Written by Ryan Hollitz | 05 January 2010
Posted in Blog - Clean Technology

This could really help our new clean hydrogen economy get going for sure!

via [hydrogencarsnow.com]

In the movie “What About Bob?” Bill Murray talked about taking “baby steps.” An ancient Chinese proverb says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” At the upcoming Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, NV, Horizon will unveil its HydroFill home hydrogen fueling device which may mean we are a step away from hydrogen car commercialization.

The HydroFill, when it becomes commercial is expected to be able to refuel hydrogen cars in the privacy of one’s own home. Now, I’ve talked about home hydrogen fueling stations many times in the past and this product may be just what the industry needs to jumpstart the chicken-or-the-egg syndrome when it comes to which will be built first, the cars or the fueling stations.

The Horizon Hydrofill can run off AC at night when the electricity rates are the lowest, electrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen and refill their metal hydride canisters. The next day the hydrogen fuel cell car or smaller device can be refueled from the canister.

The Hydrofill may not be introduced commercially in 2010, however as development is ongoing. Horizon is already selling, however, a 20-liter hydrogen storage tank made of aluminum alloy outside and metal hydride inside.

Now, while the HydroFill is a big idea that Horizon is still working on, this same company has decided to start a bit smaller and offer a commercial line of micro-fuel cell power packs for recharging small electronic devices such a lighting products, USB devices and cell phones.

In summer 2009, I had talked about how Horizon had created the fuel cell for the economical Riversimple fuel cell city car. An affordable Riversimple plus Hydrofill home fueling station may be the ticket to sooner rather than later introduction of hydrogen cars and infrastructure into the marketplace.

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 05 January 2010
Posted in Blog - Sustainable Living

Some enterprising folks down in Austrial have started the Carbon Trade with a new carbon sequestration forest. Sweet!

via [cnn.com]

ECO2 Forests Inc. (PINKSHEETS: ECOF), an international sustainable forestry company focused on reforestation and carbon sequestration projects, has reached a multi-million dollar agreement for the sale of carbon credits created through the commencement of its Global Forestry projects.

ECO2 has entered into contract with CarbonX Trade, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Lakewood, CO based Green Ventures Future Fund, for the sale of all generated carbon credits through the first seven years of planting from the company's recently announced Vanuatu venture and its ongoing projects in the Eastern states of Australia where the planting of 150,000 initial Kiri trees has been completed creating approximately 375,000 carbon credits at an initial price of $10.00us per credit from these trees. Green Ventures Future Fund ("Green Ventures") will begin making payments for those carbon credits over a 12 month period beginning in April of 2010 creating ongoing cash flow for ECO2 while allowing the company to incrementally build income. An additional 150,000 trees are on schedule to be planted by the end of Q1 2010 in Vanuatu, following the anticipated land closing in mid-January, with their initial payments then commencing 90 days after completion. ECO2 plans to have a minimum of 3 million trees planted by the end of the seven year cycle per the contract with Green Ventures.

Other key components of the contract with the buyer include the first right of refusal to carbon credits from any future forestation projects initiated by ECO2 during the total ten year contract period; a purchase price based upon the 90 day trailing average price of the European Emissions Trading Scheme, less a 20% discount in price, a five percent increase per year in the price of each carbon credit with a base starting price of $10.00us.

ECO2's Global Forestry Plan intends to deliver large scale reforestation projects with a positive environmental and economic impact for the global environment. The high level of carbon sequestration is a naturally occurring event of the Kiri Tree, however improvements to the strains developed over the last 20 years sees improved levels of carbon dioxide absorption.

Read more...

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 04 January 2010
Posted in Blog - Green IT

via [documentmanagementnews.com]

Despite the Copenhagen climate change conference not coming up with the goods, there will be continued growth in green IT investment, says investment bank Jefferies.

Jefferies' CleanTech investor survey, based on responses among over 200 participating institutional investors, found that government subsidies and a general recovery of the credit and broader financial markets were the most important drivers for green IT growth - not a strong agreement at Copenhagen on global CO2 emission cuts.

Investors are confident that government subsidies are likely to remain the same or increase. As a result, the investment community is positive in their outlook towards the broader clean technology sector.

Europe is seen as leading the pack ahead of the US and Asia in terms of driving green IT innovation, said survey respondents.

Bruce Huber, head of Jefferies' European CleanTech investment banking group, said, "Europe continues to be perceived as a major innovation hub for CleanTech, which may be why continued incentive plans at the country level that nurtured the European CleanTech industry are seen as more crucial to investment and continued growth than the outcome at Copenhagen."

He said, "What is clear is that both local government incentives and transnational policies aimed at putting the brakes on climate change are fundamental to the continued growth of the CleanTech industry."

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 24 December 2009
Posted in Blog - Green IT

Here is some great insight as the what may come in the coming years.

via [ctoedge.com] Written by Julius Neudorfer