Press Coverage

Clean tech and renewable energy division winner: EarthClean, developer of a nontoxic gel to stop fires

Taking a business from idea to reality involves a good deal of attrition, ingenuity, and compromise. But no matter how much these three factors align in your favor, chances are you won’t get far unless you have some sort of funding.

Xolve Inc., formerly known as Graphene Solutions Inc., is a semifinalist in a national business competition contest sponsored by the Cleantech Open. James Hamilton, professor in the University of Wisconsin-Platteville's Department of Chemistry and Engineering Physics and a UW System distinguished professor, is a founder of Graphene Solutions.

The Clean Tech Open National Conference took place this summer in San Jose, California assembling the brightest and most talented minds to debate how energy entrepreneurship can power our economy back to life. The Energy Efficiency Panel brought up the important state of improvements made in energy efficiency and the elements of the movement that need more work.

Answers by Jim Stoppert, CEO Rivertop Renewables (Missoula, MT)

LaserMotive, a company specializing in laser power beaming, is showcasing a demonstration model of a laser-powered remote-controlled helicopter at the AUVSI Unmanned Systems North America 2010 Conference (August 24 to 27, Denver, CO, booth 227).

Clarian Power, a start up from Seattle, is on a mission to help homeowners everywhere generate energy from renewable energy. The company developed a proprietary power module that plugs into an existing outlet. In other words, their Sunfish solar product, which is slated for retail availability next year, installs without a dedicated electrical panel and does not require contractors, installers, or additional wires.

Wyoming-based NDCPower is working on a different approach: It's developing fuel cells that could take in biofuels — say, ethanol, methanol, butanol or even biodiesel that's converted to alcohol — and produce chemicals with industrial applications on the other side, along with the electricity.

Nathan Fillion — familiar to sci-fi fans for his role in the short-lived but popular “Firefly” series and currently the heartthrob star of ABC’s mystery comedy “Castle” — came up to test drive an electric car being developed in Eugene by Arcimoto.

Silicon Solar Solutions, an R&D company with a strong patent portfolio focused on silicon based photovoltaic devices, will ring the closing bell at NASDAQ on Friday, August 20th. Silicon Solar Solutions is commercializing a technology to create large grain polysilicon that can reduce the cost of solar cells by 26%, or $0.42 per watt.

Drawing upon her experience in the life science industry, Lesa Mitchell warns against policy barriers in the field of energy compromising innovation's potential for leap frog changes in the marketplace. "There are some lessons from the life science space we should stop and learn right now, before we go down this road of energy... While we call the lessons from the life science side transparency and access to data, I'd call the lessons on the energy side a lack of transmission and distribution channels".

While attending Pepperdine College in 2007, Derek founded Enovative Kontrol Systems, a Venice, CA based company that specializes in reducing the cost and impact of energy costs in business offices and multi-family housing units by using advanced building automation and control strategies. Through hard work, Enovative has installed itscontrolsystem in over one thousand buildings in the Los Angeles area.

For eco-conscious homeowners who have considered a solar system for their rooftops but have found the cost and complexity daunting, Clarian Power thinks it has an idea.

When John Brackney, President and CEO of the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, asked Marcia McGilley if she’d be interested in helping with the Cleantech Open’s (CTO) business competition for cleantech startups, there was no question about it. McGilley was definitely in. “I had chills,” she said. “I knew it would be a perfect fit with our South Metro Denver Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and something I personally believed in. To be on the ground floor working with these exciting companies was an honor and a challenge.”

Behind an unassuming storefront in the Whiteaker neighborhood, savvy technicians are rebooting the way people drive. A company called Arcimoto is developing electric cars that you may see it on the road very soon.

GreenVolts, a concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) startup, raised $7.5 million of an anticipated $11.3 million in funding, according to an SEC filing.

