Investment Exposure
The major challenge for new companies and investors alike is finding one another. Start-ups need funding and investors need exciting, new companies to invest in. Many cleantech investors see the search for the next big innovation in cleantech in a similar light to the search for oil. Since start-ups tend to focus more on R&D and less on promotion, they operate beneath the surface, out of view of most investors.
As with oil, the cleantech industry needs wells to go below the surface and usher emerging technologies to the surface and into the limelight. Unfortunately, many of these clusters and their associated companies miss opportunities to collaborate globally due to a lack of awareness, communication and resources.
The GCCA creates opportunities for global exposure and collaboration in a variety of ways. It co-hosts in-person events with member clusters, holds webinars and uses the crowd sourcing / social media site Skipso to facilitate online interaction across the globe. GCCA also hosts an annual award program that highlights the best innovations in clean technology, bringing international exposure to the top innovations coming out of the world's clean technology clusters.
"The world does not have the luxury to wait for the next, game changing clean technology to gradually rise to the surface," says Ben Taube, GCCA chair. "With the GCCA Later Stage Awards we spotlight the very best the industry has to offer and expose them to investment and business opportunities around the world."
Later stage companies nominated by cleantech clusters are judged by an impressive list of over 20 industry experts and Venture Capitalists (VCs). Some of the standout GCCA Judges hail from investors such as Al Gore's Generation Climate Solutions Fund, The Rockefeller Foundation, Dow Venture Capital, Expansion Capital Partners, BASF Venture Capital, U.S. Venture Partners, and many others. Together, GCCA Judges have invested an estimated $3.5 billion in cleantech globally.
"Making it to the final round will shine an investment spotlight on these companies that they otherwise might have struggled to gain, not to mention the market and customer exposure," says Nina Harjula, another GCCA co-founder (Finnish Cleantech Cluster).
The 10 Best in Class GCCA Later Stage Award 2011 winners will be announced during the EcoCity World Summit in Montreal, Canada (August 22-26, 2011). The deadline to nominate companies is May 12, 2011. A snapshot of recently nominated companies include Moventas, Clewer, and BaseN.
Moventas was nominated in the wind category for its high-quality, energy efficient gears for wind turbines, as well as their overhaul and maintenance services. In its service package, the company includes maintenance tools and technologies that help monitor components for possible failures.
Clewer received a nomination in the waste category for its highly efficient, small-scale waste water treatment system for houses and cottages. The biological treatment process uses specialized bacteria and nutrient technology to treat waste water and remove it from the system while sludge and chemical residue is safely collected into a septic tank.
In the energy efficiency category, BaseN has developed a large-scale infrastructure monitoring and management system that can immediately make real time data available to multiple consumers - organizations and households - cost effectively. Its proprietary BaseN Platform opens up new possibilities in energy and environment measurement because it can integrate sensors and other measurement devices such as electric, water and gas meters into one system.
