With a little help from Cleantech, Lux Research and d-bits, Cashivore has officially entered the modern lexicon. As of the end of November, Urban Dictionary now includes the following definition. Cashivore /kæʃ ɪ,vɔ:(r)/ n. 1 a a money-eating or cash-devouring enterprise, person or project. b a person, project or company that continues to consume large amounts of cash with no end in sight. 2 a person that only eats if paid to do...

UMG Purification. Photo Courtesy of Calisolar. Polysilicon prices are on the rise again in the solar PV industry, and metallurgically purified polysilicon (UMG) is back in the news. This time, however, UMG is generating interest for strategic market access rather than supply diversification. Download PDF (right-click, save-as) PHOTON Magazine: UMG U-Turn Originally Published in PHOTON International, November 2010. Provided with...

Game-changing Pillars. The need to stay market focused in technology development and get products quickly into customer hands translates to the Pillar of Process. Market requirements, corporate direction and technology options can all change quickly and must be tightly integrated with the development Process. For a new venture, the ability to predict market conditions is limited at best. Thus, rapid new product and process development...

Fossil fuel subsidies encourage wasteful consumption The International Energy Agency released its World Energy Outlook 2010 today. The report bluntly observed that in terms of taking on Climate Change, actions taken under the expected scenario made “it all but impossible to achieve the 2° C goal” from the Copenhagen Accord.  The 2° C goal is the non-binding objective established at the December 2009 climate change...

Cleantech is not a singular industry. There are many industries that have Cleantech opportunities. The maturity of the specific Cleantech target industry, its Phase, can have a powerful influence on Cleantech business success.        While Phase issues do exist in other industries, Phase challenges in Cleantech targets are considerably more pronounced. Target industry Phase should be considered in market selection, business...

Oil Rigs operate in LA California Proposition 23, backed by oil companies Tesoro and Valero, has been defeated by California voters. This is good news for green jobs and Cleantech ventures. This Proposition would have set aside California’s Clean Energy Bill, AB 32, passed in 2006. Among other things, AB 32 requires that the State meet a Kyoto Protocol-styled requirement for greenhouse gas emissions. Under AB 32, greenhouse...

Hoover Dam Relies on Four Pillars Government influence is fundamental in Cleantech  Public Policy has multiple direct and enabling influences in virtually all Cleantech sectors.  So What?  Where Cleantech is inextricably bound to Policy, the Information Age saw strong opposition to government subsidies and industry support. TJ Rodgers, CEO of Cypress Semiconductor, for example, provided the following 1993 Congressional...