Cleantech Open gala goes global, honors winners

Michael Santullo used to announce the organization he helped start as the California Cleantech Open. But it’s not just about the Golden State anymore.

The Cleantech Open, now the world’s largest cleantech business plan competition, has expanded across the United States, and went global this year, with submissions from cleantech companies from 87 countries.

The fourth annual competition culminated in an exposition and awards night this evening at the Masonic Center in San Francisco. For the first time, it featured finalists from three regions: California, the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest. The regions were launched earlier this year, though the nonprofit announced its intentions in 2008 (see Cleantech Open rebrands, awards California winners).

The gala, offering a $250,000 grand prize including $100,000 in seeding funding, was styled as an Academy Awards night for clean technology innovation [ed.: though the event's production values and painful ad libbing by the local broadcaster MC were a far cry from Hollywood.] Finalists were awarded $50,000 in cash and in-kind services.

A new 'ideas award' this year engaged entrants with the audience. Would-be entrepreneurs pitched concepts for technologies, products, marketing campaigns or systems for solving large-scale energy and environmental issues. Attendees voted for their top picks via text message to determine the winner: Replenish Energy of Puerto Rico, pursuing fuel from algae lipids.

Since 2006, the Cleantech Open has been focused on finding, fostering, and funding entrepreneurs, said Executive Director Rex Northen. The group, in partnership with sponsors including Chevron, provides companies with infrastructure, expertise, and strategic relationships to bridge ideas into global cleantech companies. Nearly 300 companies submitted executive summaries and paid a small fee to enter the 2009 competition.

The Cleantech Open also supports its alumni, which have raised more than $125 million, while creating green collar jobs. Northen said the organization, fueled by an extensive network of volunteers, has a target of generating 100,000 clean and green jobs by 2015.

One of the evening’s keynote speakers, Google’s Green Energy Czar Bill Weihl, highlighted that while the Cleantech Open competition continues to grow, there’s still more that needs to be done to address environmental problems such as global warming.

He stressed the importance of addressing climate change now, as opposed to 10 to 20 years from now, by attacking the problem on multiple fronts.

“We need more. We need serious breakthroughs and we need them soon,” he said.

The 2009 recipients, by category, included:

• Air, Water & Waste: Sacramento, Calif.-based Micromidas converts carbon in organic wastewater into bio-plastics intended to be used like conventional plastics. Its process apparently generates high yields of bio-plastic, while reducing the amount of waste that has to undergo treatment.
• Energy Efficiency and People’s Choice Business Award: Oakland, Calif.-based Alphabet Energy is working to commercialize a low-cost thermoelectric technology, developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The technology captures wasted energy and converts it into electricity. Waste heat producers can use this electricity to power their facilities or sell it back to the grid.
• Green Building: Santa Cruz, Calif.-based tru2earth makes more than 50-year rated roofing materials from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic that it says are energy efficient and cradle-to-cradle recyclable. The company says its products allow for rainwater harvesting and are priced competitively with asphalt shingles.
• Renewables: Atherton, Calif.-based Armageddon Energy sells a packaged retail residential rooftop solar energy kit that it says homeowners find attractive, affordable, and easy to install.
• National Award Winner Grand Prize and Smart Power: Millbrae, Calif.-based EcoFactor won for its personalized residential energy management solution for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, which it says offers energy and utility bill reductions for consumers of 20 to 30 percent.
• Transportation: Berkeley, Calif.-based FuelSaver Technologies says its real-time technology increases fuel efficiency in long-haul vehicles such as trucks. Through full-body streamlining of a vehicle's aerodynamic profile, it helps to minimize drag.
• Alumni Award: San Francisco-based Adura Technologies manufactures turnkey wireless lighting management systems that provide for energy cost savings and carbon reduction. The company won in the Cleantech Open 2006 competition in the energy efficiency category and has raised funding from VantagePoint Venture Partners and Claremont Creek Ventures (see Cleantech deals in garbage, lighting and batteries).

Rocky Mountain Region finalists:

• Boulder, Colo.-based New Sky Energy, a carbon negative chemical manufacturing company, is developing technology to capture and convert carbon dioxide into feedstocks that can be used in glass, plastics, building materials, fabrics, and other products.
• Missoula, Mo.-based Rivertop Renewables is creating what it says is an abundant and economical supply of sustainable and safe chemicals and bio-products, which are biodegradable and made from renewable plant sugars.
• Golden, Colo.-based SunTrac Solar makes a high temperature solar collector heat product that it says offers a long-term, cost effective solar solution for heating residential and commercial hot water.

Pacific Northwest Region finalists:

• Portland, Ore.-based Green Lite Motors makes a 100 mile per gallon commute vehicle that has express lane privileges and offers easy parking.
• Seattle-based Hydrovolts, which also won the Cleantech Open's National Sustainability Award, develops patent-pending hydrokinetic turbines that it says can generate renewable energy from water power for agriculture, industry, and global sustainable development.
• Seattle-based LivinGreen Materials is developing a light-capturing photoelectrode to sell to photovoltaic manufacturers to boost solar cell efficiencies.

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