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Banking on green
Peninsula companies strive to fill niches in variety of clean-tech sectors

Auto

Tesla Motors, Palo Alto, manufacturer of electric cars

Better Place, Palo Alto, recharging stations for electric cars

Energy efficiency and 'smart grid'

NovaTorque, Sunnyvale, efficient motors

People Power Co., Palo Alto, open-source software to manage the energy use of appliances

eMeter, San Mateo, software for smart-grid data

Silver Spring Networks, Redwood City, hardware and software for smart-grid networks

Trilliant, Redwood City, technology for smart-grid communication

Energy generation

Bloom Energy, Sunnyvale, on-site power generation using fuel cells

Solar

Ausra, Mountain View, large-scale solar panels (acquired February 2010 by French nuclear company Areva)

SolFocus, Mountain View, high-efficiency solar cells and advanced optics

Innovalight, Sunnyvale, efficient solar cells

Food products

World Centric, Palo Alto, biodegradable containers, utensils

Green building materials

Serious Materials, Sunnyvale, energy-efficient drywall, windows, etc.

— Gennady Sheyner and Tim Clark