GGP Energy Builds Successful Commercial Energy Efficiency Technologies

When words like scrappy come up in a conversation, the last thing that may come to mind is the cleantech industry. However, it’s an ideal word to describe Scott Charter, the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of GGP Energy.

To call Charter a self-made man would not only be putting it mildly, but it’d be a bit of an affront. Charter is much more than that term can hope to encompass. He landed in Denver to attend DU law school with little more than sheer drive and a van he resided out of in Denver’s Washington Park.

His background in IT led him to data centers where his keen observations kicked off his cleantech career. “We knew we were spending a lot of money at our commercial data centers,” said Charter of his company’s energy consumption. “We saw that clean tech was a wide-open frontier that we had some experience in because of our data center experience.”

Charter and his business partner, Michael Hollander, struck out to change the way commercial buildings use energy. They found a way to introduce to companies “unique technology to lower energy costs in a commercial building,” says Charter of GGP’s basic mission.

For one, Charter and Hollander have brought the H2OFlow technology to market. This remarkable technology eliminates the need for maintenance chemicals to be used in commercial cooling towers. Not only does the technology make for environmentally friendly water use, but it also significantly reduces the cost of operating and maintaining the cooling tower.

Ultimately, it’s been beneficial that Charter is a scrappy guy. When it comes to making it in the cleantech industry he offers the following advice: “Make sure you’ve got the stomach for it. And I mean that. It’s not always an easy path to ho. We went from a company that was very east to start up because we sold a commodity. Our new company [GGP] we now trying to educate people saying hey, consider doing something differently than you’ve done it since 1920.”

Convincing commercial building owners to open themselves up to the new technology has its challenges. “Its easy to follow the pack. A crowd mentality—you’ll never get fired for buying from a major company. Getting people to change from what they’re used to is difficult,” said Charter.

However Charter and Hollander have come up with creative approaches to entice new customers to try the H2Oflow system. “Installation is for free, we’ll remove it for free. We have to earn their business every month. We’re so confident that our engineer will bring a coffee cup and drink out of the cooling tower,” says Charter of their commitment to the technology.

Modernizing Mechanical Equipment: Sturman Industries

For the last 21 years, Carol Sturman and her husband Eddie, have been revolutionizing the mechanical world. At it’s most simple, their company, Sturman Industries, has been fostering the change from analog to digital processes in all things mechanical.

For years mechanical equipment has fallen behind in efficiency. “We modernize mechanical equipment to make it more efficient— we bring it in to the digital age, said Sturman about her company’s mission.

Sturman’s career path poised her to be a force in the cleantech industry. As a schoolteacher she learned the importance of motivation, her time in real estate taught her precise and effective marketing and as a consultant she found a passion for helping companies save energy and in turn, money.

Her talent to motivate has been instrumental in getting large companies to look at cleantech as a viable and logical solution based in economic preservation. Incidentally, it’s also been her biggest uphill battle. “It’s very hard; it’s not hard to come up with good solutions, but it’s hard to get major companies in these areas to embrace new ideas. It takes a lot of money and a lot of time to get ideas to market,” Sturman said of cleantech startups.

The lure of cleantech was obvious for her. “When you look at benefits from analog to digital you see how it’s transformed our word – we’re bringing that same transformation to mechanical things,” said Sturman of the exciting work Sturman Industries does. “Much of our focus is around energy and engines, we now have a combustion system that can accommodate any liquid or gasous fuel and use it in an efficient way. Small, cheaper, better!”

For Sturman being part of CCIA has been beneficial. “It s always good. I have a funny saying you can have the what you know, but you need to have the who you know. Networking and visibility are so important. You never know where the breakthroughs are going to be in your business. For us, getting to know the right people is very important,” said Sturman.

Just like the Sturman Industries’ website says, they make products that make sense. “It’s time for mechanical systems to be modern and made in a platform that can be used for generations that is safe, clean and renewable,” said Sturman. Furthering that the need is for “good answers, more support and more people demanding better answers.”

For more information on Sturman Industries please visit their website at http://www.sturmanindustries.com/

Who is Your Favorite Colorado Cleantech Leader?

Nominations for the Colorado Cleantech Awards are due tomorrow.

The awards will be presented during the Colorado Cleantech Industry Awards Celebration dinner on Nov. 7 at the Grand Hyatt Denver. This is the main event this year where Colorado's cleantech community come together to honor the creativity and innovation of Colorado's clean technology leaders.

