Smart Energy News

San Carlos, Calif. — In what would be the first initial public stock offering of a U.S. automaker since Ford Motor Co. went public in 1956, Tesla, the San Carlos-based builder of high-performance electric cars, is preparing for an IPO, according to a report from Reuters, which cited two sources familiar with the deal.

No details on the timing or size of the forthcoming IPO were provided, and the company declined to comment, according to the report.

Founded in 2003, Tesla offers a “Roadster” model for just over $100,000. The car is capable of reaching 60 miles per hour in 3.8 seconds. Its range extends 244 miles on a full battery charge.

In a somewhat related IPO earlier this year, electric vehicle battery maker A123 raised about $378 million in September. This, despite an extremely depressed market environment for initial public offerings.

Reuters article

Tesla company website

Knoxville, Tenn. — In a new article in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, a team of researchers at the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory describe how photosynthesis in algae could be used to produce a steady supply of hydrogen for fuel.

Using a blue-green algae that favors warmer temperatures, with platinum as a catalyst, the researchers were able to sustain photosynthetic production at temperatures as high as 55 degrees C, or 131 degrees F — approximately the same high temperature as in arid deserts with strong solar conditions.

Other researchers have studied the possibility of using algae photosynthesis as a hydrogen source, but devising a way to support production at high temperatures such as would exist in a large, solar-driven system has proven elusive to date.

Barry Bruce, one of the UT researchers, was recently named by Forbes magazine as one of the “10 People Who Could Change the World.”

“The system,” said David M. Ewalt, of Forbes, writing about Bruce’s approach, “is far preferable to conventional photovoltaic solar power systems, because it doesn’t require the complex manufacturing process of solar cells, which uses a number of toxic and limited materials. And since the photosynthetic particles are easily harvested… it should be a lot cheaper.”

Nature Nanotechnology article

Barry Bruce’s University of Tennessee webpage