The Cleantech Open has begun naming the teams that have successfully passed the first screening by judges. Across the United States, a total of 150 startups will go on to compete for awards between now and November, 2012, when seven regions will send their finalists to Silicon Valley for final judging and awards. The Cleantech Open educational program names dozens of award winners along the way, and prepares startups to make investor pitches and get funding from venture capital firms.
The Pacific Northwest‘s 17 semifinalist teams are:
Ameristar Solar, Banks, OR – “An efficient low-cost and patent pending dual-axis tracker system for solar-panels that is easy to transport and captures more kilowatts and costs less to operate over the life cycle than single and fixed tilt solar panel system, targeted for remote, off-grid and emergency installations that currently use highly-inefficient and polluting fossil-fueled internal-combustion generators.”
Earthfort, Corvallis, OR – “Provides a proprietary method to deploy soil micro-organisms for bioremediation of contaminated agricultural soil.”
Emigh Design, West Linn, OR – “Applies a patented linear-roller bearing design to improve efficiency of Stirling thermal engines.”
Distributed Energy Management, Bremerton, WA– “A business-intelligence service applied to building efficiency, showing the actual cost-effectiveness of different operational scenarios to align efficiency with financial and investment goals.”
GR Green, Burnaby, B.C. – “A breakthrough, patented process to produce the world’s first ecological synthetic roofing and siding products. Made from limestone waste and recycled milk bottles and grocery bags – the shingles and siding are nearly carbon neutral and can be completely recycled at the end of their 50+ years of use.”
Global Green Energy Corp., Tumwater, WA – “A higher efficiency DC-to-AC converter to reduce loss and waste in drawing electricity from solar panels and other renewable generators to the grid.”
NADAC Systems, Portland, OR – “Software and hardware solution that integrates with existing building systems to manage energy distribution based on real occupancy, avoiding heating, cooling and lighting in unoccupied spaces.”
Profile Composites, Bremerton, WA – “Allows cost-effective conversion of vehicle fleets to low-pollution natural gas fuel by offering a superior method for forming carbon composite structures which uses less heat and energy.”
Pterofin, Seattle, WA – “Offers a unique flow-energy generation solution in wind or water, based not on a tradition rotor, but on the natural pivot motion of a bird’s wings in the air or fish fins in water.”
Retrolux, Boise, ID – “Enables convenient mobile audits of lighting efficiency by offering software that collects data on existing traditional lighting and proposed energy efficient lighting.”
Regenergy365, Hillsboro, OR – “Patented exhaust energy recovery technology to significantly reduce the intense operating costs of commercial and industrial HVAC/refrigeration systems by capturing waste air flow (exhaust) expelled by HVACR systems to generate on-site electricity.”
Ryno Motors, Portland, OR – “Developed a single wheel all electric personal transportation product. It allows all the freedom of a pedestrian as it glides around and in between congestion at 12 mph. Unique balancing technology gives the feel of a motorcycle but on a single wheel.”
Solensphere, Klamath Falls, OR – “Commercializing a patented Hybrid SolarConcentrator which combines solar thermal energy capture with photovoltaic cells engineered for concentrated light, reducing the required surface area of PV cells by a factor of 1000 while capturing 72 percent of the sun’s energy –all at a cost well below the market price for traditional PV panels.”
Sunreps, Redmond, WA – “Provides a different kind of solar energy, high-tech fabric to supply solar heated fresh air, offsetting the need to heat the same air with fossil fuels.”
TriboTeX, Pullman, WA – “Offers a proprietary nanoparticle bio-lubricant to reduce friction and increase efficiency in machinery, such as wind power gearboxes, by 10-20 percent.”
Vÿykn, Boise, ID – “The world’s first network-controlled at-location water purification system that generates pure, pH-balanced, ionized and oxygen-infused water.”
