The Nordic Cleantech Open final event at Aalto Venture Garage on the 25th of April is now sold out! There are still a few spots open at the Cleantech Venture Day on the 26th for those eager to meet the finalists. Register now for the Cleantech Cleantech Venture Day, the Cleantech Event of the year (even without the Nordic Cleantech Open Final)

Here is a report on the Nordic Cleantech Showcase in Pamplona generously organized and sponsored by Spanish venture capital company/regional development organisation Sodena (yes they are both of those in one!), who had put together a great program for the participating companies.

7/3 2012

We visited Sodenas office where we were given an introduction to the regional government of Navarras strategies for further improvement of the quality of life of its inhabitants. An essential part of these strategic plans is a very offensive focus on cleantech investments, both in terms of roll-out and in terms of venture capital. Sodena is one of the tools for achieving the strategic goals and an array of policy incentives are also in place to further boost cleantech developments. Sodena as an organisation is not only the official business promotion organisation of Navarra but also a VC investor. As such they do not only consider cash returns but also the impact on the strategic goals of the region.
Before lunch we went by bus trough what must truly be renewable energy heaven. Every other mountaintop has windmills spread out over them and on literally every other corner you will see blades waiting to be assembled or solar panels waiting to be installed. Next up was CENERs (the National Renewable Energy Centre) main office and laboratory in Sarriguren. At this facility research, testing and validation within some of the main cleantech focus areas is done; PVs, solar thermal, bio energy and energy in buildings.

Next stop was the Wind Turbine Test Laboratory in Sanguesa. In this facility Cener is able to test the strength and durability of the rotor blades of a wind turbine in full scale. This lab is if not the, than clearly among the, world leading in testing of entire wind technologies. This means among other things, to be able to simply whip entire blades trough air at high speed. A somewhat scary sight… Adding to this there are 6 nearby accredited field test sites where you can do tests, validation and research on all parts and aspects of wind turbines in full scale.

Also located at the Wind Turbine Test Laboratory is an experimental version of a micro grid.

Next stop was the 2nd Generation Biofuels National Research Center in Aoiz. This brand new facility is a pilot scale test factory for wood gasification.

8/3 2012

Our hosts Sodena had set up a number of meetings with local companies and organizations for each participating company. We were very impressed both with the numbers and the quality of the meetings that were set up. Professional translators had been assigned to the meetings where needed.

The Navarra region took us in with open arms, and gave us a good idea of what to expect if you want to do business there – a thriving cleantech innovation environment in a region that is economically very sound despite current financial turmoil. Navarra has seen companies such as Gamesa and Acciona take off during its renewable energy boom. Notably, Sodena was an early investor in both. Needless to say, these where to great success stories, that have led to an appetite for more investments in this space. Let’s hope the next ones will come out of the Nordics!

The official group photo

The top 10 Nordic Cleantech Open companies that will present at the final event in Aalto Venture Garage on the 25th of April are now selected. We made some short descriptions on what they do:

Aquiloz
Norway
www.aquiloz.com
If you think weather is just a conversation topic for old people you are wrong. For wind park owners correct predictions on future wind/production is essential. Aquiloz software does this using state of the art computational fluid dynamics

Word just reached us that the mineral and metals processing technology company Outotec has bought all shares in the Nordic Cleantech Open top 25 company Numcore. Read more in the press release. We congratulate both companies to the deal that we think sends a clear message to all cleantech investors:

Invest in the top 25 companies now and hurry up before they get acquired!

Enevo most certainly became the first company of the top 25 to announce an investment. They actually announced the investment of 200 000

We are very happy today to be ready to publicly announce the top 25 best Nordic Cleantech Startups. Below is a list of all the companies with very short descriptions of what they do. For a, still short, but longer description of the companies plus a inteviews and analyses please download the top 25 report. Enough written, here they are:

Aquiloz
Norway
www.aquiloz.com
Aquiloz is developing the next generation of wind power prediction and trading information system. The Aquiloz system use computational fluid dynamics – CFD models combined with both production forecasting, risk assessment and decision support tools. The system will deploy plug-ins and adaptors in order to be integrated with the customers existing systems.

Asema Electronics
Finland
www.asema.com
Asema Electronics manufactures consumer terminals and wireless controllers. Asema E electricity saver is a touchscreen display that offers an integrated Home Area Network gateway, home automation, per appliance power measurement, tariff driven home appliance control, and smart meter integration in one device.

Black Silicon Solar
Denmark
www.blacksiliconsolar.com
Black Silicon Solar develops a nanotechnology process for improving silicon solar cells in a cost-efficient way. Focusing on cost reduction rather than improving efficiency Black Silicon Solar has developed an alternative texturing process that reduce production cost, production time, use of toxic chemicals and use of silicon.

Carbatt
Norway
www.carbatt.no
Carbatt offer a solution to power electric vehicles based on a new unique nano-cell solid-state battery. The battery delivers energy densities above 30 times that of lithium batteries. This makes the electric vehicle not just competitive but superior to any combustion engine driven vehicle both in performance, range and cost.

Cellfab
Sweden
cellfab.se
Cell-reinforcement is a new, unique reinforcement method for concrete, asphalt and other materials. The Cell-reinforcement produced by Cellfab uses 75% less steel than traditional reinforcement. Cell-reinforcement also strengthens the structure and has better pressure- and crack distribution. The method can reduce labour costs with more than 50%.

CentriClean Systems
Sweden
www.centriclean.eu
CentriClean Systems offers its innovative technology, PowerSwirl

On Monday the 6 of February. Stay put because it is a great collection of companies representing the very best from the Nordic Cleantech startup scene.

The jury gradings are now almost all in and the work to adjust scores and sort out the final top 25 list will begin tomorrow Tuesday. All the competing companies will be notified of the results as soon as the final list is finished.

Applicants to the Nordic Cleantech Open represent the entire span of diversity within the cleantech field. Since last year the number of applicants from each segment have increased. The largest increase was in the transport segment (up 80%).

There was an increase in applicants from each of the Nordic countries except from Iceland this year compared to last year . The Largest increase in number of applicants were from Norway (up 46 %).