Too caught up in Friday the 13th worries to stay up to date with all the latest cleantech news? Not to worry — here’s a summary of some of the most recent developments:

• XcelPlus Global Holdings Inc. says it’s successfully tested a “clean coal” technology that reduces carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide emissions by 10 percent. The GlyCoal™ clean energy fuel was tested at an 80-megawatt Edison Power coal plant in West Virginia;
• Volkswagen and the Toshiba Corporation are teaming up to develop electric drive units and power electronics for the next generation of electric cars. The two firms also hope to develop new battery systems with a high specific energy density;
• Google has reportedly purchased a shuttered paper mill in Finland and could develop the property as a new data centre, Reuters reports. The Stora Enso plant, closed last year, sold for €40 million;
• Germany’s RWE Innogy has signed an agreement with the Westphalia-Lippe Agricultural Association to develop biogas plants run almost entirely on liquid manure;
• Deutsche Bank is upgrading its twin office towers in Frankfurt with an “entirely new ’green’ technical infrastructure.” The renovation effort aims to earn the buildings LEED Platinum certification and reduce both energy consumption and carbon emissions by 55 percent.

Tags: cleantech