get some use out of my Prius while I'm not using it, as long as it's available the 3 days a year I'm actually home.

"More efficient internal combustion engines are a still in demand; we shouldn't ignore ICEs. Fleet vehicles are a huge opportunity, too. There are still a lot of opportunities to conserve less.

"Control systems; all sorts of controls HVAC, lighting, anything in building operation and performance."

We can't talk about electric vehicles (EVs) without talking about batteries. What are you seeing in terms of batteries, specifically for the EV market?

"No one has figured out the answer to batteries for EVs. We're just not there. I'm skeptical of battery swapping technology; I mean: will the public go for it? And will it help resolve the 'range anxiety' dilemma? People are afraid they'll run out of charge while out driving. I really think charging will have to mimic the gas station-style infrastructure."

That's a very capital intensive proposition.

"It is, but that's not the same in emerging markets, where they don't already have the infrastructure set up and people aren't already tied to their cars. You look at China and India. It's different in emerging markets. Where electric motorcycles might be a good place to start; we looked at electric motorcycles and thought it makes sense in China."

What about China? Any thoughts on the big green push there?

"I've just returned from there. There was a very positive vibe in Tianjin. They are embracing the Eco-City concept there. And you can see why: the demand, the need. It's real. And companies there tell me there are few capital constraints. Really, it is a can do -- and will do -- attitude."

Any thoughts on the cleantech IPO market?

"It's going to be an interesting place to watch. Amyris is performing. Brightsource could be one to watch. Everyone is waiting for Silver Spring Network to go public, of course, but smart grid deployment has been so slow. The IPO market will be pretty interesting. I'm optimistic about it."

What do you say to people (and I've heard a few VCs take this stance) who say that cleantech is too capital intensive to make it worth investing in? That we need more capital efficient opportunities to invest in.

"Cleantech has a host of segments and sub-segments; some are capital intensive; some are more capital efficient. I actually think there are too many people chasing capital efficient plays and that there is real opportunity in bigger, more capital intensive companies, which can still be successful. You can still build a big successful company even if it takes a lot of cash to build it."

What's next for Cleantech Group?

"Three things:

1) Investing in our research in 5 key areas: smart grid, energy efficiency, transportation, waste, and water.
2) Launching our water research series at our 1st ever water event: Nov 3-4 in LA: Water Research Series
3) Continued expansion in Asia (upcoming research projects and events in India, Korea, and China)."

For more on Cleantech Group, their research, and events: cleantech.com


Related articles

• Cleantech Funding Falls (pubs.acs.org)
• Purfresh Named Global Cleantech 100 Company by Guardian and Cleantech Group (eon.businesswire.com)
• Cleantech Group Finds Global Clean Technology Venture Investment on Course, Despite a Decline in 3Q10 Investment (prnewswire.com)
• Karin Kloosterman: 7 Israeli Companies Make "Global Cleantech 100" Guardian List (huffingtonpost.com)
• EnOcean Named a 2010 Global Cleantech 100 Company (eon.businesswire.com)
• Trilliant Inc. Has Been Named a 2010 Global Cleantech 100 Company (prweb.com)

Green Skeptic Friday LinkFest - 10/01/10

The Cupcake Lady's Truck. (from MessyandPicky.com)

Welcome October -- and the 4th Quarter. Time to get moving and winning. Hope you are.

Here are a few stories that caught The Green Skeptic's eye this week:

According to Earth2Tech cleantech investing is not working for most investors, alas.


The Washington Post shared some lessons from Philadelphia's Cupcake Lady from Cupcake Lady.
 
A123 Systems to be first to prove cleantech can produce billion-dollar corporation's in New England? AONE
 
More on batteries and electric vehicles in particular: Electric vehicle collaboration: Better Place and GE to partner on battery financing, tech development and more.
 
