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Solar, Hydro, and Waste Processing Start-Ups Win $125,000 In Clean Energy Competition

Energy entrepreneurs in solar, hydro-power and waste processing convinced a panel of industry leaders and venture capitalist judges that their businesses can make clean energy competitive with conventional energy to win the finals of the 2006 Ignite Clean Energy Business Presentation Competition.

Energy entrepreneurs in solar, hydro-power and waste processing convinced a panel of industry leaders and venture capitalist judges that their businesses can make clean energy competitive with conventional energy to win the finals of the 2006 Ignite Clean Energy Business Presentation Competition.

Started in 2005 by the Energy Special Interest Group (ESIG) of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, the Ignite Clean Energy Competition provides training, mentoring, coaching, $125,000 in prizes and services to clean-energy entrepreneurs, with one overarching goal -- to build a thriving clean-energy industry in Massachusetts.

The winning team, Stellaris, expects to build a vibrant company in Lowell, Mass., capturing its share of the growing $11 billion in annual worldwide solar energy panel sales. Stellaris COO Lee Johnson presented the team's plan to the judges and an overflow audience of nearly 400 at the MIT Stata Center. Stellaris solves the high cost of solar energy systems by decreasing the solar module size by 40% while increasing the efficiency of its energy-generation by more than 20%. The Stellaris PowerTile(TM) captures and concentrates indirect light via a translucent panel that can be used in conventional windows, patio tiles, and skylights, combining architectural appeal with energy production.

For its efforts, the Stellaris team, which includes Marketing & Sales VP Tom Ward, won $15,000 cash, plus $25,000 in office/incubator space, and $7,500 in legal services. The award was presented by Warren Leon, director of the Massachusetts Technology Center's Renewable Energy Trust, a major sponsor of the competition.

"Winning this competition will greatly increase our visibility with potential investors on both coasts, and for this we are grateful," said Jim Paull, president and co-founder. "It is always rewarding when a team of industry experts from energy technology companies, venture capital firms, and academic technology experts confirm that you are on the right track."

Two second place teams each took home $5,000 cash awards, $25,000 in office/incubator space, and $5,000 in legal services:
  • Second place (professional) prize went to Solasta (The Eagle Axis), a Boston College faculty team developing ultra high efficiency solar cells using nanoscale elements. Solasta includes Kris Kempa, PhD, Mike Naughton, PhD, Zhifeng Ren, PhD, Jakub Rybczynski, PhD,Yang with advice from Mentors Chris Hobson, SVP Operations, eCredit, and Bud Enright, Vice President of Technology Business Development, HP, retired advised the team.

  • Feed Resource Recovery won the second place (student) prize for their company that uses food and other organic wastes to produce biomethane and a highly effective organic fertilizer. Feed Resource Recovery is a Babson College student team with Shane Eten and John Gingrich and advised by Mentor Jeff Behrens, former CEO, Telluride Group.

    The two third place winners won $2,500 cash awards, plus $12,500 in office/incubator space:

  • NatEl won third place (professional), to convert underutilized low-head dams for hydropower generation with its Linear HydroEngine technology, making existing small dams cost-effective power sources. NatEl includes Abe Schneider, Elizabeth Wayman, and Chris Rivest. Lucinda Seigel, Communications Solutions and attorney Jeff Seul mentored the team.

  • Synergetic Power Systems, an MIT-student team, took home 3rd prize (student) for their parabolic concentrating solar collector systems business. The team includes Amy Mueller, Matthew Orosz, Sorin Grama, Ignacio Aquirre, Perry Hung, Elizabeth Wayman and Mentor Mark Wolf.
Dr. Linda Plano, chair of the Ignite Clean Energy Competition, began the evening explaining the competition's focus on presentation skills. "Investors are a tough audience," Plano said, "Everyone wants to talk to them, everyone wants their money. They can usually pick and choose their investments. So it's critically important that an entrepreneur be able to catch an investor's imagination and hold it for ten minutes by getting them excited by the opportunity and confident of the team's ability to execute. Sometimes an entrepreneur will have 30 seconds, sometimes half an hour - but every entrepreneur should have a killer ten-minute presentation ready to go."

While the finalist's ten-minute presentations were the highlight of the evening, the crowd also took advantage of networking opportunities while viewing 30 exhibits presented by finalists, semi-finalists and sponsors. Technologies included a wide variety of solar, wind, hydrogen fuel cells, hydropower, biofuels, energy efficient desalination and water-purification, and harnessing heat energy from pavement.

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