Three NREL Partners Selected for National Competition

The US Department of Energy (DOE) ran a competition to name America’s Next Top Energy Innovator. The DOE even went so far as to encourage the public to vote on an energy technology that they thought would impact the most.

Three of the 14 competitors had been contributed to by NREL.  NREL is dedicated to the further development of technology in renewable energy.  Of the three NREL backed competitors, two are based in Colorado.

Element One of Boulder has developed a cost effective hydrogen indicating system to visually indicate the status or a change in hydrogen in a given environment. A variety of uses could include protective gear, pain, piping and other equipment. Basically, it’s a coating that changes color to indicate hazardous gas leaks or dangerous levels of hydrogen.

Also based in Boulder is CCIA member, US e-Chromic LLC. US e-Chromic LLC creates thin films to retro fit windows to create smart windows that reflect the sunlight instead of absorb and reemit it as heat. These thin films can save commercial building operators in air conditioning costs.

The third NREL partner, based in Woburn, Mass. is developing technology that allows for solar or other waste heat sources to be used in liquid desiccant HVAC systems for commercial and industrial buildings. Ultimately, these systems can become net-zero retrofits to existing buildings and operate at costs comparable to traditional HVAC systems.

All three technologies were born at NREL and are now being developed by the partner companies. 

Voting ended Feb. 6th; you can view voting results at http://energy.gov/articles/america-chooses-next-top-energy-innovator

Members Only Event—Sign Up Today!

Energy storage is quickly becoming an important issue in the cleantech industry. Join us March 14th to hear from Colorado’s experts in the field of energy storage. From Colorado State University to National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Colorado is a leader in research and solution development for current energy storage market challenges. Find out how solutions are being developed from Versa Power and Boulder Ionics.

Don’t miss this CCIA member’s only event! RSVP today by clicking here.

If you’re not already a member, you can join today. 

Colorado’s Cleantech Market Expansion for 2012 Part 2: Is the Bubble Bursting? Perspectives from Cleantech Investors

In the second of a three-part blog series on the Colorado cleantech marketplace outlook for 2012, recruiter and entrepreneur Dave Mayer offers an glimpse into the growing Colorado cleantech community.

To get a clearer vision on what to expect this year, we interviewed a number of well-respected leaders on what 2012 holds for Colorado’s cleantech industry.

Dave Gold, of Access Venture Partners believes the bursting of the proverbial Cleantech Bubble is a good thing. Dave believes that 2012 will be a “back to business kind of year”…with a solid amount of activity in Colorado, and “We agree that perhaps a dose of reality isn’t a bad thing,” Dave said in a recent blog post. Currently, renewable energy only constitutes 8 percent of US power consumption but that number is increasing at an average rate of 7 percent over the past several years…extrapolating from that, renewable energy consumption would likely double less than every 11 years. 

He continues, “Colorado will continue to be recognized as a hotspot for cleantech in 2012 and beyond.” Dave has been involved with a number of successful cleantech investments in Colorado, including Tendril Inc., which we cover in the next post.

According to Trent Yang, Director of the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI) at the University of Colorado, and Managing Director of Clean Range Ventures, there are several solid examples of Colorado’s recent success in cleantech. Trent notes that “In 2011, GE specifically selected Colorado for their largest solar manufacturing facility, Advanced Energy Economy recognized Colorado's leadership in the space by inviting the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association to become one of its founding partners, and the Governor's Energy Office continues to take a balanced and pro-business policy approach that will ensure sustainable growth into the future.”

Yang goes on to note that “University of Colorado's spin-out companies, Sundrop Fuels and OPX Biotechnologies, have received significant follow-on funding and are being recognized as having some of the most innovative solutions in the marketplace.” These are just a few specific examples of how Colorado continues to cement its status as a national leader in cleantech development and innovation.

In the next post, we’ll look at the Colorado cleantech marketplace from the perspective of the research labs and companies that are quickly growing our economy. 

Dave Mayer is a Colorado Cleantech Industry Association member and serial entrepreneur based in Denver. Currently, Mayer is CEO and founder of Technical Integrity, a cleantech recruiting firm. For more information, visit his website at http://technicalintegrity.com/

US e-Chromic LLC Bursts Onto The Cleantech Scene

Loren Burnett, a serial entrepenuer, is now leading the charge for US e-Chromic LLC based in Boulder, Colo.

“We are developing an electrochromic thin film for windows. Basically, our product will allow owners to reduce AC usage by 25- 40%,” says Burnett of his company’s basic mission.

Burnett obtained the NREL technology license for a refelctive electrochromic thin film that can be retrofitted and applied to existing windows. “Our competitors absorb light and re-emit it as generate heat. Because we reflect we can transform existing windows into highly efficient smart windows,” says Burnett.

Reaping the benefits without having to replace the entire window system makes US e-Chromic LLC unique amongst the competition. It leads to a lower price point and less waste because there is not additional cost for window replacement and dislocation.

US e-Chromic started operations in May 2010 commencerate with licensing with technology from NREL and the company is still in development phase. Current projections have US e-Chromic ready with product to go to market on a limited basis by later half of 2013.

Getting into the cleantech business was not exactly a far leap for Burnett.