How about wireless charging? WiTricity announces 1st big auto industry partner for wireless car charging and raised $15.5M. WiTricity

Toward Demand Response 2.0 from Greentech Media: DR 2.0

Have a great weekend everybody.

 

Green Skeptic Friday LinkFest - 07/16/10

Here are some links to articles of interest to The Green Skeptic this week:

Nick Hodge Deconstructs the Smart Grid and some investment opportunities in Seeking Alpha: Smart Grid

Fred Wilson (despite being on vacation in Europe) wrote a compelling piece on the "seed fund phenomenon," which has implications for cleantech investing: AVC

One of my favorite San Diego companies, Envision Solar, announced it is teaming up with Pennsylvania-based battery storage company Axion on "solar tree" parking lots that track the sun from NYT Green.

GE announced its $200 million smart grid challenge and unveiled an electric vehicle charger: $GE

Shari Shapiro over at Green Building Law Blog offered her perspective on the Smart Metering controversy brewing in states around the US in "Smarting Over Smart Meters The Sequel--Maryland Rejects Smart Meters." And I added my two cents in "Smart Meters, Smart Grid and Dumb Folks."

New ARPA-E awards were announced for grid-scale storage, power electronics & building efficiency: ARPA-E

Smart grid networking startup Trilliant snags a massive $106M investment: Trilliant

And BP announced it is buying Verenium’s biofuels business for $98M, proving there is such thing as an exit in cleantech investing: Boston Business Journal

Probably the most thought-provoking piece I read this week was Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman's take on "The Creativity Crisis" in Newsweek.

Have a great weekend everyone.

With Tesla IPO, Has the Age of Electric Vehicles Arrived?

Tesla Motors will have its IPO today. The Nissan LEAF electric vehicle sold out shortly after it was announced, many of the orders coming from first-time Nissan customers. The Chevy Volt may even hit the showroom later this year.

It certainly seems as if the age of the electric car is upon us. But hold on a minute. Let not all the hype keep us from seeing the speedbumps -- and maybe a few roadblocks in the way of a complete transition on our roadways.

Don't get me wrong, I believe the battery electric vehicle (or BEV for short) is the vehicle of the future. But this new generation of electric vehicles will have lots of challenges, including battery technology, range, and charging.

Let's take range. Today, we are used to driving 300 miles or so before having to pull into a gas station and, after inserting our credit card, choosing the grade, and popping the nozzle in the tank, we can be refueled and ready to go before we've had a chance to clean the windshield.

Contrast that with the currently planned charging experience for electric vehicles. Drive 100 miles and you need to charge it -- the LEAF will take 8 hours for a full charge at 200 volts -- and there is currently very little infrastructure to support electric vehicle charging.

You can get around this by increasing the number or density of batteries in a vehicle, which will add weight and cost, but as battery technology improves the weight and cost, life and range will increase.

Charging, however, still remains an issue. I'm concerned about the vision of the future that imagines hundreds of thousands of charging stations around the country, in cities, parking garages, and on-the-street parking (perhaps replacing the meters that have gone the way of the parking kiosk). That seems like an awful lot of infrastructure needing to be built.

And what about that volatile mix of bad weather and high voltage. Imagine the housewife, parking in the Whole Foods lot, plugging in while she goes in for groceries. She comes out, and some idiot parking next to her has dislodged the plug. Not only does she not have the charge she needs to go pick up Junior from day care, but now she's dealing with a live wire on a wet macadam. Doesn't sound like the way to go to me.

I've even seen plans for "battery replacement stations" where you drive in and your old battery is swapped out for a new one -- the batteries are on a huge circular conveyor. The Pep Boys, Manny, Moe, and Jack, are probably salivating at that prospect. But that doesn't seem feasible to me.

Which is why I was encouraged by this video from the UK-based HaloIPT of an alternative future featuring wireless, dynamic charging based upon inductive power transfer technology.



Momentum Dynamics, a Malvern, PA-based company I've written about before on this blog, also has a technology that may help advance the vision depicted above.

