Innovation Pipeline

The U.S. stimulus package had a clear message and mandate for renewable energy. There was far less stimulus devoted to the water industry and people wondered how that would impact the business.
As it turns out, a recent water industry survey of businesses and technologists indicates there’s a rebound in water-project spending expected over the next [...]

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No doubt, cleantech companies were upbeat when the White House stimulus package allocated 13 percent of the total $104 billion stimulus package for green technology. Much of the economic stimulus will flow to cleantech infrastructure, but exactly where will it go?
Cleantech sectors, which were big winners, include smart grid technology with $4.5 billion, energy efficiency [...]

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There’s no better way to take the pulse of innovation than to survey R&D spending. And there’s no better time than during a downturn, because history tells us that this is the opportunity for businesses to gain advantage by investing and growing.
Two recent R&D surveys, one from the Wall Street Journal and the other from [...]

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Selenium is a potent environmental contaminant produced by oil refineries and chemical plants. Removing it from industrial wastewater takes time and money. To date, the process has involved a chemical process that employs catalytic reduction to convert selenium to an inert form.
Japanese researchers from Osaka University and Shibaura Institute of Technology have now developed a [...]

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You’ve no doubt heard of a carbon footprint. Now people are talking about a water footprint.
But what is a water footprint? It’s the total amount fresh water required for a human activity. It’s a way to measure water consumption.
One of the champions of this concept is Professor John Anthony Allan of King’s College in London [...]

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Thomas Rooney is a veteran of the water industry and knows all to well the classic problems and new opportunities. He is currently the managing director with RCI, an engineering consultant practice. But in his prior executive position at Insituform, he was privy to the vagaries of the water business. Knowing the pain points [...]

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Scientists have decided corn-based ethanol might not be the emerald bullet once thought. Last week, the journal Science reported findings which show that if corn-based ethanol were used as a substitute for petroleum-based fuels it would nearly double the output of greenhouse gas emissions. Earlier projections had estimated a shift to corn-based ethanol would reduce [...]

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Silicon Valley and the broader Bay Area still generate the majority of venture capital investments, according to recent quarterly data from the MoneyTree Report. The Valley’s share saw strong 9 percent year-over-year growth and outpaced other tech hubs with 35 percent of the total $7.1 billion in venture investments in the United States.
Where is the [...]

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An old English proverb says that “foul water will quench fire.” But what if you’re thirsty? Much of the world is now searching for innovative ways to clean dirty water so it’s drinkable.
There is some promising innovation in the area. Carbon nanotubes can improve water filtration. Other next-generation materials may make for more efficient membranes. [...]

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Ethanol producers find a solution to their energy problem in an unusual place: cattle manure.
Making ethanol takes more than corn and enzymes. It requires a lot of energy as well. Ethanol manufacturers spend about $8 million a year on the natural gas needed to produce the 25 million gallons of fuel they turn out.
And while [...]

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