Hottest startups woo cleantech investors with wide-ranging tech

Life isn't easy for startups, especially those looking for cash at a time when private equity and institutional investors are spending slowly (see More deals, fewer dollars for cleantech in '09?).

But nearly 20 companies tried their luck pitching to the more-than 900 attendees of the Cleantech Forum XXI in San Francisco this week.

Entrepreneurs from a wide variety of cleantech categories took the opportunity to present colorful visuals and persuade investors that the business plans were secure, despite the global economic crisis.

We monitored the presentations, and picked out a few favorites.

Ener-G-Rotors: Schenectady, N.Y.-based Ener-G-Rotors developed an expander appliance to capture low-grade, low-temperature waste heat from industrial, combined heat power operators and commercial buildings.

The company was given an award for the most promising technology at the forum. Browse past winners here »

Low grade heat that is lost in energy consumption every year could heat every U.S. residence for three years, CEO Michael Newell said. Ener-G-Rotor’s appliance is installed next to the heat source and uses an organic rankine cycle to extract heat from vapor and steam at temperatures as low as 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ener-G-Rotors' engineering and mechanical designers are working on a 50 kilowatt system for 2010 that will cost customers about $1.07 per watt.

“It’s a very simple, yet elegant design that is economical to make but efficient as an expander, allowing us to get all of the energy out of the vapor,” Newell said.

Customers can purchase energy or the appliance, which can generate over $42,000 worth of electricity per year and has a two-to-three year payback time.

WindSight: Ann Arbor, Mich.-based wind forecasting company WindSight presented its direct detection LIDAR technology to find the best sites for wind farms.

Almost 80 percent of wind farms are not meeting their power projections due to non-optimal site assessments and operational problems, according to CEO Peter Tchoryk.

WindSight’s technology not only measures the speed and direction of wind, but its temperature and density, which is critical for optimal turbine placement. WindSight customers include turbine manufacturers, farm assessors and farm operators.

WindSight’s technology can provide 3D mapping of a 7,000 acre site with one system that measures actual air molecules with a laser sensor.

The technology is based on $76 million of systems already built for NASA, NOAA and Department of Defense. WindSight is now moving into the commercial sector.

WindSight expects to be in full production by 2010.

Achates Power: President and CEO David Johnson presented the San Diego, Calif.-based company’s clean diesel engine as a solution to growing government mandates for increased fuel efficient vehicles.

Achates’ two-stroke engine lacks a cylinder head, which is an engine component that loses 8 percent of energy as heat. The power-dense, lighter engine balances forces and torque in its streamlined, symmetrical design.

“Diesel is the most efficient thermo-dynamic process capable in a combustion engine,” Johnson said.

Achates is now engaging with industry leaders such as the military and major automotive companies after 10 years of research and preparation. The company expects to develop a customer focused engine in the coming year and sign licenses in the following year.

Veranda Solar: Veranda Solar presented a solar module solution to urban dwellers that don’t have a house to mount panels on.

Veranda modules are smaller-scale panels that hang out of windows or attach to balconies or walls. The panel’s “scale inverter” plugs into a common wall socket and slows down the meter as the panel converts sunlight to electricity. Veranda’s product promises correct regulation compliance for feeding excess power back to the grid.

A single day of soaking up the sun can produce one-third of a household’s power needs, according to CEO Capra J’neva.

Veranda plans to distribute its modules through electronic, home décor and home improvement stores.

J’neva said she is talking to the right people about building rebates into the cost of the panel. The company expects an affordable price due to the absence of installation costs, which account for half of solar expenses, J’neva said.

Earth Class Mail: CEO Rob Wiener presented the Earth Class Mail online program that reduces 75 percent of mail volume deliveries.

“National postal organizations operate the largest vehicle fleets, the greatest number of buildings and are among the largest energy users in their countries,” Wiener said.

Earth Class Mail seeks to alleviate national post energy consumption and the eco-unfriendliness of the paper industry.

Earth Class Mail’s program allows mail recipients to choose the destination of their mail online. Recipients can click the shred and recycle, scan and email, or normal delivery option.

The business plan depends on revenue from advertisers who will use the web pages as their billboards as well as send ads directly to mail recipients.

Earth Class Mail raised $5.1 million in a round of funding from an undisclosed group of angel investors in October 2008 (see Solar sector deals continue to shine).

Earth Class Mail business leaders, who are experienced in the IT and postal industry sectors, are slowly applying their innovation from the commercial world to national post agencies. The company already has residential, business, government and military customers in 175 countries, Wiener said.

LifeCrete EcoMasonry: LifeCrete CEO Ron Bessette presented the LifeBlock, a masonry construction block made from cement and hemp, which is grown without pesticides.

A typical home contains indoor environmental health contaminants and has a carbon footprint of about 40 to 50 tons of carbon dioxide. LifeBlocks are the first carbon negative masonry blocks and have zero offgassing, Bessette said.

The block, comparable in weight to a cinder block, can be modified with conventional power tools and eliminates the need for insulation, sheet rock, siding and paint. LifeCrete customers have experienced a reduction in energy bills by up to 50 percent, according to Bessette.

According to Bessette, half of all homes built by 2014 will be green homes and LifeCrete expects to supply that demand.

GreenRoad: GreenRoad has developed a software service that is expected to change the way people drive and reduce fuel consumption.

“Driving behavior is responsible for 95 percent of crashes and one-third of fuel consumption,” said CEO Dan Steere. GreenRoad software has reduced crash costs by 49 percent and fuel consumption and emissions by 10 percent.

The hardware is installed in a vehicle and analyzes a driver’s maneuvers, recognizing unsafe or inefficient movements. It immediately alerts the driver and sends feedback to the Web, where it will later coach the driver for improved behavior.

GreenRoad’s $1,000, three-year subscription is for individual consumers, commercial fleets and insurers.

GreenRoad expects to sell more than 20,000 vehicle subscriptions by the end of 2009 and close to 200,000 subscriptions by 2011.

Browse past coverage of top startups here »

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