Entrepreneurs from fifteen countries participated in the Cleantech Open Global Forum in November, an annual event since 2006, to compete who has the cleanest solution of all. The Cleantech Open is a non-profit organization whose mission is to find, fund and foster entrepreneurs with big ideas that address today’s most urgent energy, environmental and economic challenges.
I was right again in picking the winner this year. PowWow Energy won the grand prize of $250,000. Their service offering is to detect irrigation water system leakage for farmers, at a low cost and easy to sign up manner.
Second prize was awarded to HJ3 which makes carbon composite materials that is lightweight, corrosion and fire resistant, and stronger than steel. Third place went to Bio Adhesive, which uses pig manure to produce green, low cost, and durable bio-adhesives. Who would have thought that pig poop could make money!
A few other entrepreneurs have some interesting ideas for products and services.
- AquaPedal – Makes a low cost, hands-free mechanical faucet actuator that can save water and energy.
- Refresh – Makes water vending kiosks that store water bottles empty and collapsed, then expand and fill the bottles with filtered, flavored or carbonated water, thereby cutting the water vending cost and carbon footprint of bottled water.
- Effortless Energy – Helps home energy efficiency improvements by lending homeowners money for the improvements and getting paid back by splitting the energy cost savings over the coming years.
- Sealed Homes – Guarantees homeowners savings from home energy efficiency improvements through an energy billing arrangement where homeowners pay less than they would have paid without energy efficiency upgrades.
- Garden Fresh Farm – Builds indoor hydroponic farms where vegetable grow on big rotating cylinders that dip in solution once every 30 minutes, hence uses 90% less water and requires less space.
- Nanoarchitech – Offers a portfolio of building material technologies that reduces health risk, energy waste and carbon emission.
- Modula S – Makes a hyper efficient net zero building construction system that costs less and reduces the time to build.
- e-gological – Makes a foldable electric bicycle that can go 20 miles on a single charge and runs at a top speed of 15mph.