The “Smart Decision Making for a Dumb Grid” panel discussion highlights another theme of the conference–the importance of government policy in supporting green technology-based industries. Government Support for the Smart Grid? Jeff Byron is a regulator who complained “the space is not open to entrepreneurs” because the utilities have a monopoly. He said that we need open architecture and to allow third-parties in to get data (He called it the “Moses effect”, i.e., let my data go). Regulators and the public have to push to get more openness.

Local Entrepreneurs are set to present their Clean Tech ideas in a global competition. Worldwide there is a demand for new technologies that treat effluent clean water, reduce CO2 emissions, provide renewable energy and improve the quality of life and environmental qualities.

At the Clean Tech Open in San Jose last week, The Real Story met and spoke with John Eichinger, the COO of Filtration Dynamics. John likened the value of water in the 21st Century to that of oil in the 20th Century, and gave us some insight into the technology behind the Filtration Dynamics model.

Xolve, Inc., a University of Wisconsin-Platteville technology spin-out, has announced the appointment of John Biondi as its new President and CEO. Mr. Biondi has been involved in the Madison area technology community for some time and has been a senior manager in six other start-up ventures, including two which made initial public offerings and one that was acquired. "John has significant experience in early stage companies and in strategic marketing and business development, key areas for the company as it moves toward commercialization", said Eric Apfelbach, the company's board Chair.

Among the major breakthroughs that the clean technology movement can be credited with are several that take on the problem of water pollution. Visiting the Clean Tech Open last week in San Jose, The Real Story talked to Sharad Hajela, Chief Science Officer, and Alison Wellsfry, Product Development, of Crystal Clear Technologies.

The Real Story spent a day at the Clean Tech Open in San Jose, and had the opportunity to talk with Keynote Speaker Ron Gonen, co-founder of RecycleBank. As its name suggests, RecycleBank is a program that rewards its users for the amount they recycle. Already in operation in 25 states, RecycleBank provides its user with a recycle bin embedded with a computer chip. That chip allows the collection truck to “read” the volume of recycling bin and post a deposit to the user’s account, based on the amount of recycling done at the household level.

With all the hype about electric cars like the Fisker, the Leaf and the Volt, very little attention is being paid to the possibility of greening up heavy vehicles like trucks and buses. This is ironic, because heavy vehicles are, in some ways, a better fit for hybrid and electric technology.

The Real Story attended Clean Tech Open in San Jose last week, and talked to Danny Gilliland from Driptech, the manufacturer of low-cost drip irrigation systems for farmers in developing countries.

Enovative Kontrol Systems , which provides energy-efficient hot water control systems for residential and commercial buildings, today announced it has won two awards. It is one of five finalists in Entrepreneur Magazine's Emerging Entrepreneur of 2010 Contest and also a semifinalist in the 2010 Clean Tech Open. The public can vote in the Entrepreneur Magazine competition until Sept. 10 at www.entrepreneur.com/e2010. Winners will be announced in the January 2011 edition of the magazine, appearing online in late December. The Clean Tech Open national awards - "the Academy Awards of Cleantech" - will be held Nov. 17 in San Francisco.

Enovative Kontrol Systems(TM), which provides energy-efficient hot water control systems for residential and commercial buildings, today announced it has won two awards. It is one of five finalists in Entrepreneur Magazine's Emerging Entrepreneur of 2010 Contest and also a semifinalist in the 2010 Clean Tech Open.

The Real Story took a road trip to San Jose to meet some of the inventors and entrepreneurs participating in the Clean Tech Open, a conference dedicated to bringing ideas together with mentoring to create viable businesses in the clean tech arena.

Ben Peterson, President and Founder of Innovatus Energy is having a fun moment with Annika Krystal, COO and Business Development of Innovatus Energy at Cleantech Open’s Academy in San Jose. It was an interesting event that kicked off with a trade show on the first day so that semi-finalists could showcase their ideas and inventions. After that it was straight into the Cleantech Academy for the semi-finalists and their mentors to learn to hone in on their best skills and put their best face forward to investors and customers.

