The Clean Tech Open, originating in Silicon Valley and with regional competitions in Denver and Seattle, has named regional winners in events leading up to the national finals on November 17 in San Francisco. The Rocky Mountain region was the last to unveil its finalists.

They are:

New Sky Energy: Boulder-based New Sky Energy (www.newskyenergy.com) is the world's first carbon negative chemical manufacturing company. The firm’s revolutionary technology captures and converts carbon dioxide into feedstocks, like soda ash and limestone, which are used in glass, plastics, building materials, fabrics and other products.

"As a start up, we benefitted tremendously from the Cleantech Open process and are extremely grateful for their help in refining our message and nailing down our business plan," said Dr. Deane Little, CEO of New Sky. "New Sky is a disruptive technology that can change industry, and we are forever indebted to the Cleantech Open for recognizing that and pushing us on to further success."

Rivertop Renewables: Based in Missoula, Montana, Rivertop Renewables (www.rivertop.com) is innovating a new category of science – “Progressive Chemistry.” Merging proven science with renewable resources, Rivertop Renewables is creating an abundant and economical supply of sustainable and safe chemicals and bioproducts. Rivertop products are biodegradable and built from renewable plant sugars.

“In addition to the great counsel and guidance we got from the program, the connections we made with venture capitalists and other funders made our participation in the CTO extremely worthwhile,” said Jason Kiely, director of marketing at Rivertop.

SunTrac Solar: SunTrac Solar (www.energisticsystems.us) of Golden, CO, the only high temperature solar collector heat product manufactured in the United States, provides a long-term, cost effective solar solution for heating residential and commercial hot water. SunTrac reduces utility costs by up to 80% while taking up only half the space of current panel designs. The patented system tracks the movement of the sun, collecting 50% to 70% of the available solar energy to heat hot water up to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

“For SunTrac Solar, the Clean Tech Open process has been an amazing journey of learning and growing,” said SunTrac CEO Bill Lowstuter. “All of the support and mentoring has helped us dramatically to refine and hone the business plan and elevate our business far beyond where we started. The thousands of hours the volunteers have donated has truly been a humbling experience.”

Sustainability Award:

Cool Energy: Cool Energy of Boulder (www.coolenergyinc.com) was selected the winner of the regional sustainability award. Cool Energy has developed a clean heat and electrical power generation system for homes and small buildings that runs solely on solar fuel and reducing energy bills by as much as 75%. The main innovation is called the SolarHeart® Engine which converts any source of heat into usable electricity. In addition to solar applications, the engine can generate electricity from biomass and waste heat sources.

"The Cleantech Open helped Cool Energy enhance the communication of our story and value. During the CTO process, we re-worked our business plan and made many new and valuable business connections. Winning the Sustainability category will help us with customer and investor visibility as we begin to install pilot systems and develop our channels in the U.S., Canada and Europe.” said Sam Weaver, President and CEO of Cool Energy, Inc.