Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization and Fraunhofer TechBridge Announce Third Utility Technology Challenge, $50,000+ in Evaluation Projects for Winners

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI) today announced its third annual Utility Technology Challenge, a technology-matching program that bridges the gap between the laboratory and the marketplace for early stage clean tech ventures. This year, CTSI adds a new partner, Fraunhofer TechBridge; together, the organizations aim to create an award pool of $50,000 specifically allocated to pilot projects for Challenge winners.

The Utility Technology Challenge mobilizes corporate integrators and utilities into connecting top-level solutions with the test beds that can prove them out.

"For two years, through this program, we have vetted hundreds of clean tech start-up companies and catalyzed partnerships both in the United States and abroad," said CTSI President and Founding Chairman Matthew Laudon. "Our exciting new partnership with Fraunhofer means that there are even greater incentives for businesses with promising technologies to enter the Challenge and for utilities to engage the winners with pilot testing initiatives."

Fraunhofer TechBridge, based out of the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE), supports clean energy technologies in their transitions from the laboratory to the market. TechBridge has helped early-stage cleantech companies with initiatives such as U-Launch awards, which are funded by the US DOE with a three-year, $1.1M award. Fraunhofer administers U-Launch awards with involvement from the New England Clean Energy Foundation (NECEF), the Association of CleanTech Incubators of New England (ACTION) and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). One U-Launch award recipient, FirstFuel, recently leveraged its awarded services to secure $2.4 million in venture financing for remote building audits.

"We are excited to bring our experience in assisting early-stage cleantech companies to the Utility Technology Challenge," said Nolan Browne, Managing Director of Fraunhofer CSE. "CTSI's platform has fostered new ways for innovators and utilities to interact, and we feel that TechBridge's proven success in supporting the commercialization of early-stage clean energy technologies for utility applications will spur further productive partnerships resulting from this Challenge."

Key technology solution areas for the contest include: transmission and distribution, smart grid, industrial/commercial energy/power efficiency, alternative power generation, renewable/alternative energy, and carbon management and reduction.

Companies participating in the Utility Technology Challenge will gain visibility with the UTC utility and industry partner group. In the past, participating partners have included: Accenture, Austin Energy, the City of Anaheim's Center for New Energy Technologies, National Grid, Northeast Utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), Sempra Energy, and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Over the course of several review rounds, this group will select the top solutions to present at the Clean Technology 2012 Conference at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California, June 18-21, 2012. These semifinalists will have an opportunity to network with the utility partner group and other potential partners and customers in attendance, and the top three winners will receive funded services for pilot testing with utilities.

The solicitation for applications will open December 1, 2011. Organizations with pilot-ready or early-commercial stage solutions targeting utilities and large customers should apply here:

http://ct-si.org/services/cleanTest/challenge.html.

About CTSI

Clean Technology & Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI) is a 501c6 nonprofit organization with the goal of commercializing clean technologies through technology integration between corporations, utilities, government, and academia. CTSI presents the Utility Technology Challenge, the Defense Energy Technology Challenge, the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit, and other initiatives. For more information, visit http://ct-si.org.

About Fraunhofer TechBridge and Center for Sustainable Energy Systems

Fraunhofer's TechBridge commercialization program helps emerging sustainable energy startups to develop their technologies, bridging the gap from laboratory to wide-scale production. U-Launch awards are managed by TechBridge in collaboration with the New England Clean Energy Foundation (NECEF), the Association of CleanTech Incubators of New England (ACTION) and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). The Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE) is an applied research and development laboratory dedicated to the commercialization of clean energy technologies. CSE engages in collaborative research and development with private companies, government entities, and academic institutions, performing research that broadly benefits firms, industries, and society. These partnerships take a wide variety of forms, including confidential co-development programs, third-party technology validation, and joint applications for grant programs. Major lab and field testing initiatives focus on energy-efficient building technologies and PV module design and manufacturing.

Founded in 2008 and supported by the Massachusetts state government, the CSE is affiliated with the international research network of Germany's Fraunhofer Society, Europe's largest contract R&D organization. For more information, visit http://cse.fraunhofer.org.

Media Contacts:
Laura Benold, CTSI
[email protected]
512-800-9798

Emily Dahl, Fraunhofer CSE
[email protected]
617-714-6517

SOURCE Clean Technology & Sustainable Industries Organization