This week, Bevi, a proud alumni company of Greentown Labs, announced that they have raised $16.5 million for their Series B and global expansion! They also announced their new machine, which is a counter top version of their classic Bevi machine. In other news, many global corporations are taking huge strides towards sustainability this week, with companies such as Shell, Burberry and GM. In Nepal, village women are blazing the trail towards clean energy by inventing energy smart products.
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Xconomy– Bevi Slurps $16.5M to Bring “Smart Water Cooler” to More Offices
- Bevi, one of Greentown’s alumni companies, announced today that they have raised $16.5 million for their Series B. They plan on using this funding for international and national expansion. They’re looking to sell to new types of clients, including hotels, fitness centers, and schools. They are also introducing a second version of its classic Bevi machine, that will fit on countertops, opening up more markets for them.
“Bevi has come a long way since its early days, when it went through the Techstars Boston accelerator and was working out of Greentown Labs. It has moved past the early-stage startup phase, and its challenges now are around sales, logistics, and growth. Indeed, Grundy says Bevi aims to simultaneously expand its business while pushing toward profitability.”
Greentech Media – Shell Plans to Boost Clean Energy Spending to $1 Billion per Year
- Royal Dutch Shell is accelerating its move into alternative energy, with plans to spend up to $1 billion per year on its New Energies division by 2020, CEO Ben van Beurden said at conference in Istanbul on Monday.
“In 2016, Shell established New Energies. The same year, Shell Technology Ventures co-led a $14 million investment in Sense Labs, and led a funding round in Geli worth $7 million.”
CNBC – Why a billionaire opened the world’s biggest tech incubator far from Silicon Valley
- Station F, a tech incubator, opened at the end of July, in a 360,000 square foot former train depot. It is the largest incubator in the world now, housing 1,000 start ups. They have provided everything a start-up might need, including 3,000 work spaces, 3-D printers, and a 24 hour restaurant. France is the perfect location for this kind of venture because of its recent change to an entrepreneurial culture.
“The point of putting hundreds of start-ups in close proximity is to generate an ecosystem that will trigger interactions — and hopefully winners, says Varza. “Most start-ups solve their problems by consulting another start-up. With the sheer quantity of start-ups on campus, we should have a lot to help entrepreneurs.”
Reuters – Village women transform into clean energy entrepreneurs in Nepal initiative
- Hundreds of rural women in Nepal are turning from housewives to entrepreneurs to bring clean, energy smart products such as solar panels, lanterns and batteries to power-starved villages in an initiative aiming to help women out of poverty.
“If we want to really empower women, we must train them in business skills so they can generate income and become economically self-dependent.”
Futurism– The World’s First Power Plant Combining Hydroelectricity and Solar Energy Is Now Open
- The world’s first hybrid hydroelectric and solar power installation is now operational in Portugal. The station uses floating photovoltaic cells to collect sunlight during the day and makes use of hydroelectric power at night and during peak hours.
” If the Alto Rabagão dam project succeeds, the system might be used to meet the power demands of other countries. One of those could be Brazil, where the utility behind the project, Energias de Portugal (EDP), does business on a large scale. “It has all the ingredients to succeed, a solution of this kind”
GreenBiz– GM, Michelin put brakes on deforestation linked to rubber
- In Southeast Asia, which supplies 90 percent of the world’s rubber, a rise in demand for tires has translated into rapid deforestation and predatory land grabs from small farmers. Michelin and GM have decided to take action against this and are steering towards a “zero deforestation” stance.
“About 75 percent of the natural rubber harvested in the world is used in automotive industries. So we felt it was our duty to step up,” said Steve Kiefer, GM senior vice president of global purchasing and supply chain.”
Bloomberg – AXA, Burberry Among Companies Committing to 100% Clean Energy
- Carlsburg, AXA and Burberry are joining a global trend and have pledged to use only renewable energy by 2025. With these final committments, the Climate Group has reached its goal of convincing 100 companies to commit to source all of their electricity from renewables three years ahead of target. The 100 members include 30 global Fortune 500 companies.
“But renewable electricity is no longer just a tech story. Corporations are finding that wind and solar power is competitive with thermal fuels, including gas-fired generation.”