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The top 25 Nordic Cleantech Start-ups
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Introduction
The Jury
The Applicants
The Top 25
Gender Bias
Interviews
A look at previous contestors
Sofia Kocher, Vasasensor
Jonas Carlsson, Just Common Sense
Hilmir Jonsson, Remake Electric
The Top 25 Companies
Arsizio
ATC Industrial Group
Biocover
BioGTS
Chromafora
Cityntel
Clean Motion
ClimaCheck
CorPower Ocean
Craynano
Cyclicor
Disruptive materials
DWT
Ecofective
Ferroamp Elektronik
Giamag Technologies
Graphene batteries
Nocart
Optistring
Orbital Systems
SenSiC
Spectral Engines
Stigo Electric Scooter
Tamturbo
Thermo Power Scandinavia
About the founders
| Contents
Introduction
This year we received 107 applications to the Nordic Cleantech Open. It is an increase with 20% compared to last round. This mirrors in a good way what we see in our everyday work. The number of cleantech companies coming out of the Nordic innovation system is ever increasing. The Nordic Cleantech Open is a competition that aims to identify, upgrade and highlight the 25 most promising start-ups. The competition also aims to benefit the entire field of Nordic cleantech in that it is marketing the entire amazingly diverse, numerous and innovative span of new exciting companies that are currently coming out of the gates. We promote the Nordic cleantech brand by putting the companies in front of international investors and industrials. All though we see the Nordic Cleantech startup scene as a large smorgasbord, all the time filling up with even more of these countless delicacies, we do know many will end up failures. It is the sad fact of any startup scene that good ideas usually, fore different reasons, just do not pass the harsh test of reality. This makes picking the winners the challenge. The Nordic Cleantech Open is serving the boiled down result of the preferred menu choices of over 50 venture capital and corporate venture capital investors. These companies represent the butter from the rich cream of Nordic cleantech start-ups. Like fine wine, these companies will mature and become even better with age. There will be less successful cases even among the selected few but have no doubt; here lies the future, the new green economy and the shooting stars of business to be.
The Jury | nordiccleantechopen.com | 04
We are very happy about the jury of the Nordic Cleantech Open! In fact it is hard to imagine a more competent jury. It is large; it consists of the most competent people that can be found in relation to the task and they have really put their extraordinary talents to the task. The jury consists of 51 cleantech venture experts. Most of them represent venture funds or corporate venture funds with an investment focus on cleantech.
The jury members have worked very hard and did an excellent job in assessing all the applicants. We received a total of 1318 individual company assessments, each consisting of 3 individual grading’s of the companies’ innovation, market potential and team. This means that the jury delivered 3954 votes! Each applying company was assessed by at least 11 jury members and most of the numerical assessments were also accompanied by written comments.
