NineSigma Launches International Grand Challenge for Climate Change and Emissions Management (CCEMC) Corporation

CLEVELAND, Feb. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, NineSigma, Inc., the leading innovation partner to organizations worldwide, has launched an open innovation Grand Challenge, on behalf of The Climate Change and Emissions Management (CCEMC) Corporation, that will create new, carbon-based products and markets. It is expected to identify multiple technologies that will provide significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by transforming carbon from a liability into an asset.

Submissions are open at www.ccemcgrandchallenge.com and technical solution providers are encouraged to register now to signify their interest.

"We are seeking credible, bright ideas from around the world that will repurpose carbon and use it as a starting material, helping Alberta to create a cradle to cradle cycle for carbon," said CCEMC Chair Eric Newell. "The approach could deliver significant reductions in greenhouse gases, complement other greenhouse gas reduction strategies, strengthen our economy and enhance Alberta's competitiveness."

The CCEMC Grand Challenge: Innovative Carbon Uses seeks novel solutions – bright ideas at any stage of development that are rooted in solid science. Focus areas include, as examples, processes that produce high value goods from greenhouse gas emissions, technologies that fix captured carbon into solid or readily transportable starting materials, high-value materials with high carbon content that could be produced from greenhouse gases and biological processes that capture or consume carbon and convert it into a new viable product, such as the creation of oils from algae.

"NineSigma brings a global network, relationships with diverse scientific communities and extensive experience running Grand Challenges to CCEMC. Together, we are reaching out to the world and tapping the 'global brain' for the best ideas from the most brilliant thinkers," said Andy Zynga, CEO of NineSigma. "We are inspired to be a part of this event and look forward to the solutions it will generate," he added.

This Grand Challenge is a multi-year event which leverages open innovation to identify solutions from around the world. It is designed to help strengthen Alberta's economy and competitiveness in global energy markets, while offering a competitive structure for anyone to provide ideas, intellectual property (IP), technology or processes, and reap tremendous rewards. These include a significant financial award, and the opportunity to make a major impact on the future of mankind. Ultimate success in this challenge will result in technologies that can provide a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 1 megatonne.

NineSigma will reach out to a broad spectrum of innovation communities, including the company's own network of millions of innovators. NineSigma's Ph.D.-level scientists have helped design the Grand Challenge to encourage participation from qualified innovators across disciplines, including those not directly involved in projects related to energy or the environment.

The Grand Challenge includes three rounds of evaluation and awards over five years. In the initial round, the CCEMC will award grants of up to $500,000 to a maximum of twenty participants. Initial submissions are due July 15, 2013, and winners will be announced in March 2014. In subsequent rounds, fewer participants will receive larger grants. Ultimately, a single winner will receive a $10 million grant to assist in establishing and commercializing their technology.   

Solution providers can learn more about the Grand Challenge by going to the CCEMC Grand Challenge gallery on NineSights®, NineSigma's open innovation exchange platform. Solution providers can register on NineSights to download all documents related to the Challenge, ask questions, and sign up to receive regular updates.

About NineSigma

NineSigma connects organizations with external innovation resources to accelerate innovation in private, public and social sectors. The company provides open innovation services to organizations worldwide, including Kraft Foods, Philips, Siemens, and Unilever, to solve immediate challenges, integrate new knowledge, fill product pipelines, and stay ahead of the competition. Named to the 2012 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private U.S. companies, NineSigma's proprietary process has produced billions of dollars in value for its clients. NineSigma has the largest open global network of solution providers and an extensive database of existing solutions spanning numerous industries and technical disciplines. NineSigma's online innovation community, NineSights®, is the world's first open innovation social media destination, connecting innovators of all sizes with resources and relationships to drive growth. Learn more at www.ninesigma.com and www.ninesights.com. 

About the CCEMC
The CCEMC is an Alberta, Canada based not-for-profit corporation that operates independently of government. Funding for the CCEMC is collected from industry. Since 2007, Alberta companies that annually produce more than 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over a baseline are legally required to reduce their greenhouse gas intensity by 12 per cent. Companies have three options to meet their reduction target: improve the efficiency of their operations, buy carbon credits in the Alberta-based offset system or pay $15 into the Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund for every tonne over the reduction limit. The CCEMC invests the money collected into the discovery, development and deployment of clean technology. More detail on CCEMC is available at www.ccemc.ca.

Media Contact: 
Jackie Lucas, Warner Communications — [email protected], (978) 255-1159 

SOURCE NineSigma, Inc.