Mention “clean tech,” “green tech” or the “new energy economy” and you’ll likely conjure visions of solar panels, wind turbines and algae fuel ponds. The 15 semifinalists selected for the Rocky Mountain edition of the Cleantech Open aim to add a few other members to that club. How about combating pine beetle devastation, detecting oil well leaks and treating wastewater? Those are just a few examples of the technology under way by the companies selected from Colorado, Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming to compete in the second year of the regional contest.

Editor Mike Cote finds out about the ideas behind DenDroCo, a company started by a rancher to slow the pine beetle epidemic and a semifinalist at the Rocky Mountain Cleantech Open.

Solar energy figured prominently in San Jose, Calif., at the first national conference of Cleantech Open, a nonprofit organization supporting clean-technology entrepreneurs. Visitors toured almost 100 exhibits of new technology from this year’s semifinalists in the organization’s national business competition, and those of competitors from previous years. Standing-room-only panel sessions covered transportation, water use, the smart grid,

tartups involved in renewable energy, electric vehicles, water and waste management, energy efficiency, the smart grid and green building exhibited what they hope will be the next big thing in clean technology at the first national conference of Cleantech Open. Businesses that were competing in, or had previously competed in, the nonprofit organization’s national business competition were invited to the conference in San Jose, Calif., on July 22 to present their products to the conference attendees, who included their peers as well as government officials and potential investors.

Priscilla Burgess is presently one last fire-resistance test away from really putting the product that she’s developed over the past three years into motion. She’s already cleared the R-value and sound-resistance tests needed to certify that the building insulation her startup, Bellwether Materials, makes is ready for market. Burgess, one of the 100 CleanTech Open semifinalists vying for the 18 regional finalist spots that will be awarded this fall, came upon her product idea—making insulation wholly from waste wool that is generated by the sheep ranching industry in the U.S.—by chance.

ViaCycle, a startup spun out of the Georgia Institute of Technology, aims to take the idea of bike-on-demand networks, strip out the pricey infrastructure, amp up the location-based services, and deliver a system that will let universities and municipalities implement bike sharing programs with more flexibility and lower cost.

Two University of Minnesota graduates have come up with a product to remove the common herbicide atrazine from drinking water. Corn farmers across the Midwest use atrazine to kill weeds, but it contaminates groundwater, and exposure to it can cause a variety of health problems, according to some animal studies.

Cleantech played second fiddle to an unexpected mini-forum on carbon trading during the lunchtime session at last week’s Cleantech Open National Conference in San Jose. Attendees chomped on salad and gave half of their attention to a “rah-rah, go entrepreneurs” address by Jonathan Ortmans, senior fellow with the Kauffman Foundation, one of the event’s sponsors. But when the following panel discussion turned into a somewhat lively debate about carbon caps, people started to put down their forks and listen.

Cool Energy, Inc., a developer of combined heat and power generating systems, announced that Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) will be providing research and analytical support for the first planned pilot field installation in a commercial building located in Boulder, Colorado

Virtual Vehicle Company, a startup that was one of the 100 finalists showing their technologies at the California Cleantech Open conference on Thursday, is the first company I’ve seen that truly uses the latest cell phone innovations to unlock useful data about greener transportation. Developed at UC Berkeley, VEVCo (as the company calls itself) has developed a mobile application for smart phones that can track a user’s driving behavior using inputs like the embedded GPS and largely without the driver having to manually input any information.

I attended the Cleantech Open Conference in San Jose, CA, yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed getting an early look at some promising cleantech innovation, including the heatless low-voltage lighting of TylerCo, the recyclable and compostable building materials of Stramit, and the energy optimization services of Amberix. What stood out even more than these technologies, though, was the discussion around behavior change. Dr. Kristina Johnson, Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), discussed a number of new ways the DOE is helping to nudge along innovation, and she cited some impressive facts about the possible emissions reductions we could all achieve if we just eliminated one or two car trips each week.

Utility Xcel Energy is to work with Colorado company Cool Energy on the first planned installation of its new solar combined heat and power system, dubbed SolarFlow.