“As part of my career I have gained expertise in commercializing technologies – basically licensing technologies and turning them into commercial products,” says Burnett. “I looked for several years and found it at NREL.”

For Burnett, being a part of the cleantech community has been a good experience.

 “I’ve been really pleasantly surprised at how cooperative and colegial people and companies are in the cleantech areana,” said Burnett. “In cleantech everyone wants to see each other succeed. It acrues to all of our benefits when someone does well.”

US e-Chromic LLC was recently part of the Department of Energy’s America’s Next Top Energy Innovator.

For more information on US e-Chromic LLC visit their website at www.use-chromic.com.

Colorado’s Cleantech Market Expansion for 2012 Part 1: Colorado’s Cleantech Industry is Shining Bright

In the first of a three-part blog series on the Colorado cleantech marketplace outlook for 2012, recruiter and entrepreneur Dave Mayer offers an glimpse into the growing Colorado cleantech community.

Almost every day, we get calls from people wondering how to join Colorado’s bustling cleantech sector. We also regularly chat with our cleantech clients about what we are seeing regarding candidate volume and experience level. The talk often includes discussions of overall market health, mergers and acquisitions, and of course, what the future holds in Colorado and beyond. Acting as a barometer of both the high tech and cleantech industries can be incredibly rewarding.

By all accounts, the cleantech tech industry is alive and well in Colorado. 2011 was a very solid year for businesses focused on renewable energy in our state, and 2012 promises to be no different.  In a recent Planet-Profit Report article, 2011 was an banner year.

“Clean technology industry investments remained solid in 2011, receiving $8.99 billion in venture capital. The investments represent an increase of 113 percent from 2010; a record high of venture capital investment.” The story also notes that Colorado is in the top five states receiving funding, taking in 5 percent ($358 million) of overall investments made in the U.S. Colorado continues to attract dozens of cleantech businesses as well as innovate in the legislature and in our world-class research facilities.

In the next post, we’ll tap into some of Colorado’s leading investors to get a perspective of Colorado’s cleantech industry.

Dave Mayer is a Colorado Cleantech Industry Association member and serial entrepreneur based in Denver. He is one of three co-chairs of the Colorado Clean Economy Network, which focuses on creating awareness of issues that will affect the future of this country's energy policy. Currently, Mayer is CEO and founder of Technical Integrity, a cleantech recruiting firm. For more information, visit his website at http://technicalintegrity.com/

2012 Solar Industry Trends to Watch

A recent article on Gigaom.com predicted trends of the solar industry for this year. The predictions include an element of doom and gloom, but also shed light on some emerging markets and the potential they hold.

There is no denying that for the most part, 2011 was pretty rough on the solar industry from high profile companies filing for bankruptcy to trade complaints. In 2012 the goal seems to be to reboot and find partners more in line with common goals and that have the capital to sustain an industry effort.

Similar to last year, it will be a buyers' market for companies and entities with the buying power to acquire and convert to solar. Ultimately, the impact on the global economy from solar conversions will be a good one.

Despite the closure of several companies last year, 2012 will see an increase in those wanting to participate in the solar industry in a variety of capacities. Project developers and private investors will likely play a major role in new enterprises to enter the solar arena.

Existing and new solar companies will all need to shift strategies to increase efficiency and monitoring to show tangible results for investors. It’s no secret to companies that products and the company itself must run as efficiently as possible for the highest returns possible. 

2012 will surely be a year of increasing efficiency for companies that will be successful.

Aside from election year politics mudding up the waters for the solar industry, emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa will be a major factor in the global solar market. Those companies and entities that choose to invest in emerging markets may be taking less of a gamble by doing such in 2012.

Creative new uses for solar energy will help feed the grid and give birth to new innovations like solar powered vehicles. Of course, that’s just the prediction for this year. In all reality, it’ll be several years before many of these things are realized. 

Clean Tech Increasing its Share in the Global Economy

Although the global economy continues to struggle, clean technology investments are on the rise. North America saw a 30 percent increase, while worldwide investment increased by 13 percent, according to a new report published by CleanTech Group LLC.



Sundrop Fuels Takes Off

A Colorado leader in bio-derived fuels was Sundrop Fuels. The Longmont-based company develops synthetic fuel production systems which use highly concentrated solar thermal energy to turn gasify biomass. Sundrop Fuels reported raising $175 million from various venture capital partners in 2011, which accounted for 5 percent of all North American clean tech capital in 2011.


Larger Industry Trends: Solar, Efficiency, Transportation and Bio

While solar energy and energy efficiency saw the largest investments in terms of deals and dollars, transportation and biofuels / biomaterials seem to be moving more out of a research stage and also reported profitable investments.


North American Investments Gaining Traction

North America led the way in investments for 2011 as Europe and Israel dropped 30 percent in their investments for the year. China ranked second after the U.S. for investments and ranked highest in IPOs. The highest IPO for the year was Chinese state-owned hydropower company, Sinohydro. It raised $2.12 billion on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.


Bright Future Ahead

Predictions based on historical information have 2012 as the most financially prosperous and beneficial year for clean tech. Despite the still weak global economy, a shift to investing in clean tech has become clear for those wanting a successful and profitable long-term investment.