[Posted on December 10, 2007 - 3:42 PM]
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As if global political instability and volatile capital markets are not doing enough to drive up the price of gold, the World Gold Council has now made the first venture capital investment in the history of the trade association, joining 3i LLC, Khosla Ventures, Firelake Capital Management LLC, AsiaTech Management and Monitor Ventures in an undisclosed round of investment in Nanostellar Inc., a startup developing technology that uses gold in automobile catalytic converters. The deal brings total investment in the Redwood City, Calif.-based company to about $10 million and also initiates a long-term strategic partnership with the WGC to "facilitate the commercialization and marketing of the gold-based technology that could increase industrial demand for gold," says the press release.
Nanostellar's cleantech-focused investors are backing its technology to augment the use of traditional platinum and palladium metals in emission control systems, claiming it could reduce noxious emissions by as much as 40% compared with existing catalysts and save automotive manufacturers money. Gold has long been considered as a potential catalyst, but Nanostellar believes its technology solves concerns about the metal's durability in such applications.
In supporting the deal, the WSG is hoping to increase the demand for industrial gold, which in 2006 totaled 458 tons. While the price of gold has soared from less than $300 an ounce in 2001 to a current price of $810, the commodity is still a bargain compared with platinum, which goes for about $1,400 an ounce. -- Clifford Carlsen
See World Gold Council site
See Dec. 10 press release from Nanostellar Inc.