Peter Cook Senior Investment OfficerIMF
Aaron SmallAssociateWHEB Partners
Julien MialaretInvestment ManagerIdinvest Partners
Mikko HuumoFortum
Bernhard MohrManaging DirectorEvonic Corporate Venturing
Victor ChristouVenture PartnerWellington Partners
Joost WaeterloosThe Dow Chemical Company
Lennart OhlssonSenior Vice President, Metso Sustainability and technology development
Indrek KelderInvestment ManagerSmartCap
Johan ReynaertInvestment ManagerCapricorn Venture Partners
Johan GerklevEnvironmental ManagerSkanska Sweden
Joško BobanovicPartnerSofinnova
Jaan HeinsooFDI ManagerEstonian Investment Agency / Enterprise Estonia
Juha LehtolaInvestment DirectorFinnish Industry Investment
Fredrik JonssonPartnerDeloitte
Harald OlderheimInvestment ManagerEnergy Future Invest
Changhua WuDirectorThe Climate Group Greater China
Nils LehmannManagerThe Carbon Trust
Ulf BojöSenior Investment ManagerNEFCO
Nina HarjulaHead of Development Cleantech, LADEC and Finnish Cleantech Cluster
Thorbjørn MachholmDirector, Grundfos New BusinessGrundfos Management
´
05 | nordiccleantechopen.com
| The Jury
Hans EnocsonPresident and CEO forGeneral Electric the Nordic and Baltic Regions
Toby MooreManaging PartnerImprimatur Capital Fund Management
Nicolas Maréchal-AbramProject ManagerVeolia Environnement Research and Innovation
Richard RiggsInvestment ManagerBASF Venture Capital
Andrus ViirgDirector, Enterprise Estonia Silicon Valley
Giovanni RavinaGDFSuez
Mikael HannusVP BiorefineryStora Enso Biomaterials
Per EricsonVenture PartnerEnvironmental Technolo-gies Fund
Karsten HöjbergAutodesk
Tarja TeppoPartnerCleantech Invest
Pål BreilandInvestment AssociateInvestinor
Stefan JakéliusInvestment DirectorIndustrifonden
Magnus AgerströmManaging DirectorCleantech scandinavia
Olof BlomqvistProject ManagerCleantech Scandinavia
Jussi NykänenFounding Partner & CEOGreenStream
Linda ZhengGeneral Manager in ChinaConduit Ventures
Marc DavidInvestment DirectorALIAD Venture Capital
Daniel ZhuVenture PartnerTsing Capital
Kai EngelhardtMahle
Adrien HenryBlue Orange
Alberto ClergueInvestment ManagerSODENA
Claire CockertonLevel39
Hans EngblomSEB Venture Capital
Aslak AndersenAnalystAgder Energy Ventures
Binella VannesjöBusiness DeveloperSwedish Energy Agency
Andreas StubeliusBusiness DeveloperSwedish Energy Agency
Andre LindvestInvestment managerMarble Invest
Peteris TreimanisInvestment DirectorBaltCap
Kari HerleviSenior Technology AdviserTEKES
Pia SalokoskiProgramme DirectorTEKES
The Applicants | nordiccleantechopen.com | 06
The applicants
More companies than ever applied to this round of the Nor-dic Cleantech Open. We received 107 valid applications to this round of the competition. Actually we have seen a steady growth in the number of applicants of around 20% for each round we held the competition. The large number of applicants is a quality indicator for the top 25. In this batch only 23% of the applying companies made it to the list. This means that 77% ore 82 companies did not make it. Most if not all of these applicants are also very promising young innovative companies. The jury just found the top 25 even more promising!
The applicants represent all the Nordic countries. The number of applicants from each country is a result partly of the size and quality of the cleantech startup scene in each particular country partly of the outcome of the marketing effort we as organizers have been doing. For this round the number of Swedish appli-cants is larger than ever and also represent a larger percentage of the applying companies than ever. 51% of the applicants were Swedish. Also the number of Danish applicants has increased over time and this round 13 Danish companies applied repre-senting 12% of all applicants. The number of Norwegian com-panies were very small this round. Only 6 Norwegian companies applied. Estonia was participating in the competition for the first time. This resulted in 11 Estonian applications.
Regarding which cleantech segments the applicants say they are active in there have been some minor developments since previous rounds. Although the spread on the different segments have been quite stable there have been a slight increase in the number of applicants from the two smallest segments, smart power and transportation. Also we recorded a slight decline in the previously largest segment; renewable energy.
Actually the applicants from the different countries are quite equally distributed among the different segments this year. The previously strong bias towards the renewable energy segment among Norwegian companies cannot be seen. Transportation is a small segment particularly in Finland but larger in Denmark and the newcomer Estonia.