The U.S. Department of Energy will give a group of California researchers a five-year grant valued at $122 million to work on technologies to create fuels from sunlight. Kristina Johnson, Under Secretary for DoE, announced the award at a San Jose conference where she shared her call to action for the electronics industry and her experience moving from entrepreneurial electronics engineer to regulator in a video here.

Revolutionary — that’s how the Department of Energy describes the methods for generating fuels directly from sunlight that the agency hopes will emerge from a new project in California. The DOE announced on Thursday morning that it will award up to $122 million over five years to a team of scientists in a so-called “Energy Innovation Hub” dedicated to simulating the natural process of photosynthesis and using it for “practical energy production.”

A California company has developed what it calls "Plug-N-Go" solar-powered charging systems for electric vehicles. Called "SunPods," the systems are engineered, manufactured and tested in the factory, then delivered to customers with minimal need for site preparation and no on-site array assembly. They can be scaled up from small to large production capacities.

Digi International (NASDAQ: DGII) today announced that EcoFactor, a provider of software that intelligently manages connected thermostats and reduces home energy consumption, is using the Digi X-Grid to easily connect customers’ home energy devices to its Web-based software. The Digi X-Grid is an “Extended Grid” that enables real-time, IP-based monitoring and control of home energy devices beyond the electric meter. The solution will help EcoFactor to reduce energy usage of Texas utility company Oncor customers by 20 to 30 percent.

Cool Energy, Inc., a developer of clean energy heat and power generating systems, today announced that Xcel Energy will be providing research and analytical support for the first planned pilot field installation of the SolarFlow System in a commercial building located in Boulder, Colorado.

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation today announced it is teaming up with the Cleantech Open, the world's largest clean-technology business plan competition that encourages the development of innovation and companies. The Kauffman grant supports an expansion of the Cleantech Open, an organization that provides education, business planning and mentoring of early-stage cleantech entrepreneurs.

SunPods Inc will showcase their solar powered SP-300 EV Plug-N-Go electric vehicle charging station for their return to the Clean Tech Open in San Jose on July 22. The Cleantech Open runs the world's largest clean technology business competition bringing together the best clean technology ideas from around the world.

Data center software provider Power Assure Inc. said on Wednesday it has raised $11.25 million in new funding and won a $5 million federal grant. The Santa Clara startup said the venture funding came from Menlo Park-based Draper Fisher Jurvetson, New York-based Good Energies and Providence, R.I.-based Point Judith Capital.

Clean Tech Open invites clean technology startup companies to present their ways and means of creating clean energy solutions and selects among them for funding. Join me on this show with Sergei Garcia and Rex Northern to speak about this awesome eco event. Visionary Culture examines the state of the worlds :: our inner world of personal growth, spirituality, and transformation, and our outer world of community, activation and living our highest destiny path. Featuring conscious, world-service oriented musicians, artists, scientists, leading edge social thinkers and social architects, visionaries,and people making a difference, Visionary Culture Radio is your portalway to activating 'possibilities' into manifestation.

Wells Fargo & Co., is showing its support for sustainability through its investments in the Cleantech Open and the National Cleantech group.

Wells Fargo Provides Regional Grants to Cleantech Open in California, Rocky Mountain, Pacific Northwest, North Central and Northeast Regions

The Cleantech Open, a national business plan competition for energy and clean technology startups, announced yesterday its 16 semifinalists for the Pacific Northwest region (as well as teams from other parts of the country).

Three Oregon companies are among 16 semifinalists chosen to compete in the Pacific Northwest regional Cleantech Open business competition.

The speakers for the 2010 National Conference have been anounced.

Ever wished you could adjust the lights glaring over your office cubicle? Adura Technologies Inc. has solved that problem. The San Francisco-based startup develops wireless lighting control and energy management systems that make dumb lighting systems smarter. The systems allow people to adjust commercial building lights to target just one desk or just one room instead of that standard on-off functionality that results in wasting 30 percent to 70 percent of electricity associated with lighting. In doing so, Adura can save offices money and improve the environment for workers.

