Do you remember the scene in the classic 1967 movie The Graduate when Dustin Hoffman is advised that the best opportunity for the future is in "plastics"? Well, today, the future looks even brighter -- but for a new generation of green chemical additives that make poly vinyl choride (PVC) more bio-based and fully biodegradable.

PVC is widely used in construction -- roofing, flooring and electrical cable insulation materials. But, PVC is also used in electronics, clothing and upholstery as well as for inflatable toys and pools. Interestingly, 50% of the world's PVC resin manufactured annually is used for producing pipes for industrial applications.

Thus, this is massive market -- to say the least.

Continue reading Psst ... There's a Great Future in Bio Plastics!

Psst ... There's a Great Future in Bio Plastics! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cleantech Performance Off 15%, Bright Future

Cleantech Performance Off 15%, Bright Future originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The tree-hugging sector has found its way back into the spotlight. A new report from the Cleantech Group, in conjunction with Deloitte & Touche, pegs venture capital in the cleantech sector up 29% from the fourth quarter of 2009 to the first quarter of this year -- and up 83% year over year. In fact, VC action in cleantech set a new record for the number of deals closed (the previous best, 165, was set in the prior quarter). A total of $1.9 billion was invested last quarter in 180 cleantech companies.

According to Sheeraz Haji, president of the Cleantech Group, "The first quarter's bounce back in terms of venture capital investment compared to 2009's early lows bodes well for what we think is in store for the remainder of the year." Haji continues, "North America was particularly dominant this quarter."

Continue reading Cleantech Sector Picks Up $1.9 Billion in Q1

Cleantech Sector Picks Up $1.9 Billion in Q1 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cleantech Venture Funding Drops a Third, Still Beats the Rest

Cleantech Venture Funding Drops a Third, Still Beats the Rest originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How do you know the green finance sector has arrived? Well, it got its first Ponzi scheme! Allegedly.

The SEC filed charges against four people and two companies in a Denver federal court on Monday. Mantria Corp. and its principals, Troy Wragg and Amanada Knorr, stand accused of running raising $122 million from more than 300 investors in what could be a dozen fraudulent offers of securities. Mantria engaged Speed of Wealth LLC, run by Wayde and Donna McKelvy, to dump the cash out of their retirement plans and tap their home equity to "invest" in Mantria, which they said was offering returns ranging from 17% to "hundreds of percent" every year.

Continue reading Ponzi goes green, SEC in pursuit

Ponzi goes green, SEC in pursuit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sunny skies are here for Ausra, the solar thermal company backed by Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures. The company is looking for a buyer, and it's already talking to three, according to a report by Reuters. Everything is up for grabs, from a majority stake in the company to 100% of it, and the back-and-forth going on is at a "very aggressive level."

The businesses looking to pick up Ausra are said to be global power generation conglomerates but haven't been named yet. So, the clean energy company would be a way for one of them to diversify.

Continue reading Three buyers vying for solar thermal company Ausra

Three buyers vying for solar thermal company Ausra originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The clean technology private equity momentum continues. In New York, a group of partners has launched NewWorld Capital Group, a private equity firm that will focus on mid-market investments in clean energy infrastructure companies in the United States and selectively in Europe.

The new fund will work closely with Ambienta, a European environmental assets private equity firm in Italy. Both said they plan to collaborate on finding and analyzing investment opportunities -- with NewWorld taking care of the United States and Ambienta addressing Europe.

Continue reading New cleantech private equity fund launches

New cleantech private equity fund launches originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading With solar overheated, here are two indirect ways to play climate change

With solar overheated, here are two indirect ways to play climate change originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Well, what have you done for me lately, right? Investors, less than thrilled with the returns that venture capital funds have been delivering, are taking their money and going home. The number of new funds launching has thus dropped precipitously, and it looks like the industry will be smaller, with fewer players, according to the National Venture Capital Association.

Of course, the next wave will attract many to ride it, and that could be enough to turn the tide (once again).

Continue reading Investors turning their backs on VCs (for now)

Investors turning their backs on VCs (for now) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The clean technology wave just got a little bigger. This tends to be a side-effect of interest from billionaire investor George Soros. And, as usual, it's more than just money; it's more than just a return. Soros, yet again, is trying to save the world. Interestingly, the bold move was announced at a meeting on climate change sponsored by Project Syndicate - an international association consisting of 430 newspapers from 150 countries (and thus with clear ties to the past, rather than future).

The investor and founder of Soros Fund Management LLC is planning to put $1 billion into clean-tech opportunities using what he calls "rather stringent criteria," which involves being "profitable but should also actually make a contribution to solving the problem [i.e., of clean technology adoption and proliferation]." Soros didn't provide any other details on the nature or scope of his investments.

Continue reading Soros to put $1 billion into clean-tech companies

Soros to put $1 billion into clean-tech companies originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We're tired of bubbles, right? Anyone 30 or older has lived through two big ones so far, with a brief period of prosperity separating the decimation of dot-com largesse and mortgage-fueled paper wealth. It could take until 2014 for the jobs lost to be replenished, and there's little reason for optimism.

So, with the economy in the tank, we can focus elsewhere -- maybe on saving the planet. If we can't put green in our wallets, maybe we can add some to our lifestyles. Or, you could do both. Green technology could be the next boom in the United States, even if we do lag some parts of the world, and investing in clean solutions is really nothing other than investing in the next big thing. Even if you don't give a damn about climate change (or don't think it exists at all), the green market could likely become your employer -- or trigger the economic growth that will create your next job.

