Raising Investment Capital? Does Your Idea Meet These Five Criteria?
Are you trying to raise investment capital for your cleantech business idea? Perhaps you’re looking for the easiest, friendliest way to get your concept in front of someone who can help move it forward. We at 2GreenEnergy may be that “someone.”
Speaking for me personally, I like to think of myself as a “big picture guy.” I don’t have too much patience for 85-page business plans, but I absolutely love analyzing concepts at a 50,000-foot level. It takes me just a few seconds to wrap my wits around the highlights, and determine if I can help – which I sometimes can, by tapping into relationships that I maintain with VCs, angels, private equity, and institutional investors.
If you’re interested, send me a short description—perhaps a few PowerPoint slides, or maybe just a 50 – 100 word description. Just make sure you nail, to the best of your ability, what I call the “Big Five” – the criteria all of which must be in place to make a business idea appealing. In whatever format you send it to me, show that you have a solution that:
- If adopted, will make a large difference in our world, i.e., if it’s not obvious, demonstrate that the total market is significant.
- Is working in the laboratory – or at least doesn’t rely on unproven concepts or new laws of physics. (Note: I don’t need the full details, or to understand the “secret sauce.” The fact that the recipe for CocaCola and the algorithms used by Google are closely-guarded secrets wouldn’t prevent us from talking about search engines or soft drinks.)
- Can scale; show that there is no reason based in engineering or economics that the solution cannot be deployed cost-effectively at its ultimate scale.
- Has some competitive barrier to entry, either in terms of meaningful IP protection or some other credible mechanism.
- Is supported by a bright, proven team; I have to believe that you guys are smarter than other people aspiring to solve the same problem.
I can’t promise that I’ll fall in love with your idea; in fact, that would run decidedly counter to my history in this space; I resonate with only a couple of percent of the concepts I review. But I can promise prompt and honest feedback. And you’ll find it hard to beat the price; I’ll happily do this free of charge.
Hi Craig:
The risk of sea level rise to global coastal infrastructure, which the insurance company Allianz placed at $28 trillion by 2050, can be addressed in three ways:
1. Reduce ocean temperature and thus thermal expansion.
2. Convert liquid volume to gas by electrolysis to lower sea levels and enable the Hydrogen Economy, and
3. Desalinate sea water or capture fresh water before it enters the ocean limits and then put this water to productive terrestrial use.
Using the desalinated or captured water for irrigation in turn enhances natural carbon sinks and produces much needed food, fuel and fibre for a global population projected to be as high as nine billion by the year 2050.
These three approaches can be implemented simultaneously only by producing power, water and hydrogen by the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, or OTEC, method.
Basic physics teaches that 1 Calorie is the equivalent of the work done against a gravitational field of 1 by a mass of 427 kilogram falling a distance of 1 meter.
Conversely 1 kilogram falling a distance of 427 meters produces the same result, which is the raising of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree centigrade.
There are significant regions of the tropical oceans where the temperature differences between the surface and deep waters of the ocean are as high as 21 degrees, which means in these regions there are effectively thermal dams of a height of 8967 metres or about 350 metres greater than Mount Everest.
Theoretically the Carnot efficiency given a cold reservoir of 278K and a hot reservoir of 299K is 7 percent but practically it is closer to 3.25 percent for OTEC so the height of the ocean’s thermal dam is effectively reduced to 291/2 or 145.5 metres.
Robert Stewart of Texas A&M points out in his on line textbook, Oceanography in the 21st Century, “18 times more heat has been stored in the ocean since the mid 1950s due to global warming than has been stored in the atmosphere.
Lyman et al., in the Nature article, “Robust warming of the global upper ocean” determined the average amount of energy the ocean absorbed each year over the period 1993 to 2008 was enough to power nearly 500 100-watt light bulbs for each of the roughly 6.7 billion people on the planet.
In keeping with the thermal dam analogy, the head behind the ocean dam is constantly rising with the result it will inevitably be breached and our coastlines will be inundate unless we take action.