As Andy Daga, CEO of Momentum Dynamics said to me recently, the battery electric vehicle industry "Needs three things: improved battery technology (this is coming), improved vehicle integration of new technologies (also in the works), and finally, improvements in the technology and distribution of charging technology."

Of course, that is what Andy and his company are focused on, and which he feels "is absolutely critical to the industry."

I hope for the sake of the electric vehicle market that the Tesla IPO ($TSLA) goes well. I have concerns that, like $AONE, it will go from 0 to 60 and come to a screeching halt, like, well, a Tesla Roadster as it approaches a speed trap. (That won't be good for future cleantech IPOs -- some companies have already pulled their plans this year).

But I have larger concerns that we are ignoring the looming issues facing the electric vehicle industry that may well prevent it from going the distance.

Related articles by Zemanta

• 10 questions for Tesla before it goes public (green.venturebeat.com)
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• Tesla Raises $226 Million in 1st U.S. Carmaker IPO in 54 Years (businessweek.com)
• Battery technology could impede electric car uptake (money.marksandspencer.com)
• All options considered to be ready for electric vehicle plug-ins (dispatch.com)

"Cleantech Companies to Watch" in Philadelphia

One has an odorous solution to a growing risk...

One takes brown grease and turns it into gold (well, diesel fuel)...

One takes the wait out of recharging Electric Vehicles with the ease we've come to expect with EZPass at toll booths on the turnpike...

These were three of the promising start-ups from the mid-Atlantic region that presented  last night at the Entrepreneurs Forum of Greater Philadelphia's "Cleantech Companies to Watch" program.

Held at the Haub School of Business at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, the event was part of an ongoing series of entrepreneur-focused programming offered by the organization for its members.

Enersol, which we've been familiar with since last year, has developed a technology to odorize hydrogen gas. Why? Because, as Founder and CEO Patrick Flynn says, "with the growing demand for hydrogen in industrial and commercial applications there is an increased risk of accidental escape and combustion of this highly flammable, odorless gas."

That smell you smell with natural gas that tells you when you have a leak? It's added for the same reason. Without it, sensors would have to detect any leak and, while they are generally reliable, the risk of accidents increases as use of the gas becomes more ubiquitous.

Recently named one of Always On GoingGreen East's Top 50 companies, BlackGold Biofuels is no stranger to readers of this blog. (CEO Emily Landsburg was a part of the first cohort of GoodCompany Ventures last summer and we've continued to work together.)  But what was really impressive is she made this presentation -- and didn't skip a beat -- just six days after giving birth to her first child, Max, who was in the audience.

BlackGold has a patent-pending technology to convert sewer grease -- a multimillion dollar municipal pain in the, well, sewer -- into biodiesel.  Literally turning a liability into an asset. They are installing their first full-scale plant in the city of San Francisco, having beat out two west coast competitors.

Very intriguing was the final presenter, Momentum Dynamics, which is developing a game-changing proprietary technology that solves one of the biggest issues facing the electric vehicle market: it's wired. Not only that, but as inventor and CEO Andrew Daga said, full-cycle charging reduces battery life and takes a minimum of 30 minutes to charge.

So, where once the car provided freedom, electric vehicles as currently being developed require you to plug in, which means you need to be able to do so at home, office, wherever and whenever. But you can't and won't; we all forget to charge our phones, don't we?

Momentum's solution charges automatically, whether parked overnight or for just a few minutes or even while traveling at normal speeds. Think the EZPass lane compared to cash-only toll lanes.  This breakthrough gives EV drivers, as Momentum's tag line says, "Freedom to move."

"The Entrepreneurs Forum hasn't had an opportunity to focus on cleantech in the past," said Dan Ross, the EF's executive director. "But we felt it is an emerging growth area in the region."

The Forum intends to look for other ways to spotlight cleantech entrepreneurs in the Greater Philadelphia area.