Some signs are visible already.

Continue reading Five signs that green is the next bubble

Five signs that green is the next bubble originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rajendra Pachauri, U.N. climate scientist, has good news and bad news. I'll give you the latter first: eat less meat. Doing so will help slow global warming. The good news, also related to climate change, is that Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the United Nations, investing in green technologies now is a smart move. So, by following Pachauri's advice, you cut down on your meat but reward yourself with a decent investment return.

If you take his advice as a whole (pretending you don't know you can do one part without the other), it's like getting paid to eat your veggies. Everyone who's been five years old at some point knows that being given green to eat green is ample motivation. The fun part, here, is that you're financing it by investing in green. It all matches!

Continue reading U.N.: Eat less meat, invest in green

U.N.: Eat less meat, invest in green originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Venture capital investment in clean technology grew 10% from the second quarter to the third this year. According to a report by the Cleantech Group and Deloitte, 134 companies received investments of $1.59 billion - up from $1.2 billion in the second quarter. The sector's upward trajectory continues, with last quarter marking the second in a row of double-digit growth. In the first quarter of 2009, venture capital investment in cleantech companies hit a low of $1 billion.

The strong third quarter has made the cleantech sector the largest in the venture capital business, according to the Cleantech Group, pulling ahead of biotech. Twenty-seven percent of venture capital funds invested in the second quarter of 2009 went to cleantech companies - up from 3% at the beginning of 2004.

Continue reading Cleantech VC funding up in Q3

Cleantech VC funding up in Q3 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

GreenBytes, a unique data storage appliance company, has just received an $8 million Series A round of investment financing. Battery Ventures completed the deal, which provides fresh resources for the Rhode Island-based energy-efficient technology company.

Founded in 2007, GreenBytes offers network attached storage (NAS) and storage area network (SAN) solutions that reduce energy consumption, providing a cost savings opportunity while also addressing corporate social responsibility considerations.

Continue reading Green data storage firm picks up $8 million Series A round

Green data storage firm picks up $8 million Series A round originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The World Bank Group's financing for renewable and efficient energy projects increased 24% in the last fiscal year. Reaching $3.3 billion, the bank's clean technology investments have reached their highest level ever.

At the Bonn International Renewable Energies Conference in 2004, the World Bank committed to increase its contribution to cleantech investments by $1.9 billion through 2009. Not only did last fiscal year's result more than double the five-year commitment, the World Bank's support surged by $7 billion.

Continue reading World Bank green energy spending tops $3 billion

World Bank green energy spending tops $3 billion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you want to feel like what you do for a living makes a difference, you'll soon face an embarrassment of riches.

The alternative energy industry -- the green business -- is about to ramp up its hiring, with the next year likely to show an increase in demand, according to U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

Continue reading Green jobs coming, thanks to investors

Green jobs coming, thanks to investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Venture capital funds found 612 companies in which to invest $3.67 billion in Q2. Of this, $1.5 billion (41%) was first-time financing, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. This is only slightly ahead of the action in Q1, in which 141 transactions were first-time, and far behind the pace we enjoyed earlier this decade.

The biotech sector was the big winner in a shrinking market, with funding up 54% to $888 million over 85 deals. The software business was flat quarter-over-quarter at 4644 million over 135 transactions. Investments in internet companies fell 15% to $524 million via 124 deals. Clean technology showed considerable growth, up 15% to $274 million, with 42 transactions closed.

Continue reading VC first-time infusions hit 15-year low

VC first-time infusions hit 15-year low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The venture capital (VC) industry demonstrated its commitment to the clean technology space in the second quarter of 2009, pumping $1.2 billion into the sector, according to a report by GTM Research. VC investments in cleantech are up 43.5% from the first quarter of the year, when $836 was put into play in the cleantech space.

The number of transactions increased, as well. In the first quarter, 59 deals were completed, and deal-flow surged 44% to 85 in the quarter just finished. Average deal size remained fairly consistent: $14.2 million for the first quarter and $14.1 for the second.

Continue reading VC for cleantech surges to $1.2bn in Q2

VC for cleantech surges to $1.2bn in Q2 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We're still in the early stages of this trend, but it's pretty clear that the green energy sector is fast becoming a venture capital darling. Today, for example, five deals were announced in one publication alone (three VC, two acquisitions). The three investments account for $47.4 million in VC investment. And only yesterday, Solazyme picked up another $57 million in its Series C round.

In what remains a capital-constrained market, the cash is still flowing. In the private equity space, investments in clean technologies have remained steady from 2007 to 2008, despite broader economic calamity. Such commitment this early in the game may hint at what the next bubble will be.

Continue reading Green VC deals continue to mount, next bubble?

Green VC deals continue to mount, next bubble? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With a lagging IPO market and a grinding global recession, it's been brutal for startup companies. Simply put, many VCs have been holding back.

But there is one area that remains hopeful: cleantech.

In fact, today, Hara, a new company in the space will launch. Funded with $6 million from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), the firm will offer a sophisticated software system that measures, audits and provides advice on how to lower environmental waste.

Continue reading Al Gore to cleanup with a new startup?

Al Gore to cleanup with a new startup? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.