The first law of thermodynamics states, the increase in internal energy of a system = heat supplied to the system – work done by the system so the way to mitigate sea level rise is to convert excess ocean heat to productive work.
This is accomplished with OTEC by using ocean heat to boil a low-boiling-point fluid to drive a turbine and then condensing the vapor with deeper, cold, water. It is a solution that has been neglected due to high capital cost and previously unresolved environmental issues.
Dr. Paul Curto, former Chief Technologist with NASA, pointed out in an article, American Energy Policy V — Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion “With a slightly different design, using an ammonia heat pipe instead of a cold water pipe, proposed by Jim Baird and Dominic Michaelis (British Patent No. GB 2395754), no water from the bottom is released into the upper strata of the ocean, trapping all the CO2 deep beneath the thermocline. Little pumping energy is used to circulate the ocean water, simply enough to pump warm surface water to flow over the evaporator end of the heat pipe. If the condensing end of the heat pipe is exposed to a thousand feet or more of near freezing temperatures below the thermocline, no cold water pumping is required. The parasitic losses are cut in half. The costs for the cold water pipe are eliminated, along with the cold water return pipe and condenser pumps, the cleaning system for the condenser, and the overall plant efficiency approaches 85% of Carnot vs. about 70% with a cold water pipe.
The parasitic losses could be reduced as much as 50% and the complexity, mass (and cost) of the system reduced by at least 30%. The vast reduction in operating costs and environmental impacts would be worth investigation alone.”
The Counter-Current Heat Transfer System is an improvement on this approach which further enhances efficiency and vastly increases the amount of energy the oceans are able to produce.
The weight of a 100MW GWMM OTEC unit is 1,420 tons, compared to 25,000 for the conventional system, and the capital cost as well as cost per kilowatt is reduced accordingly.
Jim Baird, Inventor
Global Warming Mitigation Method
U.S. patent applications 12/408,656 and 12/838,172
OTEC Counter-Current Heat Transfer System
Canadian Patent application 2,734,638
http://www3.telus.net/gwmitigationmethod/
Thank you for offering to do this:
We have developed and patented a liquid organic carrier for hydrogen with the potential to achieve 13.6% weight-by-weight. Our target market is to replace 50% of all diesel fuel used in the USA using co-combustion. The liquid does not require compression or cooling, is as safe as gasoline or diesel and is recyclable 100 times or more. We can deliver a kilogram of hydrogen for $2.50. Hydrogen is removed on-board a vehicle by the action of heat and a catalyst. Techniques for making and recycling this molecule are easy to scale. The hydrogen is suitable for fuel cells as well. Bart Norton
Leapfrog current vehicle architecture with selectively chosen/applied advanced materials.
Simple concept-Power to Weight. The lighter you can make a vehicle from the outset, the less fuel it will consume over its lifetime, and the less pollution it will generate.
Switch to Electric propulsion-trade a system that is at best 20% efficient (internal combustion) and replace it with one that is 85% efficient (electric motors).
Going back to point one-light weighting means lower energy demands, which in turn means smaller motors, supporting structure etc…
Higher material costs mitigated by parts consolidation..but also used selectively to replace more expensive components. (an all composite BIW may cost $2500 more than the steel BIW it replaces, but the overall vehicle cost is lowered because the lighter vehicle needs $5000 fewer batteries to carry the reduced weight.
Manufacturing can be greatly simplified due to the potential for weight and mass distribution (packaging) of the batteries, motors etc… David Beard
Craig, thanks for the look over. What we are dealing with here is a device with the potential to replace all fossil fuels with a single entity. No one ever speaks of that, but this device can do it without drastic losses of systems we have become accustomed too. The most important aspect of this device is that, unlike wind turbines or solar panels, we can store vast amounts of energy for extended periods of time. Below is the article I have written for publication, it will answer some questions. At the web site you can see the device we would use to generate electricity. One of the most important aspects of this is the fact we can transfer energy over very long distances with very little loss. We need to raise $250,000 to build this demonstration unit. My article is below. Thanks for the look Craig.