Mission Motors, a San Francisco-based startup working on electric motorcycles and powertrain technology, has raised more than $3.35 million of a planned $4.68 million equity financing round, according to a filing with financial regulators on Thursday. Mission Motors’ interim CEO Jit Bhattacharya told us in an interview last month that the startup was looking to raise funds to help set up an assembly facility in California. He said the goal was to have the facility up and running for final assembly of a second-gen electric motorcycle model in 2011 (using components sourced from a variety of global suppliers). In the meantime, Mission is working to get a limited 50-bike run of its high-end Mission One model into customer hands, with deliveries beginning in the second quarter of next year. The company has also begun talks with China-based motorcycle maker Zongshen Power Machinery to collaborate on development of electrical engine systems, and possibly secure investment for the startup. (If you’re into startups developing electric two-wheelers, check out these videos of the Zero Motorcycles electric dirt bike and the Ultra Motor A2B electric bicycle on our new show, Green Overdrive.) Mission Motors got its start in the Cleantech Open back in 2007 under the name Hum Cycles, and launched publicly at the TED conference in February 2009. It reportedly scored funds early on from the angel investment firm One Earth Capital, and in 2008 secured investment from Finney Capital. The managing director of Finney Capital, Michael Finney, and David Moll of Infield Capital (one of Mission’s main backers) are listed as directors in today’s filing.

Among all the nations of the world, the United States has an extraordinarily large and well-developed venture capital sector. Business-plan competitions play an established role in the industry: by vetting companies seeking venture funding they introduce pre-qualified entrepreneurs to investors and, along the way, inform and educate both groups. The Cleantech Open, a nonprofit organization that runs a national business-plan competition each year for cleantech start-up companies, provides competing teams with training, mentoring, introductions to potential customers and funding sources, and—for those companies that win—publicity in high-profile events and press announcements. The connections extend beyond the circle of winners to a growing, loosely knit community of entrepreneurs and inventors, business angels and venture capital groups, as well as the more established companies and organizations that sponsor the program.

When I tell molecular biophysicist Deane Little that I'm extremely skeptical about carbon capture and sequestration, he looks up from the solar-powered chemical reactor he's just set up in the window and responds, "We are, too." For Little and his colleagues at New Sky Energy, successfully capturing carbon from the air doesn't involve a giant fake tree or pumping huge amounts of CO2 into the ground. Instead, they've developed a chemical system that elegantly turns CO2 and salt solution into valuable products.

Alphabet Energy gets a nice mention: "Scullin's company is one of a dozen or so that have received government grants or private investments to improve the efficiency of thermoelectrics and bring down their cost by creating new materials, new manufacturing methods, or both."

If clean technology is any indicator, things are definitely looking up. According to a recent report by the Cleantech Group and Deloitte, clean technology venture investments in North America, Europe, China and India totaled $1.9 billion in the first quarter of 2010, up 83 percent from a year ago and 29 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009. That represents the strongest start to a year ever recorded by the Cleantech Group.

Sometimes, all a good idea needs is a nudge to become a budding business, says Twin Cities high tech entrepreneur Luke Francl. A couple-thousand-dollar nudge maybe. Francl, a software developer with four businesses under his belt, is putting that idea to the test today when he and his friend Ben Edwards, co-founder of Minneapolis software developer Refactr, announce the winners of MinneSpark, a contest they started this year.

Applications for the Clean Tech Open's Rocky Mountain business competition are due by Saturday. The competition, lets business in the clean tech sector compete for thousands of dollars in funding, entrepreneurial support, exposure to venture capitalists and mentoring from senior level business executives in the industry.

Clean-tech entrepreneurs in Wisconsin are eligible for funding through a business competition, the Cleantech Open, that has expanded into the Midwest. The largest business competition for inventors and entrepreneurs in clean technology has opened a competition in the North Central region, including Wisconsin and five other states. Past alumni from the program have raised $65 million in venture capital so far this year.

