Staff analysis

Beyond all the discussions about emissions reductions and capping and trading at the COP15 climate change meetings this December, expect to hear a persistent sub-theme about tech transfer between developed countries and lesser developed ones.

And the topic of cleantech intellectual property rights (IPR)—and who should own them—is only going to become more of a focus as clean technologies are asked to scale, particularly in the developing world.

The transition to a low carbon economy will lead to a more decentralised energy infrastructure whereby energy will be generated from far more locations – such as from domestic roof-top solar panels. This contrasts with the current infrastructure which entails electricity being generated and distributed from a few centralised power plants.

If you couple this with the fact that many of the main sources of renewable energy generation are intermittent, then one cannot escape the conclusion that the amount of energy-related information that the world will need to process is going to jump to unheard of levels.

Interesting nuggets remain to be found in last quarter's cleantech venture data.

For instance, as a percentage of early stage deals done in last quarter's cleantech venture data (3Q09), alternative energy ventures—in particular solar, followed by energy efficiency and materials—received the largest share of early stage venture deals done.

This tells us a few things when compared to this quarter’s main investment trends:

A recent solar advancement out of Georgia Institute of Technology may be innovative, but it is by no means novel.

Researchers said they’ve come up with a three-dimensional photovoltaic system that could allow PV systems to be located other places besides rooftops. The technology uses zinc oxide nanostructures grown on optical fibers and coated with dye-sensitized solar cell materials.

The researchers said the technology enables PV generators to be foldable, concealed and mobile. According to Professor Zhong Lin Wang, optical fiber could conduct sunlight into a building’s walls, where the nanostructures would convert it to electricity.

Backpackers and outdoors enthusiasts are likely familiar with Switerland’s Katadyn, which makes water filters, tablets, and water treatment products such as pumps. Established in 1926, the company is a global leader in portable water treatment, with its ceramic filters.

It also specializes in desalination, currently making various portable pumps aimed at the boating community, especially for emergency drinking needs, Katadyn’s Chairman Adrian Schmassmann told the Cleantech Group this week at the company's Zurich headquarters.

Duebendorf, Switzerland-based Flisom’s CEO Anil Sethi released new details that his company accomplished a world record last week with its copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells, boasting more than 16 percent conversion efficiency.

It’s one thing to do it in the lab, he told the Cleantech Group yesterday. It’s a completely different story to scale that up and still achieve the same efficiencies. But that’s what it appears the Mumbai-based Tata Group is paying Flisom to do.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has vocally opposed the climate-change legislation that's now making its way through Congress.

The continued denial recently prompted Apple, Exelon, and PG&E to jump ship from the business lobby that claims to represent more than 3 million companies. But for a few minutes yesterday, it appeared that the chamber had given into pressure and reversed its opinion.

If you put a cleantech twist on the reality television show Amazing Race it would look something like the BioMotion Tour, which kicked off earlier this week in Paris running until Nov. 12 through seven countries and 35 cities in 31 days.

But instead of traveling by airplanes, taxis, rental cars, boats and on foot, the BioMotion Tour is, as the name implies, all about a fleet of cars zooming from one city to the next powered by different kinds of biofuels. The cars run on well-established fuels such as vegetable oil, biodiesel and ethanol, and also next-generation fuels including biogas (see Sainsbury's expands biogas-vehicle trial).

Two Calgary, Alberta-based companies, TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) and Canadian Hydro Developers (TYSX:KHD), appear to have made amends with a sweetened deal.

The companies jointly said today they have entered into a definitive pre-acquisition agreement. TransAlta plans to amend its existing share offer to acquire all the issued and outstanding common shares of Canadian Hydro for C$5.25 per share in cash, for a total value of C$1.6 billion.

Risk aversion to investing in cleantech is starting to change and improve, but we’re not about to see a wave of IPOs in the sector anytime soon.

Or at least that was the consensus today from venture capital and private equity folks at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum-West conference in San Francisco. And while the primarily Silicon Valley-based panel had opinions that differed at times, they all agreed they have one thing in common: Their names are hard to pronounce.