Mankind is literally at an energy crossroads. He has just about half depleted his fossil fuel reserves, and while half does not sound bad, his present rate of consumption is higher than ever. What that means is while his supply is halved, his useable time is much less than half. And it took over ten million years to make all of this stuff! Can we wait in the dark for ten million years for another batch to cook up? Hardly. There is a real sense of urgency in regard to our energy needs today, and the laws of supply and demand prove this every time we fuel up our automobiles, heat our houses, or buy food at the store. And without a real solution, we are going to begin suffering some serious setbacks for humanity very very soon.
While we focus on wind, solar, and other renewables, we seem to dismiss the most important element of our fossil fuels, and that is their storability. In one of the most important advancements of the human race, we figured out that the ability to store food over the winter was one of the most important elements of survival for Mankind. Why do we not get this with energy, is it because we never had to worry about it with fossil fuels before? Probably. Are we not intelligent enough to figure that out today? I look at today’s renewable energy industry with the same anxiety of watching a child cling to a floating log in a torrential river realizing that I will most likely drown when I dive in to help her. I feel fear, anxiety, trepidation, anger all at once. Luckily the issue of energy problems moves at a pace slow enough that I can contemplate the facts and come up with a real solution that will save the child’s life without risking my own.
The problem is storability. Batteries are way too expensive, however when I start freezing in the dark I bet we will all do without other comfort items in order to find the money to build batteries. But cutting off your nose to spite your face is not a desirable reaction. Geothermal has renewable possibilities, but again cost is a huge factor as well as enormous possible environmental impacts. Would it be wise to remove energy in huge scales for centuries from the Earth’s core when the liquid mantle keeps the planet on its orbital track? That is a theory I do not suggest we experiment with, especially when it is unnecessary.
If you want a real solution to a previously unsolved problem you are going to have to start all over in your thought patterns. It is not an easy task I know, but if you want to solve the problem, well you can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.
There is however a new science out there, well, new to us it seems. The science has actually been with us since the beginning of time, we simply have never had any reason to embrace it in the past, but the future will change that. One of these energy sources is the simple cycle of nature we refer to as rain. In spite of the fear mongers warning of loss of water on this planet, we have just as much water now as we had yesterday, last week, last year, or even a thousand years ago. It may not be where it used to be, but it is still on the planet. And it falls from the sky by the megaton every second of the day.
The other huge energy source is gravitational. The tidal changes on this planet are enormous, and if we could find a way to tap into that source alone we would never have to worry about cheap energy on this planet ever again. Fundy Bay Canada alone could power the entire world, and the animals that depend on that resource would never need to suffer any consequences if we are careful.
The other huge ‘minor’ source is the wind. We just need to concentrate on how to store that energy instead of generating it in a form that is not easily stored.
Even solar panels could be reworked into a storable energy output that does not include chemical batteries. And Lord knows there is a huge amount of solar energy around this planet to draw from. Enough to replace fossil fuels on its own if we could just figure out a way to store it for when we need it instead of wasting it because we did not need it when it was available. It’s like sitting in the dark on a cold winters day starving while remembering grain rotting in the Sun during the summers end. Store your grain damn it!
OK, enough of the melodramatics. I am going to explain to you exactly how we can bring all of these elements together so we might forever solve Mans next greatest challenge, the replacement of fossil fuels. Remember, I told you that you would have to start anew in your thought processes, and that time is now.
In all of the above cases, we can use each source to do one common thing easily and cheaply, and that’s compressing air. And start adding up all these sources and you will see that we could easily and inexpensively compress billions of tons of air around this planet every day no matter what time of year! But the best part is that compressed air can easily be stored for many years well beyond our typical environmental cycle. It’s like canned food, consumable well beyond a single growing season. Now your windmill can generate and store every bit of energy it gathers from the wind day and night and save it until we need it. Our hydro generation plants can save every ounce of energy available instead of letting it run out the bottom at night when it is not needed. And solar panels can hammer compressed air into storage containers for use on cloudy, calm, dark days.
