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DOE Awards $100M for Fuel Cell R&D, $25M for Sequestration

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it would make $100 million available to fund 25 hydrogen research and development projects. The projects will be cost-shared and will seek to overcome cost and durability barriers associated with hydrogen fuel cell research. They will focus on fuel cell membranes, water transport within stacks, advanced cathode catalysts and supports, cell hardware, innovative fuel cell concepts, and effects of impurities on fuel cell performance and durability. Awards also include stationary fuel cell demonstration projects to help foster international and intergovernmental partnerships. In another announcement, nine projects will receive a total of almost $24 million to develop cost-effective technologies to capture carbon dioxide produced in coal-fired power plants. “The key to successful carbon sequestration is technology development, including technologies to capture greenhouse gases such as CO2 before they are released to the atmosphere,” said Samuel Bodman, DOE Secretary. Even with advances in energy efficiency and the switch to less carbon-intensive fuels, the result is expected to be a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions – from 25,028 million metric tons in 2003 to 43,676 million metric tons in 2030 – and the potential for changes in the global climate, according to the Department of […]

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Two More Energy Indexes Launch

Two more energy indexes have launched exchange traded funds (ETF) in the cleantech arena: The WilderHill Progressive Energy Index (WHPRO) is made up of 36 companies whose technologies clean up fossil fuel production and serve as a bridge to cleaner technologies. The ETF that tracks the index is called the PowerShares WilderHill Progressive Energy Portfolio (AMEX: PUW). Rob Wilder, co-founder of the index, and founder of the WilderHill Clean Energy Index which tracks pure play clean energy companies in the U.S., says, “In addition to growing clean energy sources such as solar and wind, we need to clean up today’s dominant energy technologies, such as coal, oil, and natural gas.” Cleaning up conventional technologies could have even more of a positive impact on the environment in the short term, he says. The other ETF launched is based on The Cleantech Group’s Cleantech Index (CTIUS), which includes companies that address a broad range of issues, from cleaner water and materials to energy. The ETF, the PowerShares Cleantech Portfolio (AMEX: PZD), is comprised of 75 companies who products or services contribute to sustainable agriculture and nutrition, air quality, enabling technologies, material and nano-technology, materials recovery and recycling, transportation and logistics, and water […]

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Martek to Restructure Operations, Updates Revenue Guidance

Martek Biosciences Corp (Nasdaq: MATK) announced immediate plans to restructure its plant operations to reduce manufacturing costs and operating expenses starting in Q1 2007. When fully realized, the restructuring is expected to result in gross profit margin improvement, primarily from eliminating idle facility charges. “These actions, while difficult, are essential to Martek becoming a more efficient and stronger company, and should enable the company to better serve its customers and capitalize on growth opportunities for years to come,” said Steve Dubin, CEO of Martek Biosciences Corporation. “In part, this restructuring was made as a result of improvements in Martek’s production processes over the last three years that have resulted in meaningful productivity improvements.” Revenue Guidance Update Martek’s fourth quarter revenue is now expected to be approximately $66 million, which is at the high-end of the previously provided guidance range of $63 million to $66 million. Total revenue for FY’06 is now expected to be near $269 million (+24% vs. fiscal year 2005), which is also at the high-end of the company’s previously provided guidance range. Martek is a leading manufacturer of a vegetarian form of DHA omega-3 products, used in foods, beverages, infant formula.

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Interface Reports Q3 Results

Interface, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFSIA), a world leader in manufacturing sustainable floorcoverings and fabrics, announced it achieved an 18.4% in sales for the third quarter, from $228.5 million ini Q3 05 to $270.6 million in Q3 06. Operating increased by 27.6% to $25 million. As a percentage of sales, operating income improved to 9.2% from 8.6% in the third quarter of 2005. Net income for the 2006 third quarter rose 77.8% to $9.1 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, versus net income of $5.1 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, in the 2005 third quarter. “The strong performance we have seen throughout 2006 accelerated in the third quarter,” said Daniel T. Hendrix, President and CEO. “Our sales growth was driven by solid performance across all of our geographic regions, as the corporate office market recovery continued, and our modular carpet and broadloom businesses gained additional share in the marketplace.” Sales for the first nine months of 2006 were $779.9 million, an increase of 7.6% over sales of $725.2 million in the first nine months of 2005.

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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:October 25, 2006

News and EventsDOE and EPA Release the 2007 Fuel Economy Guide Honda Takes Fuel Economy Sky High with New Light Jet Transit Administration Awards $49 Million for Fuel Cell Buses Ford and BP Open Hydrogen Fueling Station in Michigan Google and Fort Bliss Launch Record-Setting Solar Power Projects FPL Energy Dedicates the World’s Largest Wind Power Plant Energy ConnectionsFederal Regulators Propose to Approve 83 Reliability Standards News and EventsDOE and EPA Release the 2007 Fuel Economy GuideDOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have released the 2007 Fuel Economy Guide, which provides listings of the 2007 model year vehicles that are fuel economy leaders, both overall and by vehicle class. Hybrid vehicles lead the way for overall fuel economy with the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, and the front-wheel-drive version of the Ford Escape Hybrid topping the list, and the four-wheel-drive version of the Ford Escape Hybrid tying with the new Mercury Mariner Hybrid in tenth place. And while the 2006 list included three diesel vehicles from Volkswagen, on the 2007 list those vehicles have been replaced by the new generation of small cars, including the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, and Kia Rio. An […]

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OPEC to Keep Oil Prices Low to Discourage Alternative Fuel Use

OPEC announced late last week that they were planning on cutting oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day to keep costs of crude at about $60 per barrel. This cut, according to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, is designed to raise the cost of gasoline while keeping it low enough to be more attractive than alternative fuel prices. “It’s unfortunate that OPEC feels they can control the vision of this country and the destiny relative to alternative fuels,” exclaimed Curtis Donaldson, Chairman of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition. OPEC expects to keep the price of gasoline at about $2.25 per gallon. The price is high enough for OPEC to invest in future production capacity but low enough to allow economic growth and deter a flood of alternative fuels. U.S. oil prices set a record high in July of this year topping at $78.40 a barrel and averaging record high fuel costs. Alternative fuel pricing, including E85. “OPEC feels that they can manage the price of gasoline to a point where increasing the production of E85 and providing it at more locations across the country will become less attractive. It will be disappointing if we allow this to happen when […]

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