Cleantech Scandinavia announces that the third edition of the start up competition Nordic Cleantech Open (NCO) is being launched today. It is the competition that upgrades and accelerates start up companies and puts the participants in front of the right people.

The program for this edition is ambitious and will include:

• A Nordic Camp in Lahti, Finland. The competing companies will be supported in their development by especially invited investors and industrials.
• Participation at the Corporate Cleantech Venture Day in Lahti, November 20th, 2013. The event focuses on the industry applications of cleantech solutions.
• A Nordic Cleantech Showcase in Paris, France. France has emerged as a leading European nation when it comes to new cleantech oriented venture funds.
• A grand final event in Stockholm in May 2014

The jury will, as previously, consist of more than 50 investors and influential industry representatives from multinational companies. This jury will select the top 25 companies.

“Our competition is different as we do not primarily focus on selecting one single winner. Our competition provides value for all applicants and most of all we provide value for our top 25 companies. These companies all have solutions with huge potential and we provide the tools and contacts necessary to reach this potential. Our jury, consisting of investors, industrials and other decision makers, are central both in selecting and supporting the companies

The finals were held at Aalto Venture Garage in connection with the Nordic Cleantech venture event of the year, Cleantech Venture Day in Finland. More than 50 international investors and 270 participants were present at the finals. The ten very best of this years almost 100 Nordic Cleantech Open applicants presented from stage. The winners were selected with the help of audience votes.

The winner of this years Nordic Cleantech Open is the amazing metal cutting optimizer service company Tomologic, is a Stockholm based company that offers a scalable online optimization service for sheet metal cutting. The process reduces scrap from raw material in this energy intensive industry up to 50%. It was a combination of Tomologics smart technology and go-to-market strategy that swinged, which earned them the number one spot.Read an intewiev with Josefin and Magnus from Tomologic here. (in Swedish)

Magnus and Josefin from Tomologic right after the competition

Magnus Norberg Ohlsson, CEO of Tomologic presenting his case from stage at the Nordic Cleantech open final

In second place came ash handling company Ultranat a Finnish company that turns waste to value. Ultranat makes use of ashes from bio-fuel power plants and turns ash into valuable nutrition and fertilizers. The only thing left is purified silicates that can be used for technical construction and special industrial applications. After the Ultranat End-of-Waste process, waste taxes on the ash are no more applicable. Read an interview with Hans from Ultranat here (in Swedish)

Hans Weckman CEO of Ultranat presenting his case from stage at the Nordic Cleantech Open Finals

For the third place two companies were inseparable when it came to scores. We just decided we had to award them both they are Black Silicon Solar and MetGen.

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,

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