Portfolio Companies (3)
Lumetric Unveils New Identity and Silicon Valley Demo Center
Written by Administrator
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lumetric Inc., the leading provider of controllable, intelligent large area lighting (ILAL), today announced a corporate identity makeover to further enhance its presence in the high efficiency, high output lighting market. Formerly known as HID Labs, Lumetric also welcomed two industry veterans to the executive management team and introduced
the Silicon Valley Demo Center located at the Lumetric headquarters in Fremont, California. Sean Gaydos brings more than 17 years of lighting industry experience to his new role as vice president of Sales for Lumetric. He recently held the post of vice president of Sales at Hubbell, as well as sales leadership roles with Cooper Lighting and Acuity. Mr. Gaydos will leverage his considerable lighting expertise to build, direct and manage Lumetric’s sales force and distribution channels to drive the company’s overall growth in the large area lighting (LAL) market.
Erik Birkerts of Evergreen Growth Advisors has been retained as a senior advisor to guide strategic direction and to leverage strategic partnerships to drive sell-through of Lumetric’s SmartPOD. Mr. Birkerts brings valuable perspectives from more than two decades of management experience in high growth companies. As former chief operating officer of Orion Energy Systems, Mr. Birkerts played a key role in Orion’s rapid sales expansion and successful IPO.
“With the many strategic changes at Lumetric, including the added domain expertise of Sean Gaydos and Erik Birkerts, we are in a significantly better position to serve the growing lighting market well into the future,” said Cheryl Diuguid, CEO of Lumetric. “With our new corporate identity and direction, Lumetric has refined its focus on flexible, intuitive controllable lighting systems that not only represent a cost-effective, energy saving alternative to current large area lighting technology, but also measurably improve overall lighting quality.”
Lumetric’s new identity rollout includes the official opening of its Silicon Valley Demo Center, which hosts a complete SmartPOD network. The SmartPOD delivers the greatest light output and highest CRI in the industry with its unique combination of high efficiency HID lamps and embedded, sensor-enabled, controls. As a Smart Device for the Smart Grid, the SmartPOD is demand response enabled. In addition to providing more accurate color rendition, the SmartPOD offers a comfortable and productive user experience, while saving industrial and commercial customers up to 80 percent in energy costs.
Lumetric’s new corporate headquarters are located at 41350 Christy Street in Fremont, California.
About Lumetric:
Lumetric is a leading technology innovator introducing the world’s most advanced, high-brightness, intelligent large area lighting (ILAL) technology. The Lumetric plug-and-play, high-performance SmartPODTM system offers customers intuitive, embedded controls, delivering up to 80% energy savings. The SmartPOD is already approaching 2 million hours of operation in industrial facilities, warehouses and retail spaces. Formerly known as HID Labs, Lumetric is VC-funded and based in Fremont, California. For more information, please visit www.lumetric.com.
Contacts
Lumetric Inc.
Cheryl Duiguid, 510-668-0600 ext.185
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Media:
Asa Fenton, 415-977-1930
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Alphabet Energy: From the Lab to the Factory
Written by Administrator
Startup Alphabet Energy, which is developing materials and devices that convert waste heat into usable electricity, is one of those companies that sounds really cool, but you don’t actually know what they’re specifically making. Well, the company told me this week that by 2012 they will deliver products to customers, and throughout 2011 will be moving from the lab into the factory. However, I still don’t know the actual products that will be manufactured.
Alphabet Energy CEO Matt Scullin explained to me in an interview that the company is staying quiet on specifics for competitive reasons, but explained the potential markets to me as industries that have exhaust that is above 250 degrees C, which includes manufacturing, vehicle engines, and power generation. The high-level explanation is that the company’s materials or devices (they are developing products for both) will be used in various processes, like metal refining, and cement and glass production, as well as in engines, like diesel engines for aircrafts and ships, to convert waste heat into usable electricity.
Defense applications seem to be a solid fit with that explanation and Alphabet Energy was awarded a $320,000 Small Business Innovation Research contract from the U.S. Army, Air Force, and the Department of Energy.
Throughout 2011, Alphabet Energy will be conducting pilots with customers (unnamed), says Scullin, and has hired new executive Sylvain Muckenhirn to head up process engineering and manufacturing. Scullin maintains that previous cost predictions for its products — 50 times cheaper than competitors and $1 per watt — are still on track.
To be sure, Alphabet Energy is still an early stage company. They have 8 employees, and have raised $1 million in seed funding from venture investors Claremont Creek Ventures and the CalCEF Clean Energy Angel Fund. So they’re still pre-Series A, and Scullin says later this year the company will probably start looking into raising another round of funding.
Hopefully, Alphabet Energy won’t underestimate the cost and time it takes to start commercially producing products. Startups constantly do this. But Scullin says that the type of manufacturing that they’ll be doing can piggy-back on existing facilities, so perhaps it will be less expensive to scale.
On the GreenBeat: Comverge, Intel, expand home energy, Mitsubishi to make 8 electric cars by 2015
Written by Administrator
Here are the top stories we’re following today on the GreenBeat:
Comverge software expands to cars, air conditioning — The company is a top player in demand response, a peak load-reducing program popular among utilities. But it’s expanding its software offerings today to be included in GM’s OnStar vehicle communications system and wireless thermostats that can help manage energy use of air conditioners made by Carrier, CNET reports. Comverge’s IntelliSource software can also now work with OnStar to monitor electric car charging, a hot area that companies like Cisco, Siemens, Silver Spring Networks and Schneider Electric are entering.
Intel and Capgemini debut new home energy offerings — Technology and consulting company Capgemini and Intel announced a new home energy management offering for utility customers that builds on a home energy management display made by Intel. The display and associated services will allow utilities to communicate with residential consumers and roll out demand response programs, in which customers can realize financial incentives by turning down electricity use during peak times.
Alphabet Energy gears for growth — The waste-heat recovery startup has appointed a new vice president of process and manufacturing, Sylvain Muckenhirn, who will lead the scale-up of the company’s prototype technology. Alphabet makes thermoelectric materials, which are essentially semiconductors that can generate electricity from heat. It’s an area with applications in metals refining, cement and glass production and the military. The company has customer delivery targets in 2012 and 2013, has nabbed $1 million in investment from Claremont Creek Ventures and CalCEF Angel Fund and won small innovation research contracts from the U.S. Army, Air Force and Department of Energy.
Mitsubishi to produce 8 electric cars by 2015 — The company plans to produce eight electric car and plug-in hybrid models by mid-2015, according to Greentech Media. It has already released one electric car, the MiEV, in Japan, with plans for a larger version of the car to debut in the U.S. this year. Mitsubishi plans for electrics to comprise 20 percent of its total global shipments by 2020.
Vivent broadens offerings into home energy management – In the latest sign of companies surging into the home energy management space, top home security company Vivent — formerly APX Alarm — is now offering home lighting and appliance controls. The new series of automation and energy controls are designed to go along with its security offerings and allow homeowners to remotely control and monitor their homes via smartphone.
Vestas has cut 2,200 wind jobs — The top Danish wind turbine manufacturer has cut 2,200 jobs so far in a planned lay off of 3,000, Reuters reports. The layoffs will primarily impact its plants in Denmark and Sweden and are in response to overcapacity in Europe.
People: Alphabet Energy, CalCEF Angel Fund, Cisco, Claremont Creek Ventures, Comverge, GM, Mitsubishi, Schneider Electric, siemens, Silver Spring Networks, Sylvain Muckenhirn