Agriculture
AGAINST THE GRAIN

For generations, the remote beauty of Kangaroo Island has been as much a curse as a blessing to its residents. While the 16 kilometres that separate it from the southern coast of Australia have been a boon for wildlife and tourism, for the island’s farmers they have simply added thousands of dollars to the price of transporting anything.

Now, this picturesque backwater is being transformed into a farming phenomenon, producing highly prized grains that are being snapped up by international buyers for premium prices. And, ironically, the island’s isolation is behind much of the excitement.

At the helm of the project, which has united 76 farming families, is 62-year-old serial entrepreneur Duncan McGillivray, whose business credits include Two Dogs – the alcoholic lemonade which launched in 1993 and was sold for a reported $17m to Pernod Ricard three years later – and a wine range Longview, which he also sold.

Under a single name – KI Pure Grain – McGillivray is selling most of the island’s wheat, barley, canola and oats to selective buyers around the world. All produce is guaranteed to be GM-free – even the fittest bees can’t fly those 16 blustery kilometres between Kangaroo Island and the mainland, where they might pick up pollen from GM crops – which has proved hugely attractive to Asian buyers. The company – only a few months old – has deals with buyers in Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam and India – itself one of the world’s biggest wheat producers. Until recently, all Australian wheat and barley growers had to sell through the national boards; produce was combined and, while Australian grains have always been held in high esteem, it was never possible for buyers to identify what came from where.

McGillivray says visiting business delegations are as taken with the fresh air and beauty of the place as they are with the grain. “They say, ‘this is where we want our product to come from, and we’re prepared to pay a bit more for that’,” he says. ”KI Pure Grain believes it’s the first company to be sorting grain according to protein and moisture content.”

McGillivray says the best wheat for noodles doesn’t make the best bread, and the best wheat for bread doesn’t make the best biscuits. Buyers who want the best for their purpose will pay for that.

In this, their first year, McGillivray says they’ll command a 10% premium over other Australian grain, rising to 20% within four years. So will island grain be as big as Two Dogs? “It won’t happen as quickly as Two Dogs because we’re looking here at something involving a lot more people, but it will happen,” says McGillivray. “I can see my next five years being totally committed to making it work.”

Entertainment
Domestic disturbance

Musical instruments have a limited potential customer base: those who can play them and those who want to learn. However, a new range of products – which require no musical knowledge or skill – are poised to become major sellers.

One of the most innovative is The Beamz (thebeamz.com), which connects to a computer and includes thousands of pre-sampled audio clips such as guitars, piano, and even human chorals. To generate sound, users simply move their hand between six motion-tracking laser beams to trigger different sounds. Think theremin, only better. It costs around €150.

“Beamz enables anyone to play great music, regardless of experience playing instruments or the ability to read music,” says Al Ingallinera, the company’s product management chief. “No matter how you play the instruments behind each beam, they’ll sound good with the background track.”

Beamz says it has sold around 5,000 so far, and plans to expand this year through retail partnerships. For the wannabe musician on the move, and with €500 to spend, the Yamaha TenoriOn (global.yamaha.com) lets anyone master complex synthesiser arrangements without piano skills or computer know-how. Users simply press one of 256 buttons to create patterns. There are 253 pre-set sample sounds or “voices” and the device can generate up to 64 simultaneous sounds.

Much cheaper is the Kaossilator from Japan’s Korg (korg.co.uk), which costs around €150, is palm-sized and uses standard batteries. Notes change via a touchpad. There are more than 100 sounds and 31 scales to change pitch.

“According to Gallup research, 85% people who can’t play a musical instrument, wish that they could,” says Joe Lamond, president of US music trade body NAMM. “If new products can turn this large segment of the population into music makers, the business opportunities are huge.”

Some of the potential is hinted at by Rock Band, the interactive video game which involves guitar, drums, and microphone.

Eran Egozy, co-founder of Harmonix Music Systems, the company behind Rock Band, says: “We have sold more than 13 million units of the franchise worldwide since its launch in 2007. The Beatles: Rock Band sold more than 1.7 million between September and December 2009 alone.”

Energy
Boxing clever

If generating power from hydrogen and oxygen is not the Next Big Thing in energy, at least Bloom Energy is on course to generate hundreds of column inches over the next few months. The Sunnyvale, California-based fuel cell company – named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer – counts Google, Coca-Cola, eBay, Wal-Mart and Bank of America among its customers and is believed to have raked in more than €350m in venture capital from Silicon Valley investors and board members include Eddy Zervigon, a managing director at Morgan Stanley and TJ Rodgers, the chairman of solar cell maker SunPower.

Although some industry analysts remain sceptical about the potential profits, Bloom says it will succeed where others have foundered because its technology involves lower-cost materials, so its boxes can be more easily mass produced and its solution is more efficient at converting fuel to electricity; is more easily deployed and maintained than alternatives; and can work with a wide range of renewable or traditional energy sources. Bloom boxes also could reduce dependence on petrol-powered vehicles by generating electricity for hybrid or electric cars. And when the cells are run in reverse, they output hydrogen, which could power hydrogen vehicles.

The company’s ambitions go beyond fuelling corporations to powering homes. KR Sridhar, Bloom Energy’s Indian-born co-founder and chief executive, says there is potential for Bloom boxes in emerging economies, where they could bring power to remote villages cut off from the power grid.

Shipping
Watch this space

Rotterdam-based entrepreneur René Giesbers may have come up with an idea that will revolutionise global trade: a collapsable shipping container. The Cargoshell collapses within 30 seconds to a quarter of its original size, meaning four empty Cargoshells can be transported in the space normally needed for one empty container.

The logistical advantages are obvious and savings could be huge. If all current steel containers were replaced by Cargoshells, it would result in 10,000 less trips annually. Cargoshells have roll-up doors compared to the outward-opening doors of traditional containers, so they can be placed closer together, and so offer futher storage savings both in cost and space. Finally, Cargoshells have a composite construction, making them 25% lighter than a steel container, so less energy will be needed to carry them on the estimated 200 million annual trips containers collectively undertake.