The top 25
The top 25 is distributed among the countries in almost the same way as the applicants are. Norway had a good year in this respect as 3 out of 6 applicants made it to the top 25 and Denmark, Estonia and especially Finland was not very fortunate this year as a smaller share of their applicants made it to the top 25 than could have been expected from the number of applying companies. Sweden had a slightly higher percentage of appli-cants on the top 25 list than of the total number of applicants. 51% of the applicants were Swedish and so were 56% of the top 25. In total the Swedish dominance in the competition was strengthen in comparison to previous rounds. Only Denmark managed to keep their previous share of the top 25.
Comparing with the share of applicants one segment generated more companies to the top 25 than expected. 40% of the top 25 companies are in the segment Energy Efficiency while only 28% of the applicants are. The segments with a smaller share of com-panies on the top 25 list are to some degree Air, Water, Waste
The different countries share of top 25
Number of applicants to the different rounds of
Nordic Cleantech Open
National origin of applying companies
Applying companies spread on the different segments
Applying companies from the different countries,
spread on the different segments
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Iceland
Norway
Sweden
Year 4
Year 2
Year 1
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Year 4
Year 2
Year 1
Year 4
Year 2
Year 1
Air, Water, Waste
Energy Efficiency
Green Building
Renewable Energy
Smart Power
Transportation
Air, Water, Waste
Energy Efficiency
Green Building
Renewable Energy
Smart Power
Transportation
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Iceland
Norway
Sweden
Sweden
Norway
Iceland
Finland
Estonia
Denmark
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
2010/11 2011/12 2013/14
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Year 4
Year 2
Year 1
Air, Water, Waste
Energy Efficiency
Green Building
Renewable Energy
Smart Power
Transportation
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
| The Applicants07 | nordiccleantechopen.com
but more importantly Renewable Energy. Within Renewable Energy there are only two more traditional power generation companies, BioGTS and CorePower Ocean. In contrast there are three different companies doing power inverters for renew-able energy. These are Ferroamp, Optistring and Nocart.
Compared to previous rounds the Energy Efficiency segment is growing in importance in the Nordic Cleantech Open top 25. One reoccurring type of company in this segment are the optimizing companies that typically bring in small and relative-ly cheep devices that optimize previously installed equipment. Examples of such companies are ATC/Scypho, ClimaCheck and Ecofective. Other examples are the sensor companies this year represented by Spectral Engines and SenSic. Also the small segment of Transportation has an increased num-ber of companies on the top 25 list this time. There are two actual vehicles on the top 25 list, CleanMotions Zbee and the amazing Stigo electric scooter. In the area of new advanced materials there are several very exciting companies; CryNano, Giamag Technologies, Cyclicor, Disruptive Materials, DWT and Graphene batteries. A qualified guess would be that we will see at least one of them among the top three in the competi-tion. Other companies on the list are water saving company Orbital Systems with a shower that saves 80% on energy and 90% on water. Arsizio, with an extrusion tool that enables new prod-ucts and material savings of up to 50%. Biocover, that has working solution solving problems applying slurry to farmland. Problems with hazardous heavy metals can be solved through Chromoforas innovative technology. Cityntel has a self config-uring system for truly intelligent streetlights. Tamturbo offers completely oil free compression. Thermo Power develops new, more compact and efficient cooling devices for trucks. Read more about all the companies in the Nordic Cleantech Open Top 25 section of this report.
It is hard to make conclusions on trends for the entire Nordic Cleantech start-up scene based on the statistics above but the developments are in line with trends we have seen also else-where, like in the Dealflow report 2012 and 2013. The inter-est in the Renewable Energy segment is not quite as large as previously while interest in the other segments remains strong. As renewable energy is traditionally the preferred segment of Norwegian cleantech this may explain why there is less vibrancy in the Norwegian cleantech scene.
Gender bias
It is should be a surprise to none but we still want to point it out, there is a grave need of more female entrepreneurs in the cleantech sector. Out of 107 applicants to the competition only 5 of the contact persons mentioned in the applications are women. The contact persons are usually the CEO or have another leading role in the company.
