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Written by Joanna Hoang   
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Tuesday, 04 January 2011

Silicon Valley Start Ups

Silicon Valley, known today as the new Detroit, is a growing spot for new and innovative greentech companies. New environmentally-progressive ideas and technology are being implemented daily in Silicon Valley—where the technology boom originated. Let’s hope Silicon Valley will do for sustainability what it did for the internet! Here is a look at some of the new start up companies in Silicon Valley and their contribution to the greentech revolution:

InnovaLight: Innovalight is a startup company based in Sunnyvale, California that is working with crystalline silicon cells. Their main focus is to improve the efficiency while reducing the cost of solar cells, which are used to convert photons of solar energy into electrical current. By increasing the efficiency of this process by just one percent (1%), the cost of solar energy can be reduced by six percent (6%)! As solar technology becomes more advanced and inexpensive, soon we will be able to harness the full power of the sun and reduce our dependence on burning coals and fossil fuels for energy!

overview

Cobalt Biofuels: Cobalt Biofuels is a start up company in Mountain View, California that specializes in greener fuels for usage in cars—specifically they specialize in Biobutanol. Biobutanol reduces greenhouse gases by 85% when compared to petroleum based gasoline, and cars do not need to be modified in order to run on biobutanol! Cobalt Biofuels plans to bring in scientific leaders to improve bacterial strains, the fermentation processes, and separation technologies used in creating biobutanol. Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has said “Cobalt shows us that what is good for the environment can also be good for the economy.” Not only is this new biobutanol fuel good for our environment, but it is also great for our economy by stimulating new jobs and reducing our dependence on foreign crude oil. To learn out more about Biobutanol: "Biobutanol".


Tesla Motors: Tesla Motors is a startup company in Palo Alto, California, founded by a group of Silicon Valley engineers, and specializes in emission-free electric vehicles. Their first car—the Tesla Roadster—was first available for sale in 2008, and now there are more than 1,000 of these clean-running vehicles on the road. Tesla is working hard to make electric vehicles “fun” and popular to drive. Tesla’s specialties are the Tesla battery packs and power trains, which they also sell to other companies such as Toyota and Mercedes to use in their cars. The business strategy they use is to sell their own electric cars, sell their patented technology to other car companies, and to inspire other car companies to move towards making more electric cars! The new Chevy Volt from General Motors is said to be inspired by Tesla Motors. In 2012 you can purchase the Tesla S sedan car from Tesla for an estimated forty nine thousand dollars. Although a bit pricy, you will save tons of money over time by not having to buy gasoline. As demand increases, the cost to produce them will likely decrease as well, and these cost savings will hopefully be passed on to consumers?


Do you have any ideas to start up your own greentech company? There are many ways to raise money and network, and so many of the greentech companies also started from zero. These entrepreneurs worked hard to present their ideas to those with the financial ability to back them. The most important thing is to network and to keep putting yourself out there! Try going to a local green tech conference or one sponsored by companies looking to fund new sustainability projects as well! For example VantagePoint Venture Partners has funded companies such as Tesla Motors and a solar power plant developer called BrightSource Energy.

For information on finding grants: "Grant Seekers Finding Grant Makers", and if you are looking to invest in some green companies, check out: "Green-Investing".

Good luck!

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1http://www.innovalight.com
2http://www.innovalight.com/technology_overview.htm
3Id.
4http://www.cobalttech.com/
5http://www.greeniacs.com/GreeniacsArticles/Biobutanol.html
6http://www.cobalttech.com/
7http://www.technologyreview.com/files/21687/cobalt_x220.jpg
8http://www.teslamotors.com/about
9http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/cars-transportation/mercedes-electric-a-class-460910#ixzz0yqm1xQCH
10http://www.teslamotors.com/about
11http://www.newsweek.com/2007/12/22/bob-lutz-the-man-who-revived-the-electric-car.html
12http://blog.cochesalaventa.com/wp-content/uploads/fotos/Tesla-Motors-to-sue-Fisker.jpg
13http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/20/business/fi-cover20




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Green Facts

  • Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.

  • Recycling 1 million laptop computers can save the amount of energy used by 3,657 homes in the U.S. over the course of a year.

  • Less than 1% of electricity in the United States is generated from solar power.

  • A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.

  • A laptop consumes five times less electricity than a desktop computer.

  • Refrigerators built in 1975 used 4 times more energy than current models.

  • Due to tiger poaching, habitat destruction, and other human-tiger conflicts, tigers now number around 3,200—a decrease in population by about 70% from 100 years ago.

  • Glass can be recycled over and over again without ever wearing down.

  • If every U.S. household turned the thermostat down by 10 degrees for seven hours each night during the cold months, and seven hours each weekday, it would prevent nearly gas emissions.

  • Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every 3 months

  • Bamboo absorbs 35% more carbon dioxide than equivalent stands of trees.

  • Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute.

  • One recycled aluminum can will save enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a TV for 2 hours.

  • Shaving 10 miles off of your weekly driving pattern can eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

  • You will save 100 pounds of carbon for each incandescent bulb that you replace with a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), over the life of the bulb.

  • Every week about 20 species of plants and animals become extinct.

  • In the United States, automobiles produce over 20 percent of total carbon emissions. Walk or bike and you'll save one pound of carbon for every mile you travel.

  • Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to make the material from scratch.

  • Recycling 100 million cell phones can save enough energy to power 18,500 homes in the U.S. for a year.

  • You will save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide for every 10,000 miles you drive if you always keep your car’s tires fully inflated.

  • American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through rush hour traffic. This adds up to 23 billion gallons of gas wasted in traffic each year.

  • A steel mill using recycled scrap reduces related water pollution, air pollution, and mining wastes by about 70%.

  • You’ll save two pounds of carbon for every 20 glass bottles that you recycle.

  • Current sea ice levels are at least 47% lower than they were in 1979.

  • Washing your clothes in cold or warm instead of hot water saves 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and drying your clothes on a clothesline six months out of the year would save another 700 pounds.

  • Turning off the tap when brushing your teeth can save as much as 10 gallons a day per person.

  • Americans throw away more than 120 million cell phones each year, which contribute 60,000 tons of waste to landfills annually.

  • 82 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from burning fossil fuels.

  • An aluminum can that is thrown away instead of recycled will still be a can 500 years from now!

  • Americans use 100 million tin and steel cans every day.

  • For every 38,000 bills consumers pay online instead of by mail, 5,058 pounds of greenhouse gases are avoided and two tons of trees are preserved.

  • The World Health Organization estimates that 2 million people die prematurely worldwide every year due to air pollution.

  • A tree that provides a home with shade from the sun can reduce the energy required to run the air conditioner and save an additional 200 to 2,000 pounds of carbon over its lifetime.

  • 77% of people who commute to work by car drive alone.

  • In California homes, about 10% of energy usage is related to TVs, DVRs, cable and satellite boxes, and DVD players.

  • States with bottle deposit laws have 35-40% less litter by volume.

  • Nudge your thermostat up two degrees in the summer and down two degrees in the winter to prevent 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

  • Recycling for one year at Stanford University saved the equivalent of 33,913 trees and the need for 636 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone.

  • It takes 6,000,000 trees to make 1 year's worth of tissues for the world.