The Clean Energy Alliance James F. Groelinger Executive Director Partnerships Furthering Commercialization - - - HVCFI/iCAN Entrepreneur’s Breakfast Forum Microsoft Store March 13, 2013
The Clean Energy Alliance
James F. GroelingerExecutive Director
Partnerships Furthering
Commercialization- - -
HVCFI/iCANEntrepreneur’s Breakfast Forum
Microsoft StoreMarch 13, 2013
CEA and its Mission- The Clean Energy Alliance (CEA) is a
non-profit national association of incubators and accelerators that have a focus on cleantech commercialization
- CEA develops and provides practices and resources that support clean energy business incubation, entrepreneurial mentoring and development, and technology commercialization.
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The Complete Picture
Client n
Members
Clients
Board of Advisors
Partner 1 NREL
Partner 2 DOE
Partner N……
Incubator 1 Incubator 2 Incubator N………..
Client 1
Client 2
Client n
Client 1
Client 2
Client n
Client 1
Client 2
Partner 3 NIST MEP
Board of Advisors
Partners
Affiliate Members
A Collaboration ExampleThe DOE Small Business and CEA Partnership
• During the summer of 2010, a $1.2 million ARRA grant was established
– Introduce SBIR, STTR, and other government-supported companies to the incubation, mentoring, and acceleration capabilities of CEA’s members
– Measure progress during mentoring period
– 23 CEA Members worked with 43 emerging companies– Results are currently being gathered for analysis and
publication, with numerous “success stories”• Provides basis for CEA to pursue additional SBIR
commercialization support opportunities
Another ExampleCEA & the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership
• Working with companies in the DOE/CEA Partnership drove home the realization that, at some point,
– However, manufacturing expertise was not a primary skill• NIST MEP is a nationwide network of centers with generally
outstanding manufacturing advisory capabilities– Introduced to NIST MEP by DOE, a collaboration was announced in early
2012– Two CEA/MEP collaborative mentoring projects have occurred
• CEA members have extensive capabilities in all of the support areas needed to support entrepreneurial business development
most of the companies would have to make something – their product
• In part attributable to the services provided by CEA members:– NuMat Technologies won the Grand Prize in the National Clean Energy Business Plan
Competition, as well as other a multitude of other honors– Energy Compression advanced its commercialization program by being able to construct
a working prototype and attracting a new CEO– Radiator Labs commenced a product demonstration pilot program at a Columbia
University residence hall– Architectural Applications received an SBIR Phase II award– Colnatec secured purchase orders from six of the largest manufacturers in OLED, and
accelerated sales by more than two years– Potential Difference Illinois secured collaborations with Southwest Research Institute– Power Tagging Technologies clarified its selling strategy, effected a management change,
and opened a previously-closed opportunity with a major utility customer– TerViva BioEnergy understood that its product could apply to four distinct markets, each
requiring a specific and targeted strategy; one size did not fit all– Versatilis was introduced to a private strategic investor that invested $2 million to
accelerate commercialization of the company’s technology– MTECH Laboratories significantly advanced its technology development plan and
commercialization strategy, and was awarded follow-on funding from additional government agencies to advance technology commercialization
A Sampling of Early Results
As a nationwide association, CEA has a unique ability to address issues and seize opportunities related to commercialization, incubation and acceleration, and the underlying support structure on a broader and more comprehensive scale than has been done to
date – and in a manner that complements the activities of regional and local entities.
An implementation of
Think Globally, Act Locally
Being National Matters!
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