When it comes to the top 25 only two of the 25 spokespersons mentioned in the applications were women. This is however a much higher percentage than for all the applicants. This confirms our belief that a successful cleantech sector needs more women.
Of the 51 Jury members 44 are men and 7 are women. As in the rest of the business there is a strong gender bias also in the jury of the Nordic Cleantech Open.
Different cleantech segments share of the top 25, %
Gender of the companies spokesperson, all applicants, %
Gender of the companies spokesperson, top 25
Gender of the jury members %
Female Male
Female Male
Female Male
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Interviews | nordiccleantechopen.com | 08
| Interviews09 | nordiccleantechopen.com
Sofia Kocher, CEO, Vasasensor
How has the business developed since the Nordic Cleantech Open?It’s going fine! I found that Nordic Cleantech Open stood out among business competitions, as the focus was very much on getting to know potential investors. This was really the strength of the competition and it was done in a very relaxed format. This is not usually the case.
Can you name any obstacles or enablers in regards to the development of your business?Our existing owners have been enablers in that they pull other investors, which facilitate our fundraising. We have found our investors in the network that we have built during the 10 years we have been in operation. Through our owners and through our networks we receive the money we need to continue. It is really important to have owners that are long-term investors that can put
What happened to the previous top 25 companies
We have had a look at what happened to the previous 49 top 25 companies (there are 49 as Enevo was allowed to compete both in the first and second round). Just from going through the web pages one can conclude that there have been both successes and failures. One company, Numcore (top 10 2011/12) was so successful it was sold already while in the competition. Several companies have attracted private funding after participating in the Nordic Cleantech Open top 25. Examples are Applied Nano Surfaces, BT Wood, Ecospark, Enevo, Ekobalans Fenix, Oreexplore, MetGen, MGH Systems, NeoZeo, Reformtech, Rehact, Seaweed Energy Solutions, SEEK, Sorubin, Svenska Aerogel, Vasasensor, Vigor Wave Energy and ZenRobotics. Also many of the companies have attracted public funding. Examples of companies that received public funding after participating in the Nordic Cleantech Open top 25 are Centriclean Systems, Cortus, Danish Power Systems, Ecospark, Gridmanager, Norsetek, ReTurn, Sorubin, Svenska Aerogel, Tomologic, Vasasensor and Vigor Wave Energy. (There may be others as well, not mentioned here) Three of the companies have gone bankrupt.
When it comes to turnover one can easily access information for the years 2008-2012 on the internet for Swedish, Norwegian and some Danish companies. These figures must be interpreted with great caution. Turnover may not be the best indicator
of success for young research intensive companies like the ones we are examining.It might be that turnover and profit is something that will be richly present in the future but not in the current development stage. The company’s development, on average, looks like steady growth in turnover for most of the companies. A few good examples are Seaweed Energy Solutions, Svenska Aerogel, SEEC, Just Common Sence, Ecospark, Applied Nano Surfaces and Cortus from round one and Tomologic from round two. There are also some companies with a less clear growth pattern. There are also several companies that still in 2012 do not have much turnover to talk of.
As always we would like to see the figures for the latest year (2013) before making to many conclusions. It seems clear however that the companies in the top 25 from the first round of the competition have gathered more momentum than the ones in the second round. This confirms that it takes time for these companies to become successful. Also we would like to see a few more hockey sticks among the graphs…
We called up three of the previous top 25 companies and asked them what has happened since their participation in the Nordic Cleantech Open. Here are their stories.
money into the business more than once.Obstacles may be that you will need contacts. In reality either you have contacts or you do not. Once you have the contacts everything is much easier. If you do not know people it is a clear barrier. Generally it is difficult when you have an industrial product, not an app or similar. You need a prototype to be developed in cooperation with an industrial client. It may take 10 years to develop the product and then it must be tested at a demonstration plant. We have to test our product in industry and therefor we have to find customers who dare to go for something that is unknown. This is very difficult in a slow moving industry like ours. Although we minimise their financial risk to zero, there is still a risk for the decision maker to try a new product. Because of this it is very difficult to get companies to try new technology. This is a clear barrier for us to get the product to market and also to innovations in general.