Electric motorcycle startup Mission Motors vaulted itself into the spotlight last year with the unveiling and road racing of a crazy fast and eerily quiet superbike — the Mission One. But if 2009 was largely about drumming up attention among possible investors, partners and media, the next few years hold a different kind of race for Mission Motors: to start commercially selling bikes, and to develop a lower cost, more mainstream electric motorcycle.

The Denver Office of Economic Development today announced a one-year sponsorship of two leading business groups that are helping to nurture entrepreneurs and start-ups in Colorado's burgeoning cleantech industry.

MADISON – David Mead’s start-up company, C5-6 Technologies, makes enzyme catalysts to convert agricultural and forestry feedstock into fuels. Tuesday morning, he was in Grainger Hall at the UW-Madison Business School, seeking a way – as he put it, tongue slightly in cheek – “to clone the money gene.” In other words, he was looking for funding for his firm, an effort which drew him to a meeting for a business plan contest for green companies dubbed the “Cleantech Open.” The event was sponsored by WARF, Wisconsin Angel Network and the UW-Madison Office of Corporate Relations.

If you are a cleantech entrepreneur, mark Saturday, May 22 on your calendar. That’s the deadline to register for the Cleantech Open, the nation’s largest, cleantech business competition.

EcoFactor has emerged -- at least at this early stage of the game -- as one of the more noteworthy companies in home energy management. And in the relatively near future, you could more see companies with similar technologies tackling other markets.

Alphabet Energy got a boost in May in its pursuit of an inexpensive way to turn waste heat into electricity. The Bay Area startup got $1 million in seed financing from the CalCEF Clean Energy Angel Fund and Claremont Creek Ventures.

After using up nearly all its non-renewable energy sources, the human race is in the maddening quest for alternative energies capable of carrying forward this huge civilization. But it is again the indomitable spirit of human race that inspires it discover new energy sources to tap. The relentless human quest for new energy sources is spinning out billion-dollar industries, such as the one that depends on the technology for the conversion of waste heat into electricity. Alphabet Energy Inc. is a new player that seeks to commercialize a waste heat recovery technology. The said technology was developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and makes one of the n inexpensive technologies for energy generation.

Biogas & Electric, LLC has developed technology to significantly reduce emissions of nitrous oxide (NOx) generated during the combustion of methane-rich biogas from anaerobic digestion facilities. Improving the emissions of turbines or engines powered by biogas can help these systems generate more renewable energy while enhancing local air quality.

Terawatts of heat are lost to the environment every year due to the inefficiency of heat energy, but startups like Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s spin-out Alphabet Energy are looking to create materials that convert waste heat into usable electricity. This morning Alphabet Energy announced that it’s raised a small seed round of $1 million from venture investors Claremont Creek Ventures and the CalCEF Clean Energy Angel Fund.

Alphabet Energy, which says it can make electricity for around $1 a watt out of waste heat in factories or data centers, has raised $1 million from Claremont Creek Ventures and the CalCef Clean Energy Fund.

Physicist Deane Little moved to Boulder in 2006 with the idea of starting a company, only he wasn’t quite sure what kind of company. He stumbled upon the concept of using water electrolysis to remove carbon from flue gas, and inspiration struck.

When we last checked in on Armageddon Energy, the prefab solar panel startup had completed panel prototypes and was working on a beta funding round. Now, nearly a year later, Armageddon has teamed up with electronic component manufacturer Tyco Electronics to speed up the release of Armageddon's SolarClover system, which is scheduled to go on sale later this year.

The annual Cleantech Open Business Competition is now open for entries, and if you're a cleantech startup looking for funding and services to get your business off the ground, this is the competition for you! Winners in each region will win $30,000 in cash and services to help build their business. The national winner will win a $250,000 prize and additional services!

The Cleantech Open, the world's largest cleantech business competition, has helped launch successful startups like Cool Earth Solar, Adura Technologies, and BuildFast. Now Cleantech Open alums are getting more love than ever as the competition announces that two 2009 finalists--Micromidas and Ecofactor--have secured venture capital funding. Cleantech Open alums have also scored a record $65 million in VC funding and grants during the first months of 2010.

