Ausra Co-Founder Joins San Francisco Solar Tech Company
John O’Donnell, a co-founder of solar power developer Ausra, has joined GlassPoint Solar, a provider of solar thermal technology, as vice president of business development.
San Francisco-based GlassPoint manufactures Concentrating Solar Process (CSP) systems that tap solar heat that drive steam turbines, which instead of generating electricity, produce heat for large-scale manufacturing process.
O’Donnell tells GER that GlassPoint’s CSP technology is carbon-free and cheaper (in sun-rich regions) than natural gas. He adds that in the U.S., 2/3 of the energy used in industrial processes is heat, not electricity. A lot of that heat is currently generated by natural gas.
GlassPoint plans to market its turn-key products to heat-dependent industries, such as dry wall and paper manufacturers, as well as for enhance oil recovery work.
Unlike gas, there are no price fluctuations with solar-generated heat, says O’Donnell. He explains: “When you install a solar system at your plant, [unlike natural gas] you know what the long-term energy cost of your plant will be.”
O’Donnell was instrumental in moving Ausra from its native Australia in 2006 to California after he helped secure a funding round led by Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. According to recent news reports Ausra is looking to sell itself.
In the fall of 2008 O’Donnell left Ausra to join cleantech-focused private equity firm VenEarth Group.
On O’Donnell’s hiring, Rod MacGregor, GlassPoint CEO, said in a statement:
With a long history of bringing new innovations to market, including launching Ausra, one of the most recognized names in the solar thermal industry, John is the perfect candidate to guide GlassPoint’s growth as we rapidly expand our customer base and execute on the promise of delivering industrial process heat at a lower cost than natural gas.
O’Donnell is a veteran technology entrepreneur, having helped launch a number of startups, including digital media company Equator Technologies and supercomputer developer Multiflow Computer.
