Matthew Nordan
I'm Managing Director of Prime Impact Fund, where we fund breakthrough start-ups that could have a big impact on climate. I also serve on the boards of five audacious tech start-up companies and two supporting organizations. In past lives I learned venture capital at Venrock, co-founded and led Lux Research, developed energy and environmental projects in China at MNL Partners, and forecasted technology futures at Forrester.
I really do live and breathe this stuff.
I'm also chromosomally incapable of keeping quiet. This blog hosts opinions (mine alone) on energy, venture capital, human behavior, start-ups, societal collapse, hope for the future, and everything in between: hopefully useful, usually numerate, and occasionally long-winded.
Author Archives: Matthew Nordan
Solyndra Observations
tl;dr: There’s a reason they call it risk capital. As you’re doubtless aware, Solyndra announced yesterday that it’s shutting down. The CIGS-on-tubes solar module maker raised nearly $2 billion in capital, including more than $1 billion from venture investors and … Continue reading
Posted in Current events, Solar
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How the Republican Field Talks about Energy
tl;dr: No Perry = no energy debate in 2012. After the passing mentions of energy in last Thursday’s Republican presidential debate, I wondered if I could measure how big a deal this topic is to the candidates. Do they see … Continue reading
Posted in Policy
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Chinese Electric Bus Fire
tl;dr: Scary pics. Looks like an EV bus caught on fire in Shanghai yesterday – specifically, a hybrid ultracapacitor/Li-ion bus. Thankfully no one appears to be hurt, but doubtless this is going to call into question the safety of the … Continue reading
Posted in Current events
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Aspen Aerogels S-1 Analysis
tl;dr: Good company; tough road in the rear-view mirror. Aspen Aerogels filed for an IPO last week, pitching itself as an energy efficiency company. Aspen makes insulation, but a particularly high-performing kind of insulation, being a nanoporous silica material that’s … Continue reading
Posted in Materials, Numbers
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Secret Formula 