Rob Day | August 13, 2006 at 5:58 AM 2 Comments

The terrorist plot and micro fuel cells… and other news

• With all of the stories about air travellers having to throw out their shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, and other liquids, cleantech investors should note that the effects may be significantly felt on one technology area in particular:  micro fuel cells.  It seems clear that there is new seriousness about preventing travellers from bringing liquids and gels onto planes.  One of the key factors which has been driving the development of micro fuel cells has been the desire for longer-lasting power on long flights, for laptops and other electronic equipment—it’s a battery-replacement technology in many respects, and thus air travel is a key market driver.  The problem facing the technology now is that these micro fuel cells are most often powered by fuels such as methanol or butane.  As we’ve noted before, there has been a push to help bring these products onto airplanes in a 2007 time frame...  Now?  It’s unclear what the impact will be.  And if all laptops and other electronics are banned from air flights, even more energy storage technologies could be impacted…

• Could energy efficiency and energy management finally be getting some attention?  A couple of good articles to note on the general topic here and (self-promotion alert) here.

• Cleantech investors in the news:  A profile of John Doerr’s cleantech efforts.  Plus, Vinod Khosla doesn’t believe he’s investing into a bubble.
  

Other smaller news items to note:  A fun article about current clean energy research at MIT…  Some intriguing news on hydrogen storage technology…  A great article discussing the opportunity for and importance of various clean water technologies.