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<title>Haaze.com / goolilh / All</title>
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<pubDate>Mon, 21 Mar 2011 07:10:58 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Sony to restart battery plant' six others still out]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sony-to-restart-battery-plant-six-others-still-out</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sony-to-restart-battery-plant-six-others-still-out</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 21 Mar 2011 07:10:58 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>goolilh</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sony-to-restart-battery-plant-six-others-still-out</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Sony plans to restart a lithium-ion battery plant that it closed following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan earlier this month, Reuters is reporting.According to the report, Sony will open its plant, which is located in the Tochigi prefecture, tomorrow. However, six other plants that Sony closed after the earthquake and tsunami will remain closed for the time being.This could be bad news for several markets in which Sony competes. The factories that remain closed are used to produce lasers for Blu-ray players, Blu-ray discs, and Blu-ray players, among other products.Japan was hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake earlier this month that spawned a devastating tsunami in the northern part of the country. After the tsunami hit, thousands lost their lives and millions were left without food or water. The cost to rebuild the affected areas could reach into the billions of dollars.Sony isn't the only technology company that has seen its productivity slip since the quake. Following the earthquake, reports claimed that Sanyo, Sharp, Mitsubishi, and Panasonic were among the companies that were forced to shut down manufacturing. In an attempt to help the Tokyo Electric Power Co. maintain power as long as possible, game developer Square-Enix said last week that it would shut down game services for Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy XI, and PlayOnline for at least a week.According to Reuters, Toshiba has also been negatively affected by the earthquake. The company is currently working to bring its production of large-scale integration chips back up, but it's unsure when it will be successful. Toshiba also reportedly told Reuters that its liquid crystal display plant, which produces panels for smartphones and other mobile devices, will be down through mid-April.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Google&'s investment in Transphorm could be good news for electric cars]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googlersquos-investment-in-transphorm-could-be-good-news-for-electric-cars</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googlersquos-investment-in-transphorm-could-be-good-news-for-electric-cars</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>goolilh</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=googlersquos-investment-in-transphorm-could-be-good-news-for-electric-cars</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google said today it had invested in a startup called Transphorm, whose power-conversion efficiency technology could some day help create more efficient electric cars.The company&amp;'s technology can reduce by up to 90 percent the power lost when one form of energy is converted to the other (say, from AC &amp;8212' alternating current &amp;8212' to DC, direct current).Hybrid and electric car drives also convert electricity from AC to DC, so the Transphorm&amp;'s technology could one day be used to make electric vehicles and hybrids more efficient, said CEO Umesh Mishra in an interview with VentureBeat.&amp;''The efficiencies that we offer translate directly to advanced efficiencies in [electric vehicle] drives,&amp;'' Mishra said.The technology could be used to extend the range of cars with the same size battery used in electric cars today, or by reducing the size of the battery for a lighter car with the same range that current electric and hybrid cars have.All-electric cars right now like the Nissan Leaf (pictured, bottom) typically go about 100 miles on a single charge, and plug-in hybrids like the Toyota Prius Plug-In (pictured, top) or the Chevrolet Volt can go anywhere from 13 to 50 miles before switching over to gas, depending on the automaker and design. While there&amp;'s interest in public car chargers, consumers are still concerned about the range of cars.Battery cost, life and range are major issues in electric car adoption, and some argue that there are inherent limits to battery technology and advancements will be difficult. Major automakers are looking to expand lineups to compete in the green car market, and battery advancements are part of the plan &amp;8212' GM, for example, has invested in battery startups Envia and Sakti3. If car makers can tackle the range problem with power conversion and essentially skirt the battery obstacles, it could be a game changer.The advancements won&amp;'t be happening tomorrow or even this year, though. Mishra sees it as a future market for the company.&amp;''We are going to start working on it soon. But I believe it will take three years to five years before it becomes something the automotive sector will have the stomach for,&amp;'' Mishra said. &amp;''But ita4a4s a hugely attractive thing. &amp;8230' People in that sector completely understand the value proposition. We just have to work with them to get there.