You can't win 'em all, particularly when you have so many. Odyne, which wanted to make propulsion systems for hybrid buses and trucks, said late yesterday that it is calling it quits. "Odyne retained Matrix USA, LLC to explore strategic alternatives. These efforts have not been successful. Accordingly, Odyne today announced that, after careful consideration, it has determined to wind-down the operations of the company, terminate substantially all of its employees, discontinue its operating leases, resolve its outstanding liabilities and liquidate its remaining assets," the company said in a statement. The company is one of the 47 we've found so far that have received money from the secretive Quercus Trust. the Trust owned around 8.3 million shares in Odyne, according to SEC filings. Quercus invests in both private and small public companies. The dominant unifying theme is that the companies are almost exclusively focused on green technologies. Many of the companies are also early stage "science experiment" type companies. Graphene Energy wants to make carbon-based ultracapacitors, for instance. The sprawling size of the Quercus portfolio, combined with the fact that the companies cover the gamut of green markets, has raised eyebrows in Silicon Valley. Can a small group of investors really manage that many investments in water, smart grid, biofuels and solar? There are murmurs of skepticism. On the other hand, David Gelbaum (who has made hundreds of millions of dollars) seems to understand the business world pretty well, other VCs have plunked money into many Quercus companies, and I'm not finding Silicon Valley VCs who want to go on record criticizing the group. And I live in abject squalor, so who am I to judge the investment strategies of others. Only time will tell. Hybrid buses are actually a growing market. These sort of buses and trucks can get double the mileage of standard diesel buses. San Francisco already has some plug-in buses on the street and several other cities with emissions controls are looking at buying some. Nonetheless, it's also highly competitive with established players like Volvo competing against startups.