Wave Engine Solutions, Camas, WA – “Offers a new engine design replacing the ‘crankshaft’ with a ‘wave barrel’ by keeping the connecting rod and piston vertically balanced throughout the compression cycle, resulting in a 30-50 percent thermal efficiency improvement and friction reduction.”
The 47 companies competing from the Western region are:
Air, Water & Waste category
Discovery Carbon (Zephyr Cove, NV)
Earthmister (Santa Fe Springs, CA)
EcoPAS (Irvine, CA)
Skip To Renew (San Rafael, CA)
Smart Energy (Oakland, CA)
Zeo Mundus (Oakland, CA)
Energy Efficiency/Smart Power category
ALT (Santa Clara, CA)
BlueVortex (Tustin, CA)
C2esoft (Reno, NV)
HIVE Lighting (Los Angeles, CA)
LEDwiser (San Jose, CA)
Nexus eWater (Huntsville, AL)
Seanic View (Las Vegas, NV)
Sunsonix (Milpitas, CA)
Green Building category
Binishells (Beverly Hills, CA)
ConNora Technologies (San Francisco, CA)
Magboard (Reno, NV)
Malpas Sustainable Design (Berkeley, CA)
Panelshake (Campbell, CA)
SmarterShade (San Francisco, CA)
Vegetated Cool Roof (Oakland, CA)
Wifinity (Fremont, CA)
Renewable Energy category
BlueDot Analytics (Santa Cruz, CA)
Chingoo Research Partners (Los Angeles, CA)
Ecozen Solutions (Pasadena, CA)
EnZinc (Bethesda, MD)
iSolar Exchange (Santa Cruz, CA)
Malachite Technologies (San Francisco, CA)
Nautical Torque Technology (San Francisco, CA)
REwiRE (Stanford, CA)
Smash Solar (El Cerrito, CA)
Stanford Nitrogen Group (Stanford, CA)
Strider Solar (Berkeley, CA)
SunDraft Energy (Sunnyvale, CA)
Team Power Store (Morgan Hill, CA)
Water & Power Innovations (Solana Beach, CA)
Transportation category
ACTON (Los Angeles, CA)
Aloha Composite Solutions (Waimanalo, HI)
Fuel Motion (Sunnyvale, CA)
H2 Technologies Group (Sparks, NV)
Pareto Point (San Pedro, CA)
Pure Power Lifetime Filters (Huntington Beach, CA)
Rideshare 2.0 (Walnut, CA)
Rotary Wing Engine (San Jose, CA)
Switch (Sebastopol, CA
Yelo Velo (Reno, NV)
Zee Dynamics (Campbell, CA)
Semifinalists for the Mid Atlantic region:
Air, Water, & Waste category
Altenera, North Bethesda, MD — “Turbine-less wind energy harvesting.”
ArkFab, Atlanta, GA — “Sustainable urban farming for curing food deserts in the inner cities of America.”
CCEIS, Falls Church, VA — “Compliance partners for the construction industry.”
EcoQuip’s EQ Crew, Virginia Beach, VA — “Eco-blasting technology.”
HybriSorb, Bethlehem, PA — “Water treatment solutions for developing economies.”
Micronic, Sterling, VA — “Water desalination and purification.”
Montana Biopolymers, Winnsboro, SC — “Biopolymers to replace petrochemicals.”
Energy Efficiency category
Aquicore, Washington, DC — “The complete toolkit for energy efficiency – Measure, Compare, and Act on energy consumption.”
Melon, Washington, DC — “Energy star benchmarking made easy.”
SaveBigBread, McLean, VA — “FREE, easy way for homeowners to find and complete home improvement projects at deep discounts.”
Sustainable Systems International, Gaithersburg, MD — “Solar powered infrastructure.”
Renewable Energy category
Agira Inc., Baltimore, MD — “Solar modules with smart optics.”
Northern Lights, Virginia Beach, VA — “Energy harvesting technology.”
Sun Edge, Bear, DE — “Inexpensive Rooftop Solar Technology.”