Finalists and winners will be selected by the CCIA Awards Committee to receive recognition in the following categories:

• High Impact Cleantech Company of the Year
• Breakout Cleantech Company of the Year
• Emerging Cleantech Company of the Year
• Colorado Cleantech Entrepreneur of the Year
• National Cleantech Leader

If you know a company or an entrepreneur that you feel is leading the way for Colorado's cleantech industry, we encourage you to nominate them today. See you at the dinner!

Upcoming Event: Hot Topics in Cleantech Patents and Licensing

Hot Topics in Cleantech Patents and Licensing

When: Sept. 29, 7:30 - 9:30 a.m.

Where: Holland and Hart, 555 17^th Street, Suite 3200, Denver, CO 80202

There is no cost to attend, but space is limited

This Thursday, Holland and Hart and CCIA will be presenting Hot Topics in Cleantech Patents and Licensing, a special event on how small cleantech businesses can protect their intellectual property portfolios with patents and licenses. An often-overlooked area, several problems can surface when companies fail to protect their brands, R & D strategies, patents and even licensing agreements. Some of the consequences can include:

1. Loss of competitive strategy in the market
2. Infringements
3. An intangible true-market value when an opportunity to sell presents

Other topics will include: an overview of new cleantech patent initiatives, accelerating the patent process and benefits in the U.S. and internationally and the practical application of critical licensing fundamentals for your business.

Event presenters will include two partners at Holland and Hart, Tracy Gray, who specialized in a full spectrum of intellectual property and privacy matters, and Greg Osterloth, the firm’s patents practice chair. The expertise of Gray and Osterloth will be invaluable for any cleantech industry business owner as the two provide insight from their experiences.

You can register here for the event. Remember, space is limited so register today.

Cleantech Open Regional Semi-Finalists to Compete for Shot at Nationals Tuesday

Every year some of the most promising clean technology start-up companies compete in Cleantech Open. Cleantech Open 2011 is a business competition is designed to take ambitious start-ups to a level where they can pitch venture capitalists and get their business funded and functioning. The competition began in California in 2006 and expanded to the Colorado and Rocky Mountain region two years ago.

Tuesday, the semi-finalists from the Rocky Mountain Region will compete in a regional mock judging so they can develop a 10-minute pitch geared at venture capitalists. The Rocky Mountain Region Awards Ceremony will be in Denver on Oct. 6. Three regional winners for each category and one sustainability winner will be selected to advance to the National Cleantech Open in San Jose, Calif. in November.

The Colorado Cleantech Industry Association support and sponsors the Cleantech Open because of its track record of helping bring cleantech companies to market faster. CCIA and the CTO share the same vision of fostering education and business connectivity to all the necessary stakeholders throughout the region, expanding Colorado as a cleantech industry hub.

A rich blend of mentoring, business-class training, meetings with industry experts and a strong emphasis on building a successful business model make the competition unique. For participants, the opportunity to gain access to these resources can make all the difference in their business journey.

Knowing how multi-faceted the program is, it’s hard to pin down only one thing that competitors get from it. Richard Franklin, the director for the Rocky Mountain Region, knows how well developed the program is. “I don’t know that you could isolate one single piece. If I had to sum it up, it would be education, and business connectivity to all the necessary stakeholders,” says Franklin of the program’s greatest asset.

Often in any industry where economic success is critical, good ideas can’t make it off the ground. Sometimes it can be a lack of funding, a poor business model or even misguided management practices that prevent a company from evolving. A central goal for Cleantech Open is to foster growth from a dynamic cleantech idea to a successful, functioning business. “All of it together translates to a comprehensive process of education and business modeling that mitigates risks and hopefully accelerates their speed to market,” said Franklin.

Winners can receive prizes valued anywhere from $10,000 to $250,000 in funding and in-kind awards. However, the true prize for Cleantech Open participants is the experience itself. No monetary award can compare to the invaluable mentoring, development and evolution a young company gets from participating.

Looking to Export Colorado Cleantech Products? Check Out CO-EXist

If you're looking to export Colorado cleantech products to Mexico or China, and you haven't heard about CO-EXist, you're missing out on a great program! The Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade (OEDIT) administers the "CO-EXist” program. CO-EXist stands for the Colorado Export of Innovative and Sustainable Technologies and has been in place since January of 2010 and will run through December of 2013. The purpose of CO-EXist is to promote Colorado’s cleantech products and services into the Chinese and Mexican markets and facilitate an increase in export sales.