What’s your focus for the future?We have an early product that we can present and learn from. We will develop it further. The real product development actually starts now. This year, customers started calling us which is a positive development. We have to keep working on what we offer and develop new business models to find the best solutions.
Any advise for new clean tech companies?Bring in people who are better than you are in all areas. For example, bring in a product developer who is really experienced. You may think it is expensive but bring in an experienced developer on a few hours and a less experienced developer on more hours. This way, the experienced developer can coach the less experienced developer. The result is that you will have a person who is experienced and someone who can grow with the company.
Interviews | nordiccleantechopen.com | 10
Hilmir Jonsson, Remake Electric
How have the business developed since Nordic Cleantech Open?We have since finished our first generation of both hardware and software products. We have now got five resellers, mostly in Scandinavia but also in Europe. We are working on our network of resellers and on our development of marketable products. Now we are working on the next generation of products. We are collaborating closely with customers such as retail markets, data centres, production companies, hotels and airports. We are developing some features and some aspects of the hardware to fit different needs of theses specific markets. The revenue of ReMake Electric has grown with around 70 % annually.
Can you name any obstacles or enablers in regards of the development of your business?The enabler is of course the growing demand of energy efficiency. This is very important today. Companies want to reduce their energy usage and this has been our market opportunity. We have a sustainable solution; it is a fixed solution that can grow with the customer. We have also invested a lot in IP and patents, which has enabled our success. One of the obstacles that were identified initially was that the product were developed in a closed environment (Microsoft) and we quickly realised that this was a bad decision so we switched to an open environment (Linux) were the focus was to build the product to be flexible and compatible with other systems available on the market.
What’s your focus for the future?We will continue to build up our network, focusing on both value added resellers and consultancy agencies.
Any advise for new cleantech companies?It is very important to develop their product close to the customer, interact with the customers as much as possible initially. Try then to turn the relationship around so that they end up investing in you. Go very early to customers, with even just a prototype. Be very specific about how your product can solve the customer’s needs. Even though we didn’t have the full solution finished, customers started to buy products from us and this became a very good source of funding.
| Interviews11 | nordiccleantechopen.com
Jonas Carlsson, Just Common Sense
How has your business developed since the Nordic Cleantech Open?The fact that we went on to the final of the Nordic Cleantech Open meant a lot in terms of marketing, it is an advantage to be one of the top 25. It is a merit in itself, but also in order to raise capital. After the competition, I got hold of a person, with a good network that made a careful examination of my company. He then presented it to the appropriate investors. We had already started selling the product on the market when we were in the competition but with the new investors we got more resources and was able to bring our product to market on a larger scale. Today we sell our product in Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Denmark and have recently also started to sell in Germany and France. It looks very positive. We have been able to hire a CEO with a marketing background who can handle marketing. This enables me to focus more on the product itself. It feels like the product will take off and it is important to expand abroad where there is a great demand. I believe that the product will be able to carry itself in a relatively near future.
Can you name any obstacles or enablers in regards to the development of your business?Resources allow one to invest more, or rather to take the necessary steps. Resources means not only capital but also expertise. In terms of the board, the expertise and experience in international marketing and doing business internationally has been very important. Lack of capital and lack of time can be big obstacles. Paperwork in the form of business plans eventually became a hindrance because too much time was put on this instead of focusing on running the company and to sell products.
What’s your focus for the future?Right now we outsource the production and it may be that we will bring it back into the company eventually. When expanding the market it is important to take in to account that weeds differ with soil, environment and type so it may be that you need to make adjustments regarding the technology of the product. We have to put effort into informing our customers and potential new customers about the user
friendliness of our product, as this is an entirely new technology that they haven’t used before.
