The big story of the week is that Daimler AG (NYSE: DAI) acquired an equity stake of nearly 10% in Tesla Motors
for about $50 million. Tesla’s all-electric Roadster was the first
highway capable electric vehicle for sale in North America or Europe,
and the company unveiled its second vehicle–a four-door sedan–in
March. Daimler and Tesla were already working together to integrate
Tesla’s lithium-ion battery packs into Daimler’s electric smart car.
It’s now expected that the companies will expand their collaboration.
In other automotive news, Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM)
unveiled its third-generation Prius hybrid this week, which features
numerous tecnological bells and whistles in the pricier versions. These
include a solar powered ventilation system to cool the car on sunny
days. Japanese solar maker Kyocera Corporation (NYSE:KYO) announced it will be supplying the solar module designed for the roof of the vehicle.
Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NasdaqGM:PEIX) announced that
subsidiaries, which own its four ethanol production facilities, have
filed for bankruptcy protection. The Company and its marketing subsidiaries, Kinergy Marketing LLC
and Pacific Ag. Products, LLC, have not filed for bankruptcy
protection. Pacific Ethanol is the latest major ethanol producer to suffer from
decreased margins caused by high corn prices and lowered demand for the
fuel. Rivals Aventine Renewable Energy and Verasun Energy both filed for bankruptcy within the last year.
Russia’s state-run nanotechnologies corporation, Rusnano, announced
plans to form a joint venture with Renovo Group
(W7A.BE) to produce
thin film solar modules in Russia. Combined investment in the company
will be about $638 million dollars and with a target of producing 120
megawatts (MW) of capacity each year by 2011. Rusnano will hold a 49%
equity share in the project company, and Renovo will own the remaining
51%.
Three leading companies posted first quarter results this week.
- Chinese solar energy company Suntech Power Holdings Inc (NYSE: STP) reported a slight profit, despite a 27% drop in revenues.
- JA Solar (Nasdaq: JASO), another Chinese firm, reported a net loss, resulting from a 79% drop in revenues.
- Whole Foods Market, Inc. (Nasdaq: WFMI) eked out a $27.3 million in earnings, despite a 32% decrease in profits.
And two companies announced significant funding rounds in excess of $20 million.
Northern California-based Enphase Energy raised $22.5 million
for its residential and commercial solar energy management systems. The
systems include
microinverters, communications and web-based monitoring for individual
panels within a photovoltaic system. Enphase says the systems can
increase energy harvest by 5 to 25% and reduce installation and
operating costs.
Denver, Colorado-based ZettaCore, Inc., raised $21 million for its semiconductor technology, from investors including Panasonic Ventures and Itochu Technology Ventures.
In addition to molecular materials and technologies for use in the
electronics industry, the company reportedly is developing ionic
liquids for heat storage in solar thermal plants. Previous investors in
the company include Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers and Stanford University.
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