There are a number of components to this program including:

• bringing in buyer’s delegations from China and Mexico to introduce them to Colorado providers of goods and services that they are looking to purchase;
• participating in key industry trade shows in both countries and taking a Colorado delegation with us to display their technologies and have one-on-one meetings;
• a technical assistance fund which helps offset legal fees, contract or technical types of translations, and country specific labeling/packaging/shipping requirements among others, and;
• a Client Development Program which enables qualified Colorado cleantech companies to meet face-to-face with potential Mexican or Chinese buyers.

So what has CO-EXist accomplished to date? "So far, Colorado has hosted 3 foreign buyer delegations and introduced them to more than 40 Colorado cleantech manufacturers and service providers. Companies from across the state have participated with us at the 2010 Green Expo in Mexico City and at the 2011 CIEPEC trade show in Beijing, China. Attending companies have generated at least 3 significant sales and we look forward to many more," noted Stephanie Garnica, Director, Trade & Investment for the Americas at OEDIT. "In addition, the CO-EXist program has provided funding to a number of qualified Colorado cleantech companies through the Client Development Program and Technical Assistance Fund."

The CO-EXist program is funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce and is a unique way to boost exports and promote Colorado as a cleantech leader to the key markets of China and Mexico. "We look forward to working with more Colorado cleantech companies and enabling them to sell into these exciting and opportunity-rich countries!" said Garnica.

Intrigued? Click CO-EXist Program Overview for more information.

Developing Renewable Energy Careers

A Nobel Laureate and the Academic Director at the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado will lead a four-day intensive certification program in renewable energy in Denver.

CCIA is pleased to support the University of Colorado’s RETool Program for Developing Business and Careers in the New Energy Economy.

Now in its third year, RETool moves to Denver offering a Professional Executive Certificate Program offered by CU-Boulder’s Deming Center for Entrepreneurship. Aimed at examining renewable energy technologies and policies, and identifying opportunities, the program offers incomparable industry insight.

World-class instructors including Paul Komor, the Educational Director of the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute at CU-Boulder (RASEI), and Steve Lawrence, the Academic Director of the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at CU-Boulder and a Fellow with RASEI, have been tapped to lead instruction.

Both instructors have extensive backgrounds in the renewable energy economy. Komor notably received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and is author of the book Renewable Energy Policy (2004).

Lawrence’s research and instruction has included work on renewable energy commercialization, the financial and environmental impacts of smart grids, and hedging strategies for energy intensive businesses.

RETool is open to anyone. “What we're doing is appropriate for any level of business - whether you're planning to start a business, have a business, or are just looking for a better understanding of renewables,” Lawrence explained.

Over the four months, participants will gain a better understanding of the changes and developments in the renewable energy industry enabling them to address the following:

• How are costs and pricing for renewable energy technologies changing?
• Which renewable energy technologies have the greatest short-and long-term promise?
• How do federal and state policies affect the growth of different technologies?
• What are the key challenges of the growth and success of renewable energy and how can they be overcome?
• How can I identify business, commercial and job opportunities with renewable energy?

Focusing on topical issues, the program provides a solid knowledge base for participants. “At the end of it, businesses walk away with a broad understanding of critical issues related to renewable energy focused on electric generation, smart grid, transportation, and energy efficiency,” Lawrence said.

Previously, the program has only been offered in Boulder, but locations in the Downtown Denver and Denver Tech Center can potentially yield greater networking opportunities for participants.

It is important to note that RETool doesn’t include any business planning or entrepreneurship training. However, CREED and CCIA already have programs that focus on entrepreneurship and business development, so RETool nicely complements those programs.

RETool participants can take all four of the courses or elect to attend single classes that focus on topics most relevant or desirable to their goals.

Event Details

Locations & Dates

Friday, September 9: Renewable Electric Power

Hilton Garden Inn Denver Tech Center

7675 East Union Ave.

Denver, CO 80237

Friday, October 7: Understanding Smart Grids

Deloitte Services LP

555 17th Street, Suite 3600

Denver, CO 80202

Friday, November 4: Renewable Transportation Energy

Hilton Garden Inn Denver Tech Center

7675 East Union Ave.

Denver, CO 80237

Friday, December 2: The Promise of Energy Efficiency

Deloitte Services LP

555 17th Street, Suite 3600

Denver, CO 80202

Price: Registration for the full program $1,800. Individual courses $500 each. Enter code CCIA at checkout to receive a 15% discount.

For more information on RETool or to register, please contact Jessica Baumgarten at jessica.baumgarten@colorado.edu or call 303-735-0541.