The Aft Deck's  Instablog

China’s foreign exchange reserves surged through the US$2,000B mark at the end of June after a sharp accumulation of funds in Q-2, as money poured into the country to take advantage of faster economic growth and a possible future revaluation of the Chinese currency. The People’s Bank of China, the central bank, announced Today that foreign exchange reserves reached US$2,132B after rising by US$177.9B in April to June, including a record monthly build-up of US$80.6B in May. China has the world’s largest foreign currency holding, and much of it remains in US dollar assets despite Beijing’s recent criticism of the dominant role of the dollar as a global reserve currency. The latest figures represent an abrupt reversal of an emerging trend of the previous two quarters. Foreign reserves increased by just US$7.7B in the Y 2009 Q-1  and recorded a gain of US$40.4B in Q-4 Y 2008, as foreign companies sent profits home and banks demanded repayment of loans. The Q-2  growth in foreign currency reserves far outstripped China’s trade surplus and foreign direct investment for the same period, indicating the accumulation of foreign currency inside the country was being driven by other factors. An economist at a Chinese state think-tank, who asked not be named, said speculation was growing that the renminbi would appreciate again. China maintained a virtual US$ peg for more than a decade until 2005, before eventually shifting to a new, more flexible policy under pressure from the US and other trading partners

Exxon (NYSE:XOM) Sinks $600M into Algae-Based Biofuels in Major Strategy Shift
 

Exxon is joining a biotech company, Synthetic Genomics Inc., to research and develop next-generation biofuels produced from sunlight, water and waste carbon dioxide by photosynthetic pond scum.

“The world faces a significant challenge to supply the energy required for economic development and improved standards of living while managing greenhouse gas emissions and the risks of climate change,” said Emil Jacobs, vice president of research and development at Exxon Mobil Research and Engineering Co. “It’s going to take integrated solutions and the development of all commercially viable energy sources, improved energy efficiency and effective steps to curb emissions. It is also going to include the development of new technology.”

Science Daily Reports on Neah Fuel Cell (OTC:NPWS)

ScienceDaily is one of the Internet’s most popular science news web sites, reported on Neah Powers Breakthrough. Micro fluidic fuel cells could provide the necessary energy to provide continuous power to remote sensors, mobile phones and laptops, according to a University of Southampton student, who will graduate on July 17.

Micro fluidics deals with the behavior, precise control and manipulation of fluids that are geometrically constrained to a small, typically sub-millimeter, and scale.

As part of his final year project, Daniel Spencer, who has just completed an MEng in Electronic Engineering at the University's School of Electronics and Computer Science, conducted a literature review to look at how energy harvesting devices or an energy store could be provided so that portable electronic devices could have continuous power on demand. His supervisor was Professor Hywel Morgan, Professor of Bioelectronics at ECS.

'Currently, since energy harvesting cannot provide the necessary energy continuously, energy must be stored,' Daniel said. 'This is usually in the form of batteries which provide electricity on demand. However as portable devices become more powerful, higher capacity energy storage solutions are required.'

According to Daniel, micro fluidic cells offer a solution to this problem, utilizing the chemical bond energy stores in fuels with high calorific values such as methanol.

Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP)

Ballard announced that its FCgen(TM)-1020ACS fuel cell product is the power source for a 1.6 kiloWatt backup power system deployed by Motorola, a major global telecommunications solution provider. Dantherm Power A/S, through its affiliate Dantherm Air Handling A/S, is utilizing Ballard's fuel cell product in a fully integrated cabinet solution for Motorola TETRA base stations throughout Denmark's SINE network. Michael Goldstein, Chief Commercial Officer of Ballard stated "Motorola's deployment of Ballard's FCgen(TM)-1020ACS product in a TETRA-standard public safety system highlights the significant market potential for fuel cells in wireless network deployments worldwide. Telecommunications solution providers are valuing the virtually unlimited backup power provided by fuel cells."

FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL) Attracts Outperform Rating

Rodman & Renshaw initiates coverage on FuelCell Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: FCEL) with a Market Outperform rating and $6.25 price target. The firm said, "We believe the FCEL s proprietary and patented DFC (Direct FuelCell) technology is a key competitive differentiator and positions the company as one of the few public plays that seek to capture multi megawatt distributed generation opportunities through deployment of stacked fuel cells. Growth for the company should come from management s focus on quickly moving the company towards expanded commercialization and rationalizing production costs."