Triea Systems, Bethesda, MD — “Low Cost Renewable Heat and Cold.”
Smart Power category
Mesdi Systems, Orlando, FL — “Precision manufacturing for lithium-ion batteries.”
V2 Energy, Frederick, MD — “Making real the promise of green energy.”
North Central Region: 20 semifinalists
Barasa Wheaton, IL — Patented process for converting industrial organic waste into topsoil.
BioPetrol Ltd. Lino Lakes, MN — Synthetic oil production from municipal sewage sludge and other biosolids.
Dioxide Materials — Champaign, IL — Low cost CO2 sensors for monitoring building occupancy and adjusting energy usage.
IrriGreen Eden Prairie, MN — Landscape irrigation systems that cut installation time in half and water use by 50% through digital technology.
Material Mix Saint Louis, MO — Online exchange for the trade and recycling of industrial byproducts.
Real Time Ag La Motte, IA — Monitoring software to improve farming efficiency and reduce runoff.
Cocoa Chicago, IL — High-quality humus fertilizer reduces cost to farmers and pollution.
QuadROI Minneapolis, MN — Definitive source for cleantech financial data.
Comfort 3.0 Chicago, IL — Online tool for customizing home thermostat settings for comfort and savings.
LandMentor Golden Valley, MN — Software for designing sustainable communities.
Concept Catapult Indianapolis, IN — Internet crowdsourcing platform for cleantech startups.
Grainvalue Saint Paul, MN — Selective separation of corn grain to maximize utility and economic use.
Heatwave Solar Edina, MN — Manufacture of solar air-heating units that reduce dependency on fossil fuels.
Peppermint Energy Sioux Falls, SD — Personal solar power in a box.
Piezo PowerTech Detroit, MI — Wireless thermostat with predictive web analytics for existing HVAC.
SiNode Chicago, IL — Superior anode Technology for Li-ion Battery.
Switch Fargo, ND — Cost-effective, cloud-based platform for home energy use monitoring.
Direct Drive Energy Lowden, IA — Energy conservation and cost savings for idling trucks.
HEVT Chicago, IL — Advanced electric motor technologies.
JPODs, Inc. Saint Paul, MN — Solar-powered urban transportation networks.
Rocky Mountain Region semifinalists:
Aztera, Tucson, AZ — Renewable Energy
Carbo Analytics, Fort Collins, CO — Renewable Energy
ECOmplete, Chandler, AZ — Energy Efficiency
GOe3, LLC, Scottsdale, AZ — Transportation
Hydrant-Flush, Westminster, CO — Air, Water, & Waste
Magne Generator, Glendale, AZ — Renewable Energy
Molon Labe Designs, Breckenridge, CO — Transportation
Navillum Nanotechnologies, Salt Lake City, UT — Energy Efficiency
Navitus Sustainable Industries, Salt Lake City, UT — Renewable Energy
Plexus Controls, Fountain Hills, AZ — Energy Efficiency
reNature, Inc., Scottsdale, AZ — Air, Water, & Waste
S&S, Craig, CO — Air, Water, & Waste
Seasonal Energy, San Francisco, CA — Energy Efficiency
Sedona Solar, Flagstaff, AZ — Renewable Energy
SmrtEn, Chandler, AZ — Energy Efficiency
Solar Pool Tech, Phoenix, AZ — Energy Efficiency
Sunshine Bottling, Englewood, CO — Renewable Energy
SwiftTram, Boulder, CO — Transportation
Bioroot Energy, LLC, Darby, MT — Transportation
Vortex Tools, LLC, Littleton, CO — Energy Efficiency
Other regions’ semifinalists will be added as we learn of them. What’s next for semifinalists? They attend “academies” for cleantech startups, held the weekend of June 22, 2012, in Boston and Silicon Valley.
Energy Priorities 
It’s inspiring to see so many companies competing in an arena that only benefits all of us. Programs such as this are a beacon of light toward a better future economically, environmentally, and intellectually! Kudos.
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