We've just come back from the British International Motor Show - here are some pictures of concept cars (and real cars) at the Greener Driving Pavillion....

by Fernando Barbosa

First published on the Cleantech Investor website, July 2008,  Copyright Cleantech Investor 2008

Eco Lotus Elise

The latest in our series on ‘biorefineries’ by Simon Bennett

Alfalfa: a stable of green biorefineries

First published in Cleantech magazine, May 2008,  Copyright Cleantech Investor 2008

Simon Bennett is a researcher in the Centre for Energy Policy and Technology (ICEPT), Imperial College London, and part of the EU Biopol biorefinery consortium.

The ‘green’ in a green biorefinery refers to the nature of the feedstock. First proposed over ten years ago for the exploitation of immature agricultural products that are rich in valuable components like proteins and dyes, the aim is to extract this value whilst recycling by-products into other attractive non-food uses. Well-known non-food crops such as grasses, clover and alfalfa provide the staple diet of green biorefineries.

As ideas for future biorefineries have developed from the conceptual to the viable, differentiating between inputs such as wood, wheat or waste has become a means of distinguishing the types of plants attracting research and investment. In this instance it is the raw material that defines the processes and locations engaged in the generation of eco-friendly and valuable products.

Previous issues of Cleantech magazine have introduced a biorefinery as a facility inspired by the extensive integration of the modern oil industry, but tapping the potential of plant-matter to substitute for petroleum in consumer products. Away from the intense spotlight on biofuels, research into the conversion of agricultural and forestry products to other valuable consumables, such as plastics, textiles or detergents, is gathering pace.

The third in our series of features of next generation solar technologies.

Previous features included: “Improving Silicon Efficiency” and “Thin Film PV: CIGS and CdTe”.

NanoFlakes - a perfect crystalline structure. Courtesy of SunFlake

by Tim Chapman, a business and technology journalist, who tracks cleantech VC at www.cleanventures.co.uk

It's a happy fact of chemistry that solar cells can be built from a wider variety of materials than many people realise. The vast majority of photovoltaic (PV) panels now on the market are based on silicon - and, as we've seen in previous issues of Cleantech magazine, there's a plethora of companies working to get more power out of that semiconductor by developing new cell configurations or by using silicon in thin films. Other firms are developing thin film cells based on copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) semiconductors or cadmium telluride.

There's also a third set of companies which are developing new kinds of solar cells based on a variety of more exotic materials. Each of these technologies presents its own benefits and challenges in terms of cost and conversion efficiency, but all promise to take solar power into new arenas.

Not all of these materials are radically different. Odersun, a German solar developer, is developing thin films based on copper indium disulphide, a compound that is chemically similar to the CIGS family.

 by Anne McIvor

First published in Cleantech magazine, May 2008. Copyright Cleantech Investor 2008

Biofuels have been blamed by many observers for recent rises in food prices. The truth is more complicated. We discuss the complex issues behind increasing agricultural commodity (and hence food) prices and assess how agriculture can meet the future challenges of feeding – and fuelling – the world.

We discuss some of the companies developing alternative 'green' solutions for improving plant yields. Companies in this feautre include: Plant Impact; Plant Health Care; Agrisoma Biosciences; Agraquest; Aquaspy Group; Eden Research; Exosect and Tyrotech.

  First published in Cleantech magazine, May 2008. Copyright Cleantech Investor 2008