Now we have all the stored energy in the form of compressed air that we need, so now what. Wind turbines? Possibly, but the losses in any accelerated mass are enormous. What about the forces generated in displaced water mass? Is that not how we keep tons of steel from sinking when we build a ships hull? How would that work? Well, if you take that compressed air and allow its pressure to force it into the base of a column of water, then insert that air into an inverted conveyor belt, the air bubbles will push up on the belt with a force of 62 pounds per cubic foot. Now if that container is 25 feet tall, and there is a column of total water displaced of 1500 cubic feet, that’s 93,000 pounds of torque output. Could you turn a generator with 93,000 pounds of torque? This is torque generated with an easily gathered and easily stored entity called compressed air. And if the demand for electricity drops off you can easily reduce the amount of air entering the container very quickly saving it for a later demand.
Now, the hard part will be putting the concept together in your mind. You will see that this is the only thing you have ever seen in the energy sector that is easily attained, and forever short term renewable … unless you are more entertained seeking a solution instead of actually finding one. There are still many who seek a better mouse trap after all! But look it over. If you see a problem, I need to hear from you. A problem must be seen before it can be solved, and just because it’s a problem does not mean it can’t be solved!
We are in process of building a demonstration project for this device in Western New York this coming year hopefully, and I invite all of you to watch our progress on this. Our company web site is http://www.heavyhydraulicoscillation.com. We will be posting any news about this installation as it proceeds, and it will give you access for any questions you might have. And if all goes as planned, the future of Mankind will not be challenged by the loss of cheep energy!
I am farming cocoa trees on the savana grassland as a means to help address the issue on global warning. I am also inter cropping cocoa trees with jatropha plants. Jatropha oil can be as a fuel for air, sea and land transport. It is green and clean form of fuel which if farmed in large quantity can replace the fossil fuel.
I seek invester partner in my project.
Thanks
Wilfred Sarenga
Bravo.
Dear Craig
BE HUNGRY BE FOOLISH
You must read this 28,OCTOBER
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markgibbs/2011/10/17/hello-cheap-energy-hello-brave-new-world/
Mark Gibbs, Contributor
+ Follow Tech |
10/17/2011 @ 12:43AM |45,696 views
Hello Cheap Energy, Hello Brave New World
Over on Network World where I’ve had a gig as a columnist for about 18 years, in my Backspin column I wrote about a power generation system this week called E-Cat which is to be tested on October 28th.
If you’ve missed the recent brouhaha over the E-Cat (which stands for Energy Catalyzer), you’re missing out on a three ring circus over a technology that will either change everything or change nothing because what is promised is, in theory, power too cheap to be worth metering.
The E-Cat is a simple device albeit with functioning that defies all known explanations.
In summary, the E-Cat is a cold fusion (CF) device (the inventor, Andrea Rossi, prefers to term the technology “Low Energy Nuclear Reaction” which appears to be the same thing as CF but a less contentious phrasing). I’ll refer you to my Network World column for a more long-winded explanation of the background and theories about the device.
The problem with Rossi’s system is that it is too good to be true. It is claimed that the E-Cat only requires some initial heating to start after which the reaction is self-sustaining. The reaction uses a secret catalyst to transform nickel into copper with heat being produced which can be used to make steam, drive a Stirling engine, or be used for whatever you please.
If this device works as claimed, the world will change and not just a little but hugely and at every level of how we’re organized, how we make stuff, how we travel, and how wealth is distributed. And those changes won’t just impact the US or the Western hemisphere; they well transform the entire world because incredibly cheap energy is the ultimate game changer.
So, here’s what I’m wondering: If the E-Cat does work, how will ultra-cheap energy transform your world? Imagine the following:
* Where today you use petroleum products for motive energy (for example, to propel cars, trucks, and planes) you will be using steam engines or Stirling engines. In theory you’ll be able to drive across the country for cents. What will that do to the trucking industry? The shipping industry? Aviation?
