The Milken foundation acted like a venturecapital firm, funding high-risk projects unlikely to win government grants and wooing young researchers into the field.
The inherent uncertainty in investing in novel technologies, coupled with the high capital costs and long time horizons, prohibits most venturecapital funds from investing in large-scale clean energy projects.
Meanwhile, a breakthrough in cellulosic ethanol will come "sooner than you think, " asserts Martin Lagod, a venture capitalist with Firelake Capital Management, which has invested in a range of alternative energy projects.