June’s Colorado Cleantech Initiative began with an overview of the Rocky Mountain Clean Tech Open (CTO) provided by Wes Schrader who serves as the competition’s Contestant Chair. 2009 marks the first year of Clean Tech Open’s expansion outside of California where the competition has gone on for three years. This year, regional competitions will take place in California, the Rocky Mountain Region, and the Pacific Northwest with finalists selected from each to compete at the national level. According to Schrader, where the Clean Tech Open differentiates itself from other business competitions is through “work[ing] more proactively with contestants.” This proactive approach includes a 3-day accelerator program (“business school in a weekend”), several business symposiums and pairing with mentors. CTO alumnae have a track record of success with the 125 competitors from the previous three years raising $140M in capital.
In the Rocky Mountain’s inaugural year, 64 teams applied by submitting a 3-page executive summary by the May deadline. From this group, 12 have been selected as semifinalists and will go through the CTO program before completing a full business plan and investor pitch. The semifinalists provide a wide variety of clean tech solutions from solar concentration (Sunflower) to eco-friendly insulation (Husk Insulation) to toys made with sustainable practices (imagiplay). These 12 teams will compete in the Rocky Mountain Region in October to be one of three finalists to receive a prize package valued at $50K and have the opportunity to compete in the national finals for a $250K prize package. The CTO is seeking various forms of support for the Rocky Mountain Region event including volunteers, sponsors, and mentors. More information is available at the Clean Tech Open website.
Hank Held offered the first company pitch of the evening providing a case study about Mount Princeton Geothermal, LLC. The company’s project at Mount Princeton may serve as the first commercially viable geothermal project to generate electricity in Colorado. The project seeks to generate electricity through a closed-loop process where water heated in the earth generates steam which powers a turbine before being returned to the earth, a process known as non-consumptive pump and dump. The location offers several benefits including high temperature water, easy access to high tension power lines, and a shorter development timeline because of prior geothermal exploration completed in the 1970’s. The project, however, has proved somewhat complex from a political and legal perspective due to the need to navigate both state and federal laws and assuage land owners. Among the complications was the fact that rights to the geothermal resources were owned by the Federal government and not the landowners interested in leasing these rights to the company as originally believed. The company has several electric utilities interested in purchasing the power or buying the project outright when completed. Held stated the development offers a 22% ROI without tax considerations and 42% if the tax benefits are taken into account.
Ed VanDyne of VanDyne SuperTurbo offered the second presentation of the evening. Recently spun out of the Woodward Governor Company, VanDyne’s device provides “the best value to cost ratio” of any fuel saving technology. The device combines the benefits of a supercharger and a turbocharger – improving the power of the engine through providing more oxygen and capturing waste heat from exhaust. Included in a car design, this technology could provide over 30% fuel savings and C02 reductions through waste heat capture and allowing for a smaller engine while offering the same power. Retrofitted to a truck, the device provides 7% fuel savings which translates into over $4000 per year in gas. VanDyne hopes to enter the retrofit market for trucks and the motorsports market in two years and be incorporated into the initial manufacture of cars and other vehicles by 2013. The company has contracts to produce prototypes for several large industry players. The company will close a $1.5M friends and family round this summer and will be seeking a $5M venture round along with applying for numerous government grants.
The Colorado CleanTech Initiative (CCI) is a monthly networking and business development venue to help promote economic development throughout Colorado. The CCI is designed to help build a Colorado clean energy cluster through a robust business network. This network includes successful, serial business entrepreneurial companies, as well as development professionals that go beyond business mentors. They include a wide range of investors (including numerous angel groups), and others such as marketing experts. In addition, CCI provides access to virtual and traditional incubation services. Meetings are held at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce on the last Tuesday of every month. They include networking time and presentations by emerging energy companies or clean energy experts. CCI sponsors are CORE, Colorado’s sustainable business trade association, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
