SHINERS (eSOLAR, SUNDROP FUELS)

Is this an example of a venture capitalist trying to make something happen in a company it has bet on? Or is it an example of the way a powerful venture capital firm can create synergies to drive technology?

There is no venture capital firm with more stellar credentials than Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB). Al Gore works for them. Any more questions?

KPCB reportedly has put big money into Sundrop Fuels.

According to some digging done by reporter Chris Morrison, Sundrop Fuels' technology is called Solar Reduction of Carbon Dioxide, or Solarec. It concentrates the sun’s heat on carbon dioxide to transform it into hydrogen

Morrison, VentureBeat: “…instead of heating up water, Solarec focuses on CO2, heating it up enough to make the molecule split. One of the byproducts, carbon monoxide, is then combined with water to make hydrogen. The waste heat is converted to electricity, and the process can also be used to make methanol or desalinate water…”

The hydrogen is used to generate electricity. Generally, hydrogen is considered an inefficient method of power generation. It might, though, be a method of transforming intermittent solar energy into storable, dispatchable power - IF the process can be done cheaply enough

Morrison reports the Sundrop Fuels technology has also been researched and developed at the National Renewable Energy Labs (NREL) in Colorado.

Stirling Energy has been developing a similar solar energy power plant technology in conjunction with Sandia National Labs in New Mexico for more than a decade. (See HUGE SOCAL SOLAR POWER PLANT NEEDS TRANSMISSION)

eSolar has, for a couple of years, been developing a more modular, more durable, more cost-effective way to generate concentrated solar power. Google backed the eSolar technology with a $10 million grant earlier this year. (See GOOGLE’S $10 MIL TO ESOLAR POWER PLANTS) Now, KPCB is using a reported $20 million to buy the eSolar heliostat technology for Sundrop Fuels.

How eSolar’s heliostats fit with the Sundrop Fuels technology remains to be seen.

Morrison is one of the few to dig up info on Sundrop’s technology but it looks like they’re getting ready to unwrap their product and see if it is practical in the real world.

click to enlarge

esolar Launches Operating Platform for Concentrated Solar Heat and Energy Production; First License for Heliostat and Sun Tracking Technology Awarded to Kleiner-Perkins-Backed Sundrop Fuels Inc.
September 30, 2008 (eSolar via Business Wire)
and
Sundrop Fuels picks up eSolar technology for its solar hydrogen dish
Chris Morrison, September 30, 2008 (VentureBeat)
and
The next solar boom may prove to be solar hydrogen
Chris Morrison, March 12, 2008 (VentureBeat)

WHO
eSolar (Asif Ansari, CEO; Bill Gross, Chairman); Sundrop Fuels; Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB); Oak Investment Partners

WHAT
eSolar is taking its technology to market. The first customer for its heliostat and sun tracking technology is Sundrop Fuels. The combination could signal a breakthrough in the use of solar energy to create hydrogen.

Reported to be a representation of the Sundrop Fuels technology. The company could be more forthcoming with information.(click to enlarge)

WHEN
- This is the first commercial contract to for eSolar.
- eSolar is currently in discussions with other companies.
- eSolar was founded in 2007.
- Little has been announced about Sundrop Fuels’ plans.

WHERE
- eSolar is based in Pasadena, California.
- Sundrop Fuels is based in Colorado.
- KPCB and Oak Partners are based in Silicon Valley.

WHY
- eSolar describes its technology as modular and scalable. Its goal is to develop, build and deploy solar thermal power plants.
- In the rumored-to-be $20 million deal, eSolar will supply solar collecting equipment.
- The Sundrop Fuels use of the eSolar technology appears to be limited and adapted.
- eSolar technology concentrates sunlight to boil water to drive a steam turbine for utility scale applications at a competitive price in an easily deployable modular form.
- eSolar combines a low-impact, pre-fabricated structure with advanced optics and computer software engineering for utility-sized cost-competitive solar energy generation.

Glimpses of the Sundrop Fuels device suggest it is similar to the Stirling Energy device. Sundrop Fuels could be more forthcoming with information. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Asif Ansari, CEO, eSolar: “Sundrop is the first of many companies we believe will utilize eSolar’s patent pending solar concentrating technology…Solar energy will always be plentiful, but it previously has been too difficult to concentrate cheaply and make useful for process heat applications. By making eSolar’s technology available to other companies, we can drastically reduce the cost of incorporating solar power into the energy mix—this technology enables additional sources of clean, renewable energy and primes the market for the production of the first terawatt of solar energy.”
- John Stevens, CEO, Sundrop Fuels: “Quite simply, eSolar’s modular, pre-fabricated architecture dramatically reduces the price point of harnessing solar energy…The market for cost-competitive and renewable energy sources is substantial. Due to eSolar’s low overall system cost, we have made a significant, multi-year commitment to integrate the eSolar operating platform into our core technology and business.”