Transcript The Clean Tech Center The Clean Tech Center      Organizational overview Partners / Consortium model Program milestones Process Portfolio companies.

The Clean Tech
Center
The Clean Tech Center
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Organizational overview
Partners / Consortium model
Program milestones
Process
Portfolio companies
CenterState CEO
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The Clean Tech Center is part of CenterState CEO’s
Innovation and Technology Portfolio
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Program areas include: The Tech Garden, SATOP,
Student Sandbox, Grants for Growth, $200,000 Emerging
Business Plan Competition, I-81 Pre-Seed Workshop
Series, EIR and extensive regional mentor/coach network
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Related funding programs: GSBDC Quasi Equity Fund
and the Seed Capital Fund of CNY; Founding member of
NYAN
Syracuse
Technology Garden
Incubator
The
Clean Tech
Center
Syracuse
Student
Startup
Accelerator
Technology
Incubator
The Clean
Tech
Center
Seed Capital
Funding
Fund of
CNY, LLC Programs
Student
Sandbox
Innovation
Support
Services
Small Business
Technical
Assistance
Technology
Commercialization
SATOP
Assistance
Programs
A well aligned innovation ecosystem model
CenterState Footprint
The Clean Tech Center
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Consortium-based model that leverages regional assets
Builds on strengths identified in Battelle Study
200 member regional network of researchers,
entrepreneurs, investors, funders, agencies, colleges and
universities, and policy makers, has been engaged in
building this clean tech cluster for five years
The Clean Tech Center was recently recognized by
Sustainable World Capital as one of “Top Ten Clean Tech
Cluster Organizations in the World” in February 2010
Cleantech Group report
Key partners
Program milestones
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Completed comprehensive regional asset guide
Completed database / innovation pipeline prospect list
Created program partnership with SBDC
Created funding partnership with SBA
Created program partnership with Kauffman Foundation
- Enitiative
NYS policy initiatives related to seed funding; Governor’s
Small Business Task Force – on the “Access to Capital”
work team and helped shape the Technology Seed Fund
Program milestones
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Clean Tech 2.0 – comprehensive social media platform
www.cleantechny.blogspot.com has become recognized
information resource, with blog followers in more than 60
countries
“Green Biz Days” with SBDC and through outreach -provided counsel and technical assistance to more than
110 companies in first year of program
14 portfolio companies in first two rounds
Program milestones
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NYE-RIC proposal – core writing team
 $130 million application, mobilized in 87 days across
multiple state agencies, academic institutions
 340 page application, with 1564 supplemental pages
 Four concurrent federal agency submissions: DOE,
SBA, EDA and NIST
 Landmark Upstate – Downstate collaboration effort
 Led by Syracuse University – SyracuseCoE
NY Building Energy Sustainability
Systems Consortium (NYBESS):
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Members: Syracuse University and the CoE, Columbia’s
Earth Institute, Brookhaven National Lab, RPI’s Lighting
Research Center, and corporate partners such as the
IBM Watson Research Center; Partnership for NYC and
CenterState CEO.
DOE HUB -- $122,000,000 request submitted by
Syracuse University as lead applicant
EDA -- $5,000,000 request submitted by CUNY
NIST/MEP -- $500,000 request submitted by NYSTAR
SBA/CFDA -- $175,000 request submitted by SUNY
Research Foundation / NYS SBDC
Program milestones
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Worked with National Grid on its Smart Grid proposals
i6 regional EDA application proposal underway
Contemplating Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse EDA
JumpStart initiative led by University of Buffalo
Nasir Ali and Martin Babinec launched Upstate Venture
Connect
Developed and delivered statewide Cornell webinar
series on green entrepreneurship (40 communities)
Working with Sustainable World Capital and other global
clusters on a “cluster of cluster” network
Program milestones
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Integrating clean tech sector development into bigger
picture … The Clean Tech Center is both early stage /
tech commercialization program and a regional economic
development strategy
Focus on Sustainability and green behavior change
Profiled in Partners for Livable Communities publication
this month, funded by Rockefeller Brothers Fund
One of five national finalists for the North American
Sustainable Enterprise Award by The Institute for
Sustainable Development
Process
Focused process that provides a broad breadth of services
for early stage clean tech companies, from concept to
commercialization, including:
 Business plan / market strategy development
 Technology validation / IP platform
 Funding plan / sources of early stage and growth capital
 Networking / clean tech cluster development / strategic
partnerships
 Education / Pre-seed workshops, technical programs
Process is strategic and
milestone driven
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Competitive / vetted application process; Three rounds a
year, with rolling applications
MOU and IAP or AAP; possible EIR engagement
Cost-sharing against milestone progress checklist:
Business plan; IP strategy; Prototype development; Thirdparty testing and validation; Investor pitches; Seed
Funding; Scale-up
Provide and coordinate investment pitch review / pitch
opportunities / connections to investors
Our internal goals
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Proof-of-concept funding with appropriate project
management
Community engagement, networking, and teambuilding
Business strategy support and mentoring
Educational resources
Media relations and showcasing of projects
Measurement and evaluation of results
Metrics
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A good conversation to have because we are test-driving
incuTrak
Ideas: New company formation, founding equity
investments, grants secured, follow-on funding, products
launched, sales growth, jobs and traditional measures
Indirect: Creating a high velocity of start-ups, creating
new seed or venture funds, attracting capital, increasing
number of angel investors/networks, net wealth creation,
successful exits and reinvestment in the cluster
Stretch goals
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Better connecting Upstate and Downstate to leverage the
distinct assets of each
Catalyzing more inter-regional collaboration to drive a
fundamental economic transformation
Developing a cleantech “export” mindset, as well as
building the state clean energy economy
Continuing innovative program, policy and regulatory
initiatives to drive markets
Portfolio companies
IntelliSyn
Orthogonal Inc.