Green2Gold and the Cleantech Open have partnered to host the first Cleantech Innovators' Summit on April 17, 2010 at the Los Angeles Central Library in the Mark Taper Auditorium from 1-5pm. The summit will feature a panel discussion on "Developing the Southern California Cleantech Ecosystem," moderated by Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel. Notable panelists include Bill Barber, chapter president of Maverick Angels; Alex Fay, Los Angeles Mayor's Office of Economic & Business Policy; Alan Tratner, founder of Green2Gold; and Gillian Christie, founder of Christie Communications. Admission is free to all attendees.

Today EcoFactor, the premier automated residential energy management software solution, announced the closing of a $3.5 million financing led by RockPort Capital Partners. This investment follows the recent $2.4 million financing led by Claremont Creek Ventures in December 2009. Claremont Creek Ventures increased its investment in EcoFactor as part of the second closing. The Series A round will help EcoFactor execute on commercial deployments of its residential energy management service. EcoFactor is currently deploying its award-winning energy management service in several markets through a variety of major channel partners.

Recap of PNW Cleantech Open, deadlines, highlights from last year's regional winners and statement from Byron McCann, Co-Chair, PNW Cleantech Open.

The Cleantech Open, a national business plan competition that debuted in the Pacific Northwest last year, announced its 2010 competition and a launch event in Seattle later this month.

The Cleantech Open Ideas Competition Opens for Entries April 2010 The Cleantech Open runs the world’s largest clean technology business competition and is looking for the best clean technology ideas from around the world. Just for telling your idea, you could win a prize package of services worth $100,000 to help you start a business to grow your idea!

For the first time in its five-year history, Cleantech Open– the world’s largest business competition created to find, fund and foster the most promising clean technology companies – is now accepting entries from the North Central Region. Early-stage startups in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin can enter in six categories – renewable energy, transportation, smart power and energy storage, energy efficiency, green building and air/water/waste – for a chance to win $250,000 in investment and services.

Global recession got you down? Still waiting on “your share” of the grant money sloshing around out there? Buck up, because if you have a solid business plan and a small entry fee you can compete for a funding package worth $250,000.

The 2010 Cleantech Open, a business plan competition for clean technology startups, is underway with several key dates approaching: -- April 22, 2010 is the Early Bird Entry Deadline, after which the entry fee increases from from $199 to $249 for professionals. -- Those interested in entering should attend the Executive Summary Webinar, on May 4 from 4:00 to 6:00pm PDT. This briefing will answer questions and help contestants prepare their Executive Summary entries.

SunPods Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based manufacturer of modular, fully integrated and tested solar power generation systems and San Francisco-based Bauer's Intelligent Transportation (IT) recently introduced the first solar power-assist system for buses, known as the Solar-Hybrid Bus.

New Sky Energy, a Boulder-based startup, has a plan to make money out of thin air. Using basic electrochemical technology and waste salts, New Sky aims to create compounds that suck carbon dioxide from the air. The "carbonates" created can be used in making a variety of products, such as glass, resins and building materials. "It is known chemistry we are using differently," said New Sky's founder and chief executive, Deane Little. New Sky and the Westland Water District in Fresno, Calif., are set to announce a joint venture using the technology to build a $3.2 million pilot plant to turn salty drainage water into marketable products.

Ever heard of California's Central Valley? You might soon--the region, known as the nation's breadbasket for its agricultural plenitude, is facing severe droughts for a number of reasons. But now One Sky, a former Cleantech Open winner, is swooping in to hopefully save the day by providing a new source of clean water for the region. New Sky is teaming up with the Westlands Water District to build a drainage water treatment facility in the Central Valley that uses New Sky's proprietary salt conversion technology. The process concentrates and converts waste salts from drainage water into both fresh water for irrigation and carbon-neutral and carbon-negative chemicals--incuding acid, caustic soda, and solid carbonates like limestone and soda ash. These chemicals can then be used in everything from fertilizers to building materials.