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California Clean Tech Open Announces Inaugural Winners

Posted on: Wednesday, 27 September 2006, 12:00 CDT

Organizers of the California Clean Tech Open gathered at City Hall

yesterday to unveil the five winners of the inaugural competition. Each

winner received more than $100,000 worth of prizes in a "start-up in a

box" prize package comprised of $50,000 cash, legal services, accounting

services, public relations consulting, office space and executive search

services. The winners are: Adura Technologies in the Energy Efficiency

Category, GreenVolts in the Renewable Energy Category, KiteShip in the

Transportation Category, EDC Technologies Inc. in the Smart Power

Category, and Crystal Clear Technologies in the Water Management

Category.

"The response from entrepreneurs to the

California Clean Tech Open has been overwhelming and has exceeded our

expectations," said competition co-chairs

Laurent Pacalin and Michael Santullo. "The

judges' decisions were difficult, but we're

confident that the competition's winners

offer the best combination of sound business model and innovative

technology in their respective categories. These five companies

exemplify the competition's mission to

encourage economic growth and environmental sustainability by creating a

clean technology cluster in California."

The competition's awards ceremony took place

from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and features remarks from the winners,

competition organizers, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, leading

venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, California Energy Commissioner Art

Rosenfeld and Ralph Cavanagh of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The Winners and First Runners Up

The California Investor Owned Utilities

Energy Efficiency Prize:

Adura Technologies (www.adura.com)

provides a wireless lighting management solution designed to save

businesses over 50 percent on lighting energy costs and offers a quick

payback. With flexibility enough to allow easy configuration for growing

or shrinking lighting needs, Adura enables dramatic energy savings as

well as dynamic control capabilities.

First runner up in the Energy Efficiency Category: Nila Inc. (www.nila.tv).

The AMD Smart Power Prize:

EDC Technologies has developed a hot water controller that reduces

natural gas consumption in Multifamily Apartments, Condominiums,

Dormitories and Hotels/Motels by 15 to 40 percent. The technology allows

users to see proof of their savings via the internet where they are

offered the ability to view performance of other components within their

hot water environment.

First runner up in the Smart Power Category: Energy Recommerce (www.energyrecommerce.com).

The Lexus Transportation Prize:

KiteShip (www.kiteship.com)

develops, builds and sells very large traction kites, which reduce ship

owners' crippling fuel costs by up to 25

percent, and vastly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants.

First runner up in the Transportation Category: Aurora Biofuels (www.aurorabiofuels.com).

The Agora Foundation Water Management

Prize:

Crystal Clear Technologies (CCT), using nano-coating technology, has

created proprietary filter media with dramatically higher absorption

capability and capacity than currently available media, at considerably

lower costs. CCT can deliver potable water from a river at $1.50 per 100

gallons, versus competitive systems that offer $16.50 - $49 per 100

gallons.

First runner up in the Water Management Category: Meridian Design (www.uvaquastar.com).

The Renewable Energy Prize:

GreenVolts (www.greenvolts.com)

supplies renewable energy matching peak demand at costs competitive with

natural gas used for peak demand generation. Our revolutionary High

Concentration Photovoltaic (HCPV) technology produces energy at half the

cost of traditional solar panels without reliance on scarce silicon

wafers.

First runner up in the Renewable Energy Category: CoolEarth Solar (www.coolearthsolar.com).

"The California Clean Tech Open is a perfect

example of the practical initiatives that will make the city of San

Francisco and the state of California, epicenters for innovation in

environmentally-conscious technology," said

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. "The City

is honored to host this groundbreaking competition. Today's

winners will be an important part of the fast-growing, clean-tech

industry in San Francisco."

The California Clean Tech Open received more than 155 submissions to its

initial challenge in May. A panel of experts--including

venture capitalists, researchers and faculty from the state's leading

universities and research laboratories, and leading industrialists from

related sectors--narrowed the field to 43

finalists in June. The finalists spent the remainder of the summer

preparing their business plans, which were submitted at the end of

August. Judges spent the first several weeks of September determining

the winners.

About The California Clean Tech Open

The mission of the California Clean Tech Open is to encourage the

development of clean technology companies that foster a healthy natural

environment -- companies that provide

environmental benefits in the areas of renewable energy, energy

efficiency, pollution reduction and resource protection, and

conservation. The competition will also serve as a platform to educate

the public, as well as the participants, about the environmental

challenges we face and new technologies that can provide solutions to

those challenges. The inaugural competition opens in April 2006, and

winners will be announced in September at a finals event in the Bay

Area. The best plan submitted from five categories --

Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Smart Power, Transportation, and

Water Management -- will be awarded a bundle

of prizes to create a sustainable business. Prize sponsors to date

include: Energy Efficiency -- Pacific Gas and

Electric Company, Southern California Edison, Southern California Gas

Company, and San Diego Gas and Electric; Smart Power --

AMD; Transportation -- Lexus; Water Management --

Agora Foundation, led by President Wynnette LaBrosse. The competition

was initiated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Club of

Northern California (MITCNC) with charter partners Wilson Sonsini

Goodrich & Rosati, Horn Murdock Cole, A&R Edelman, Plug & Play Real

Estate, PeopleConnect and CalCEF. Ernst and Young and MCF Corp. are also

supporting the competition as Gold Sponsors.

A group of entrepreneurs and technologists from Silicon Valley --

Derry and Charlene Kabcenell, Mark Farley, Frank H. Levinson, Geoff

Ralston, and Michael and Amy Santullo -- have

generously provided the charter funding to launch the competition. The

2006 Host City is the City of San Francisco. Venture capital partners

are Advanced Technology Ventures, Chevron Ventures, Draper Fisher

Jurvetson, Foundation Capital, New Enterprise Associates, J.P. Morgan's

Bay Area Equity Fund, and Venrock Associates. Innovation partners

include Electric Power Research Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National

Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Palo Alto Research

Center, SRI International, and Technology Ventures Corporation.

Competition partners include Clean Edge and Clean Tech Venture Network.

University partners include: the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship &

Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley Institute

for the Environment; Business Association of Stanford Engineering

Students; Ward W. and Priscilla B. Woods Institute for the Environment

at Stanford University; Stanford Graduate School of Business

Environmental Management Club; and Stanford Graduate School of Business

Energy Club. Competition supporters include California Clean Energy

Fund, Environmental Entrepreneurs, CalPERS, and Natural Resources

Defense Council. The competition co-chairs are Laurent Pacalin and

Michael Santullo.

Acterra: Action for a Sustainable Earth, a California 501(c)3 non-profit

public benefit corporation (Tax ID 23-7064937) is the administrative and

fiscal sponsor of the 2006 California Clean Tech Open legally

responsible for the activities of the competition. Acterra is located at

3921 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303-4303. Additional details

about the program are available at www.CaCleanTech.com.

Source: Business Wire

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