CleanTech OC - 4/27/12

CODA & Great Wall Motors Working Together on Affordable EV
Electric vehicle and advanced battery company CODA has partnered with Great Wall Motors Company “to co-develop the first all-electric vehicle for worldwide development and distribution.” The companies intend to make it the most affordable commercially available EV - a very ambitious goal.

Cargo ship with metal sails would save 30 percent fuel
Hybrid freighters have been seen before, but a new concept from the University of Tokyo has a different sail system. A model of the UT Wind Challenger was recently shown off at the Sea Japan trade show in Tokyo and it is believed that this hybrid system could cut fuel consumption by cargo ships by about 30 percent

Adura Raises $8.5M for Networked Lighting
Lighting startup Adura Technologies has landed an $8.5 million round from investors to push its wireless controllers into more lighting fixtures across the country, starting locally. The San Francisco-based startup recently installed its Wireless Lighting Control System at Oakland’s Kaiser Center which can shave 40 percent to 70 percent of the garage’s lighting power bill, simply by dimming lights in daylit or unoccupied portions of the garage.