* With the demand for gasoline falling overnight and petroleum becoming needed primarily as feedstock for plastics, the US would immediately become self-sufficient in crude oil. What will happen in the Middle East without the huge flow of cash from the Western hemisphere? How will world politics be changed?
* An E-Cat system could power your house or office making the existing grid obsolete. What would it mean to make your personal and corporate electricity and gas bills nearly zero?
* The cost of manufacturing would fall very quickly with energy removed from the equation. If you are in manufacturing of any kind, this will affect you enormously. How fast could and how would you rework your corporate strategy to become competitive in a market where prices suddenly plummeted (note that the suddenly reduced cash flows would play havoc with the finance structures of many corporations).
So, the E-Cat will be demonstrated on the 28th of this month and I, for one, will be watching with great interest and enormous hope because if Rossi’s E-Cat system works, it will be goodbye recession and hello, brave new world.
I feel its time to think good ” Relating to something that requires concentration and an elevated level of MENTAL ACTIVITY ”
This mental activity is something what John Jenney has said that ” Self is not something ready made but something in continious formation THROUGH CHOICE OF ACTION ”
” Nothing happens by coincidence The relisation of this fact CAN BE THOUGHT PROVOKING or TERRIFYING or BOTH ”
My principle is that always do right THIS WILL GRATIFY SOME AND ASTONISH THE REST ” MARK TWAIN
With this simple principle LATE STEVEN PAUL JOBS said simplicity always works and so his products but in that simplicity lies many pains and sufferings but this is too little when consumers delight brought revenues for those suffered developers Craig
What I read the cheapest consultancy do come with more or big problems this may your new avatar will bring hope but its a question How many deal you completed
Thanks to know about your new fresh status
CK
E-Cat fails Craig’s #2…
I’m in the process of putting together a Early Stage Concept entry for the 2nd annual Clean Energy Challenge sponsored by the Clean Energy Trust. I’m looking for assistance, partners, and team members.
YOUR BIG 5 ?’s all feed into the criteria for my entry.
1 – YES
2 – YES
3 – YES
4 – YES
5 – YES
I would be happy to share the executive summary however here is the 50,000 overview you requested.
“Small” clean energy centers born out of adaptive reuse principals for vacant structures that integrate renewable energy systems to power heavy cash flow retail operations.
Initial investment is paid within 5 years, with end results of a net positive clean energy operation that produces significant profit margins via high volume retail consumer goods and services.
The overall concept blends technology and renewable energy for the purpose of a building a retail concept that can serve 3000 customers per day.
Key components include: Wind, solar, fuel cell, water reclamation, carbon abatement, heat transfer technology, compression energy, and a proprietary operational component that allows this concept to launch and operate without “like me” competition for the first few years.
For more information please contact me directly at:
Michael Bloomquist
ezgo-in@comcast.net
facebook – Michael Robert Blooomquist
Michael
Green Plumbers Accreditation is what I teach and IAPMO accredits, NITC tests, Most people in Ca. qualify to have all costs paid by a grant and is $500 otherwise. bulk clases will be less. USGBC recognizes this course and it is useable Nation Wide and recognized in other countries like Australia, India and others. I am also open to a free day of class to give a sample of the 32 hr. course.
Greg Chick Certified Trainer Gren Plumbers.
OK, Craig, Here is my short form presentation answering your basic five criteria:
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1. If adopted, will make a large difference in our world, i.e., if it’s not obvious demonstrate that the total market is significant.
Hundreds of New ELECTRIC CARS are planned or in production! However, production of 280 million to replace the cars on the road will take over 20 years. Servicing the cars on the road keeps 3,000,000 (Three million) auto mechanics working full time. But these mechanics have only a very rudimentary knowledge of the electrical and electronic equipment in today’s ICE vehicles and less about modern Electric Drive systems or the High Voltage safety procedures necessary when working on systems working at 350 volts or more. (Over 75 volts is considered lethal.)
