Beacon Power is a Massachusetts company that makes flywheel-based energy storage systems.

Rockland Capital, a private equity firm, recently purchased Beacon Power, including a Stephentown, New York, flywheel plant project. The purpose of the project is to allow excess (more…)

Announced on February 14, the Obama administration’s Department of Energy (DOE) budget recommendation is a big valentine to those working on developing batteries for electric vehicles.

As we said last year, the current administration has focused the majority of its vehicle technologies (more…)

Greentech Media recently reported that Southern California electric vehicle startup Coda Automotive (Coda) launched a battery business called Coda Energy, which will enter the grid-scale energy storage market.

Coda’s patent portfolio offers a window into the (more…)

It’s December again (how did that happen!?) and our annual time for reflection here at Kachan & Co. So as we close out 2011, let’s look towards what the new year may have in store for cleantech.

There are eggshells across the sector for 2012. Global economic uncertainty in particular is leaving (more…)

Electric cars may present different hazards than conventional design. Recent crash tests as well as one report of a battery fire suggest that the present car design may have to be improved. Crash tests have been carried out in the well known Euro NCAP testing center on the Volt and the Renault Fluence EV that gives (more…)

Renewable energy such as solar has a basic problem: No sun , no power. In order to make it more usable the Power must be stored for off peak use when the sun does not shine. Batteries though die when repeatedly recharged. Stanford researchers have developed part of better battery, a new electrode (more…)

Ioxus is a manufacturer of premium performance ultracapacitor technology for transportation, alternative energy, medical, industrial and consumer markets. Ioxus has focused on improving capacitor (more…)

Previous posts (here and here) discussed the patent litigation involving A123 Systems Inc. (A123), a Boston area lithium-ion battery maker, Canadian utility Hydro-Quebec (H-Q), the exclusive licensee of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,910,382, 6,514,640, 7,955,733, 7,960,058 and 7,964,308 (collectively “Cathode (more…)

Normally Oxygen is fairly tight bound to the hydrogen in water. If it can be easily removed, it has potential benefits for certain energy and fuel systems. A team of researchers at MIT has found one of the most effective catalysts ever discovered for splitting oxygen atoms from water molecules — a key reaction (more…)

The Global Cleantech Cluster Association, known as the global voice of cleantech, announced its Global Top 30 Semi-Finalists for its 2011 Later Stage Award at the 11th European Forum on Eco-Innovation in Lahti, Finland today. The finalist companies span North America, Europe and Asia, representing the most (more…)