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BP Invests in Microbes

BP has invested in the company, Synthetic Genomics, involved in a new field, synthetic biology. Scientists from BP and Synthetic Genomics will sequence the genes of microorganisms that live in fossil fuel deposits and then find ways to exploit properties of these single-celled animals on an industrial scale. They believe microbes may one day help speed up the formation of hydrocarbons, create cleaner fuels or help oil companies extract more oil out of underground deposits. Currently, the industry gets only a fraction of the oil out of deposits. In synthetic biology, scientists identify a potentially useful metabolic process found in nature and try to devise ways to replicate it in a lab. Amyris Biotechnologies, for example, has been able to artificially produce a naturally occurring malaria medicine; it also hopes to make low carbon jet fuel. Cambrios Technologies has identified microbial proteins that can act sort of like a glue in semiconductors. Others hope to devise synthetic proteins to break down plant mass into ethanol.

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PowerShares Global Water Portfolio Launches

The PowerShares Global Water Portfolio (AMEX: PIO), an international water ETF, has launched, constructed by the founders of the US-based water index, PowerShares Water Resources (PHO). PIO is a modified equal-dollar weighted index that consists of companies worldwide that are engaged in the water industry. It currently consists of 41 stocks from 14 countries. The new ETF faces competition from recently launched First Trust ISE Water Index Fund (AMEX: FIW) and CLAYMORE ETF TRUST 2 (AMEX: CGW).

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Infinia Raises $9.5M

INFINIA Corp, a developer of Stirling engine based products and technologies, has received $9.5 million in new venture funding. Khosla Ventures, Vulcan Capital, EQUUS Total Return, Inc. and Idealab joined existing investor Power Play Energy, LLC in the financing round. The deal also includes the acquisition of Stirling Cycles, a company developing Stirling engine technology, from Idealab for an undisclosed sum. Operating without internal combustion, a Stirling engine uses a temperature differential to drive a piston and produce electricity. Along with other Stirling based products, INFINIA is focused on commercializing a Stirling power system operating on concentrated solar energy for commercial and residential users. The Solar Stirling product is expected to be available in 2008. “Our Stirling engines are unique – they are reliable, can be manufactured inexpensively, operate on many different heat sources and provide a platform for energy products that will change the way the world generates and utilizes energy,” said J.D. Sitton, CEO.” INFINIA and its partners are also commercializing high efficiency combined heat and power products for the global appliance industry and are developing a unique, bio-gas fired Stirling generator to provide electricity and thermal energy for rural areas of developing countries. Stirling Cycles, Inc. was […]

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Israel's Gazit Acquires Ormat Shares

Gazit Inc. (GZIT10) has acquired a 12 percent stake in Ormat Industries (NYSE: ORA), the leading geothermal energy producer. Gazit is controlled by Chaim Katzman, who owns real estate investment company Gazit-Globe (GLOB). The 12 percent stake is worth about 700 million shekels ($168 million).

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RPS Likely to be Voted on Today, Bush Says He'll Veto

Bush doesn’t like much about the The Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007, likely to be voted on in the Senate today, and signalled he will likely veto the bill. He denounced the provision that would make gasoline price gouging illegal and the fact that it doesn’t open new offshore and Alaskan areas to oil and natural gas drilling to increase domestic supplies. Referring to the “NOPEC” amendment by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), which would allow the Justice Department to take action against members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries for collusive practices in setting the price of oil, the White House said it would “harm U.S. interest abroad, discourage foreign investment in the U.S. economy,and could lead to retaliatory action, leading to a reduction in oil available to U.S. refiners. The White House said the language that would require vehicle fuel-efficiency standards to average 35 miles a gallon by 2020 for passenger cars and light trucks is “overly prescriptive” and would lead to regulatory uncertainty. About the provision that would make gasoline price gouging a federal crime, it said “The federal government has all the legal tools necessary to address price gouging,” and it […]

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