Smart Energy News

Baltimore — General Motors (GM) announced it will invest $23.5 million for additional production of vehicle electrification components on the site of its Baltimore Transmission Plant, where the first electric motor manufacturing facility in the U.S. will be operated by a major automaker, with production to begin in 2013.

The new investment will be made with the assistance from the Recovery Act funding announced in August 2009 by the U.S. Department of Energy, GM (NYSE: GM) said.

GM said that designing and manufacturing electric motors at Baltimore Transmission will allow the company to more efficiently control the design, materials and production processes.

The announcement is in addition to a much larger, $246 million investment announced by GM in January to build the high-volume electric drive production facility for GM’s forthcoming rear-wheel drive “Two-mode Hybrid” system.

GM media website

State College, Penn. — Strategic Polymer Sciences (SPS), a privately held developer of electroactive polymer technology, has received a $1 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Founded in 2006, SPS was founded by Ralph Russo, a Silicon Valley executive and investor, and Qiming Zhang, a polymer scientist from Penn State University. The company is developing new electro-active polymer (EAP) materials and device technologies that are used in medical devices, energy storage, and military applications.

The new DOE grant to SPS is intended to support the development of advanced high performance energy storage for electric vehicles, the company said.

SPS’ film capacitor technology is viewed as potentially improving the reliability and reducing the size and cost of power management electronics for hybrid and plug-in electrical vehicles.

Only a month ago, SPS announced it had received another $1 million small business innovation grant from DOE to optimize its “electrocaloric effect” material and develop proof-of-concept prototypes of early-stage refrigeration devices.

Strategic Polymer Sciences website

Berkeley, Calif. — PVT Solar, the maker of a system that supplements conventional solar electric PV panels with solar thermal technology, which captures heat generated by PV panels, announced that it has raised $13.7 million in its second round of venture capital, which was led by Sigma + Partners.

In addition, PVT Solar named Vikas Desai as its CEO. Desai most recently served as vice president and general manager of SunPower’s residential and light commercial business unit.

PVT Solar’s technology generates electricity as well as hot water for washing and bathing, and thermal energy for home heating and home cooling. It can also heat a pool or spa.

The company’s system uses vents placed under solar panels that pull in air heated by the sun, which is transferred to a heat exchanger that heats water and feeds it into an existing hot water heater to lower the amount of electricity or gas that it uses.

Last year, Khosla Ventures led PVT Solar’s first round of venture capital.

PVT Solar website

Emeryville, Calif. – Amyris, a developer of microbial technologies for producing biofuels and medicines, on Tuesday priced its initial public offering of stock to raise a total of $84.8 million—well below what the company indicated ten days ago was the maximum it expected to raise in the deal.

In an amended filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission two weeks ago, Amyris indicated that it expected to sell about 5.3 million shares and raise an estimated $121 million. In actuality, the company priced 5.3 million shares at $16 per share, for a total of $84.4 million.

Founded in 2003, Amyris has developed genetic engineering and screening technologies that modify the way microbes process sugar for use in biorefineries. It is now applying its industrial synthetic biology platform to provide alternatives to a range of petroleum-based products. The company is focusing on Brazilian sugarcane as its primary biofuel feedstock.

Amyris has raised a total of around $244 million in venture capital and employs about 200 people.

Amyris website

New York, N.Y. – GE said on Wednesday it is partnering with Better Place, a provider of electric vehicle charging stations, to accelerate development of electric vehicles through a series of four technology and financing programs.

Founded in 2007, Better Place, which has raised a large amount of venture capital, is developing and deploying networks of electric vehicle charging stations, starting in Israel and Denmark.

Under the Better Place model, the ownership of the car and battery is separated, allowing electrical vehicle drivers to avoid the heavy up-front cost of the battery and instead essentially pay for miles traveled.

Through the new agreement between GE and Better Place, GE’s WattStation charging system for electrical vehicles will be made compatible with the Better Place charging station network. Establishing charging uniformity for electric vehicle drivers guarantees drivers can “roam” from one charge point to another, according to the announcement.

In addition, GE and Better Place will develop a battery financing program that begins with a pilot project to finance 10,000 batteries in Israel and Denmark, helping to bring the first 10,000 electric cars to consumers there.

GE and Better Place will also collaborate on targeting fleet owners for pilot projects to test a comprehensive corporate fleet electrification model in major city centers and connecting highways.

Also, as part of GE’s ecomagination initiative, Better Place and GE will focus on raising consumer awareness to understand the economic and environmental value of widespread adoption of electric transport and the infrastructure that is needed.

Since GE ecomagination’s launch in 2005, more than 90 products have been brought to market with revenues reaching $18 billion in 2009, the company said. With $5 billion invested in R&D its first five years, GE committed to doubling its ecomagination investment and collaborate with partners to accelerate energy innovation. The company said it will invest $10 billion in energy efficiency R&D over the next five years.

Better Place website