Antek
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Silicon hetero-junction solar PV cell, using proprietary
process that reduces cost of production and results in
increased voltage compared to current first generation
solar PV cells
GoVo
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First scalable liquid biomass project in NYS, utilizing
vegetable oil as an alternative to heating and diesel fuel,
and looking at how boiler equipment modifications can
accommodate VOF fuels and increase efficiency gains
Greenview
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A proprietary system that integrates real-time energy
information, utility data and site assessments to identify
energy conservation opportunities, using its unique IP to
remotely monitor and control energy use
Impact Technologies
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Vertical wind turbine with low cut in speeds; Prototype
developed and in testing / proof of concept through
venture with SUNY ESF
IntelliSyn
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Syracuse University spin-out that ferments biobutonal as
an alternative to fuel, producing it at a lower cost than
competing processes by eliminating a step in the
fermentation process; Technology valuation completed
Microgen
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The world’s leader in MEMS scale, low cost, long-life
rechargeable, self-generating battery technology that
harvests ambient vibrations to power large scale wireless
sensor nodes
Paper Battery
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RPI spin-out developer of paper thin, sheet scale
rechargeable energy storage devices based on
breakthrough supercapacity technology that is on the
cutting edge of flexible nanocomposite energy storage
Solar Novar
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Unique electromechanical solar tracking platform
designed for rugged climates that not only acts like a
conventional dual axis tracker, but through unique
software intelligence can dump heavy snow and handle
high winds, with pilot installations showing 40% efficiency
gains
Applied Biorefinery Sciences
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Early stage spin-off from SUNY ESF that is
commercializing proprietary bioconversion technology
which purifies petroleum substitute chemicals from woody
biomass, leaving the wood chips intact and improved for
traditional uses such as manufacture of fuel pellets;
Purified chemicals can be converted to substitutes for
liquid fuels
Cameron Manufacturing and
Design
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A collaboration with Clarkson University to design and
fabricate a grid electrode precipitator (GEP) that reduces
the concentration of air-borne particles in clean rooms,
while producing greater energy efficiency. Testing will be
done in a clean room that Cameron is donating to
Clarkson, which will ultimately go to the Infotonics Center
in Rochester upon proof of concept.
EV Plug
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Provides a comprehensive information gateway to deploy
and manage electric vehicle charging infrastructure;
company is working to install a large regional electric
vehicle charging infrastructure as part of Smart Grid. The
company also operates cuseCar, a car sharing program
that uses alternative fuel vehicles
Orthogonal
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Spin-out of Cornell University that has created a new
photolithography platform that enables the direct
patterning of chemically sensitive organic materials with a
proprietary photo resist material, using “green”
processing to manufacture large scale OLED displays. It
recently won first place in the “World’s Best Technology”
(WBT) award competition conference in Austin, Texas.
For information
www.centerstateceo.com
www.thecleantechcenter.com
www.cleantechny.blogspot.com
www.thetechgarden.com
Find us in Clean Tech 2.0 space:
Introducing MicroGen
David Hessler, Acting CEO of MicroGen, is an entrepreneur
and business executive with expertise in operations
management and private equity financing. He was principal of
a small venture capital fund and Managing Director of two
middle market investment banking firms. He has also been
Chairman and CEO of technology companies, including
Information Transfer Inc., a manufacturer of defense
electronic equipment. He worked in a variety of increasinglyresponsible positions in strategic, financial and product
planning at Xerox during its period of dynamic growth.