Ok, so on the heels of Time Warner’s spinoff of AOL.com; maybe similar moves by General Electric is only wishful thinking than again maybe not given its history of spinoffs.
Just last week, GE made headlines with its new development of smart grid technologies, which it predicts will generate $4 billion in revenues.
Additionally, the GE Energy Infrastructure business unit operating in 140 countries collected $38.6 billion in revenue in 2008. It led all other GE business segments in 2008, posting 26% profit growth.
The GE Energy businesses run a wide range of industrial goods, from water desalination systems, to oil and gas drilling equipment, to the multi-ton turbines that use wind or natural gas to generate electricity. Global demand for electricity and clean water is expected to double over the next 15 years worldwide.
GE just announced it is adding a new business unit that will develop and produce sodium battery technology. Sodium-based batteries offering higher energy density and more storage.
In addition to hybrid vehicles, the batteries will be useful as backup power supplies for cell phone towers and data centers, and there will be applications in the rail, mining and marine industries.
Related posts:
- DOE budget lifts renewables, cuts nuclear and coal
- Smart energy meters could save consumers £100m | News | Country Life
- Networked smart energy meters invoke a brighter future (Computer Weekly Editor’s Blog)
- Smart Grid to Grow 21 Percent a Year to $17B in 5 Years
- Concentrated solar power could generate ‘quarter of world’s energy’