&amp;''Right now, Transphorm is focused on other target markets, which include solar panel inverters, industrial motors (like the ones found in elevators) and data centers.Transphorm&amp;'s innovation is in its switching devices and module design. The company embeds power conversion devices in circuits and modules specifically designed for use in segments like solar inverters and industrial motors, so it&amp;'s not a plug-and-play product, which Mishra says others have tried in the past. Gallium nitride is part of Transphorm&amp;'s equation &amp;8212' it&amp;'s a fairly new material commonly used in LED lighting and is &amp;''ideal power switching material,&amp;'' Mishra said, because it is a low-resistance material that can simultaneously hold off large voltage. Power-conversiondevices are traditionally made using silicon.Transphorm has raised a total of $38 million (including a $20 million round disclosed today)' its backers include Google Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield &amp;amp' Byers, Foundation Capital and Lux Capital.Next Story: Backed by Google, Transphorm unstealths with plan to tackle billion-dollar energy losses Previous Story: Overstat: The easiest way to test your websitePrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: electric cars, electric vehicles, energy efficiency, power conversionCompanies: Chevrolet, Foundation Capital, Google, Kleiner Perkins, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield &amp;amp' Byers, Lux Capital, Nissan, Toyota, TransphormPeople: Umesh Mishra          Tags: electric cars, electric vehicles, energy efficiency, power conversionCompanies: Chevrolet, Foundation Capital, Google, Kleiner Perkins, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield &amp;amp' Byers, Lux Capital, Nissan, Toyota, TransphormPeople: Umesh MishraIris Kuo is the VentureBeat's lead GreenBeat writer. She has reported for The Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong, Houston Chronicle, the McClatchy Washington Bureau and Dallas public radio. Iris attended the University of Texas at Dallas and lives in Houston. Follow Iris on Twitter @thestatuskuo (and yes, that's how you  pronounce her last name). Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Biofuels to anti-age your face. Seriously.]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=biofuels-to-anti-age-your-face--seriously-</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=biofuels-to-anti-age-your-face--seriously-</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>goolilh</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=biofuels-to-anti-age-your-face--seriously-</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Biofuels for your face will be on sale soon.Well, that&amp;'s the gist of it, anyway. The story: Algae biofuels company Solazyme has formulated a skincare line called Algenist using &amp;''anti-aging breakthrough ingredient alguronic acid&amp;'' that will go on sale this spring in eight countries, via makeup shop Sephora and TV shopping company QVC. The skincare products use Solazyme&amp;'s technology and research on microalgae strains, through which the company discovered alguronic acid.Yeesh. Maybe we should just stop calling them biofuels companies. Though regarded as one of the more advanced biofuels startups, Solazyme refers to itself as a &amp;''renewable oils and bioproducts company.&amp;''And, as we&amp;'ve reported in the past, biofuels startups have increasingly become less about biofuels and more about products that can be made with biofuels technology.Solazyme is one of the most active startups out there on this front, having inked deals with everyone from global consumer goods titan Unilever to food ingredient specialist Roquette Freres. LS9 also has a deal with Procter &amp;amp' Gamble. Aurora Algae changed its name from Aurora Biofuels last year to indicate its new focus on producing food and lotion ingredients. Renewable chemicals startup Genomatica recently raised $45 million.The anti-aging skincare line is especially unusual in that Solazyme has chosen to launch its own brand and line of products, staking a claim in the beauty sector, which is already crowded with hundreds of products and names. In the past, the company (and others) have mostly done research agreements or joint ventures and used their technology to provide ingredients for a finished product, rather than offer and market the finished product itself.Solazyme has signed on strong partners in the past, and Sephora and QVC &amp;8212' which also market Algenist &amp;8212' certainly follow that trend, even if they are two companies I never thought would be in the same sentence as &amp;''biofuels.&amp;''Lame jokes about &amp;''renewables&amp;'' aside, you can hardly blame biofuels companies for looking for new and creative ways to leverage their technology. Making biofuels is an expensive business, and what&amp;'s promising in the lab is rarely if ever easy to push to the million-gallon manufacturing scale. And with the chemicals, consumer goods and beauty markets looking so lucrative, biofuels companies arguably should be looking to diversify their revenue streams by making offerings in those areas.Running across a Solazyme-branded product at the mall was definitely not a story I thought I&amp;'d be covering this year. Still, it can&amp;'t be any worse than Botox, right, guys And if slathering on a serum that originated in a biofuels lab helps erase fine lines and wrinkles, then it&amp;'s just one more win for cleantech, however unexpected.[Top image via Flickr/sunshinecity' bottom image via Treehugger]Next Story: Charlie Sheen seeks social media intern a4&quot;will he pay in tiger blood Previous Story: Why Silicon Valley trumps Boston (data)PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: algae, algae biofuels, algal fuels, biochemicals, biofuelsCompanies: Procter &amp;amp' Gamble, QVC, Sephora, Solazyme, Unilever          Tags: algae, algae biofuels, algal fuels, biochemicals, biofuelsCompanies: Procter &amp;amp' Gamble, QVC, Sephora, Solazyme, UnileverIris Kuo is the VentureBeat's lead GreenBeat writer. She has reported for The Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong, Houston Chronicle, the McClatchy Washington Bureau and Dallas public radio. Iris attended the University of Texas at Dallas and lives in Houston. Follow Iris on Twitter @thestatuskuo (and yes, that's how you  pronounce her last name). Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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