Last week in Silicon Valley, the Cleantech Open showcased 100 cleantech startups at its annual Global Forum. Coincidentally, I first started volunteering for them 10 years ago at the very same venue, the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. This year, for the second time, the event was co-located at the enormous Verge23 The Climate Tech conference, giving the entrepreneurs exposure to over 5,000 attendees.

Cleantech Innovation: US National Competition

Cleantech Open is the longest-running and largest business accelerator focused on early-stage cleantech startups. Every year since 2005, this tiny but mighty nonprofit trains and supports around 100 startup teams located across the United States. Additionally, the annual pitching competition gives each founder the chance to win big and get their startup noticed on the public stage.

This year, I had the responsibility of running the semifinal and final judging rounds for the US-based teams. A total of 18 teams reached the semifinals, being regional winners or runners-up. These ranged from A to Z quite literally! Active Surfaces invented a new solar thin-film flexible technology whilst Zinco Verde extracted zinc more sustainably. In between, Spacesense took the global view from satellites to produce tailored information, whereas Rivieh provided smart home comfort for hotel guests.

Six teams then moved through to the Finals where they pitched on the big stage to the public and a celebrity panel of judges. The Finalists were Active Surfaces, Benchmark Labs, Build Smartr, Cleonmaye, Solvari and Tyfast. A special shout out to my good friend and celebrity judge, Adrienne Pierce, CEO of New Sun Road. Thanks for your enthusiasm and support!

Cleantech Innovation: Global Ideas Competition

Cleantech Open also invites entrepreneurs from across the globe to pitch their cleantech innovation virtually, with the chance to win a trip to San Jose. This year, six of the seven finalists made it to the Global Ideas finals, coming from as far as France and Germany and as near as Mexico and Chile. I must not forget Optimal Greening, a Nigerian startup, who could not make it. They provide a fantastic community-based clean energy and waste management service.

Again, this competition gave us a wonderful array of climate-crisis busting ideas! For example, Dromos from Germany brought innovation to public transit with their electric pods running on existing infrastructure. And Muance from France used digital twinning to create modular buildings from their proprietary concrete. The other finalists were Pronoe, Strong by Form, S1Seven and Solfium.

Cleantech Innovation: Startup Expo

Verge23 was focused on cleantech innovation in all its forms. It was also invested in showcasing entrepreneurs in their Startup Pavilion. Cleantech Open had the biggest (and best) contingent of startups, with 100 current cohort and alumni teams. Each team also had the chance to give 1-minute pitches to the expo audience, giving extra exposure and some well-needed practice in real-life pitching!

Of note, Solvari’s side-by-side videos showed their all-in-one solar panel technology racing against traditional solar installations. Yes, Solvari panels are so much faster! The Ionworks team met at the University of Oxford – and based their battery-development AI solution on crowd-sourced software. Nice that the co-founder Rob (based in UK) also brought his family along for a vacation.

Cleantech Fundraising: Investor Connect

Another critical aspect of Cleantech Open’s program is the exposure to investors. At the Global Forum, 45 investors and 90 founders took part in the speed-dating Investor-Connect event. Each investor was matched with a handful of startups, who have just 10 minutes to impress them.

This is always a challenging and exciting event – but handled expertly by Ryan Hoover with his microphone in one hand and his electric fan in the other. I played my part with wrangling the teams and keeping them fired up to make big money connections.

Cleantech Winners: Awards Ceremony

The final part of our 3-day extravaganza was the Awards Ceremony and Luncheon, where we honored the winners and heard from some special speakers. The 3-person alumni panel gave intriguing and personal stories of their startup journey. Kat Janowicz’s keynote address highlighted the massive opportunities for cleantech in US ports, specifically LA and Long Beach.

And finally, the winners are! Dromos‘s public transit upgrade took the Global Ideas Runner-up prize, but the top spot went to Strong by Form. Their lightweight but strong wooden composite was a hit with the audience too, as they also won the Global People’s Choice award. Later, I saw their VP, Diego Lyon, running through San Jose airport with his giant $10,000 check under his arm!

Shiv Bhakta of Active Surfaces made an impact on the audience with his solar-shattering pitch to win the US National People’s Choice Award, and also took the runners-up spot. Drum roll for the US National Winner… The $50,000 SAFE note went to Tyfast, with its novel fast-charging battery designed to replace diesel engines. But, the Founder GJ La O’ had left the building! He had to go pick up his daughter from school in nearby San Mateo – kudos to him for putting his family first 🙂

Finally, a big shout-out to the staff (of five) and all our wonderful volunteers. And, of course, the brilliant entrepreneurs for their enthusiasm and energy – you make it all so worthwhile.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

The amazing Cleantech Open staff and volunteers!

P.S. In 2018, Cleantech Open’s Global Forum took place in Los Angeles!