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2. Is working in the laboratory – or at least doesn’t rely on unproven concepts or new laws of physics.
There is nothing new in an electric car or hybrid, various battery chemistry formulations and electric motor technologies have been proven and applied in Industrial electric applications such as electric train locomotives, golf carts, forklifts, and elevators (If the building is more than 5 stories tall the elevator is raised and lowered by an electric motor and control system similar to the one used in an electric car.
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3. Can scale; show that there is no reason based in engineering or economics that the solution cannot be deployed cost-effectively at its ultimate scale.
No one is offering “After-Market” services, such as: Preventive Maintenance, Repair, and Unique Accessories. Actually the dealers are keeping a monopoly on mechanics training while the Universities and Community Colleges are offering 4 year and 2 year degree programs, however these are design and engineering programs, not intended for repair mechanics. As the alternative we would offer a hands-on training program and a “Learn as You Earn” Apprenticeship program for experienced mechanics in our “Electric Car Service Shop” and adjacent “Technical Institute.” As a training experience and as actual jobs to perform as an apprentice in our service shop we will offer services unique to EV Shops such as:
a. Conversion to electricity, for present cars, both pure electric, or one of several style of hybrid.
b. Older Hybrid upgrading to longer electric range or “Plug-In.”
c. Recharging alternatives at customer’s residence as well as any other locations within a designated range.
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4. Has some competitive barrier to entry, either in terms of meaningful IP protection or some other credible mechanism.
Individuals with the background, technical knowledge, and willingness to work with their hands are very difficult to find. We are training experienced Auto Mechanics, Welders and Machinists in our own classes and in apprenticeship programs the additional skills they need for success, the best ones we will promote to run shops in other cities and train more apprentices. Thus we keep the training to ourselves and the Public Universities and Community Colleges will take the typical 10 years to begin to compete with us.
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5. Is supported by a bright, proven team; I have to believe that you guys are smarter than other people aspiring to solve the same problem.
I am an experienced Electric/Electronics Adult Vocational Instructors with over 20 years experience plus another 18 years experience in the electrical/electronics industry including two business startups, in one I was Engineering and R&D Manager, in the other I was Founder and President. We have experienced auto mechanics, welders and machinists ready to work with us, and many inquiries from Worldwide who are eager to enroll in this program just from hearing about me on the web and no formal advertising.
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We formed a Subchapter “S” Corporation, in Florida two years ago.
I call it, ELECTRIC VEHICLE TECHNICAL INSTITUTE Inc. (D.B.A)
The Forgotten Infrastructure, ELECTRIC CAR SERVICE SHOP.
We have the developed concept, the knowledge, and the personnel.
We can profit from this industry.
Dennis Lee Miles (Founder, Principal, and President)
ELECTRIC VEHICLE TECHNICAL INSTITUTE Inc. (D.B.A)
The Forgotten Infrastructure, ELECTRIC CAR SERVICE SHOP
Phone: 863-944-9913
Web: DennisLeeMiles.com or E-V-T-I-Inc.com
E-Mail: EVprofessor@E-V-T-I-Inc.com or forgotteninfrastructure@GMail.com
A new concentrated solar technology is emerging that provides a huge advancement in efficiency and cost effectiveness and empowers an economic renewable clean energy source for distributed power. The breakthrough provides a permanent solution to the Worlds dependence on fossil fuels.
The patented Two-Stage concentration method produces high temperatures, as high as 3000˚C, that may be used to melt metal or drive many other industrial and chemical processes not achievable by other solar energy systems.
The cost effective method uses commonly available mirrors that can be simply curved and combined to produce a strong point focus.
It is easily scalable providing a high energy density with a small footprint and has been rated at over 74% efficiency, by third party tests.
The Prometheus Project team combines experienced personnel from a venerable engineering firm, Lunenburg Foundry with talented resources from two leading engineering schools.