Any advise for new clean tech companies?Do not put too much time on paperwork rather focus on being more hands-on and try your product on the market. One should be prepared because it takes a lot of time and money, you have to have a strong will and confidence in your product. Listen to advice and impressions but do your own assessment based on your gut feeling. It is also important, not to say vital, to attract investors who have the right skills/knowledge/networks.
Companies | nordiccleantechopen.com | 12
| Companies13 | nordiccleantechopen.com
Arsizio has come up with nothing less than a whole new production method, Dynamic 3D-extrusion. Today Arsizio license Dynamic 3D-extrusion, a internationally patented technology invented by Mark J Kragh, to paying customers, to enable; 10-50% savings in material, weight & energy, 10-20% higher efficiency in heat-transfer & solar-energy uptake. 20-80% lower production costs. The concept is a further development of conventional extrusion technique with rotating dies in the pressurized zone, thereby allowing the creation of variations in thickness and reliefs that were impossible to previously achieve. It is 100% compatible with existing production lines for: Rubber TPE, TPV , Plastic, Composites, metals & ceramics. This makes it possible to quickly implement 3D-extrusion, with high scalability and a minimum of investments.
ATC is a public Swedish company that since 2010 has developed Scypho, a self- learning system for indoor climate control. Without changing their behaviour homeowners can save up to 30% energy while at the same time comfort is improved. Scypho distinguishes itself from the many existing services for visualization and remote control by providing Comfort on Demand. As Scypho is self- learning the system knows exactly when to start the heating or cooling in order to provide the ideal temperature when a person arrive home. When people are away and during the night, Scypho regulates the temperature to maximize energy savings. In addition, Scypho provides the following; ability to remotely control and monitor indoor climate using your smartphone, tablet or computer, a platform for the Connected Home with upcoming services like burglar- and fire alarms, house automation and online health services, energy information, savings and customized advise, low investment cost with pay-off period of 1-3 years.
ARZISIO Sweden
Contact person:Mark Jansson [email protected]
Web sitearsizio.com
ATC Industrial Group AB / Scypho Sweden
Contact person:Charlotta [email protected]
Web sitewww.atcindu.com and www.scypho.com
Companies | nordiccleantechopen.com | 14
BioCover has developed the SyreN, SyreN+ and SyreN Crystal systems for application of slurry to farmland. SyreN system uses the technique of acidification (sulphuric acid) to change ammonia (gas) to ammonium (salt) during application of slurry. This reduces the emission of ammonia with up to 70%, which eliminates airborne eutrophication. At the same time the method applies the correct amount of sulphur as sulphate fertilizer.SyreN+ system adjusts the amount of ammonium nitrogen in slurry during application through addition of ammonia and binding it as ammonium in the soil – thereby reducing leaching of nitrogen to aquatic environment. SyreN Crystal system uses the technique of precipitation to reduce / adjust the amount of Phosphorus in slurry – whereby excess Phosphorus from high animal intensive areas may be economically redistributed to areas of low animal intensity. The use of fertilizer industry raw materials direct in the consumer end optimises slurry logistics, economy and reduce/eliminate negative environmental effects from slurry application. These solutions developed by BioCover are turning a pollution problem of global scale into a profitable fertilizing solution.
BioGTS is a cleantech startup looking to revolutionize the biorefinery concept. The company have developed a new cost-efficient and scalable biorefinery concept for treatment of organic waste and its conversion into renewable energy, vehicle biofuels, chemicals and fertilizers. The concept is based on unique, patented biodiesel and biogas technologies, which were put together by top experts in the field, and have 4 times quicker ROI than the competitors. The product was launched last summer, BioGTS have just closed the first deal, and have open offers worth over 350 M€. The strong team with decades of R&D and seasoned entrepreneurs welcomes a capital push for scaling up the operations. Partners of BioGTS will be making millions in waste management business - do you want to be one of them?
Chromafora offers the market a way to selectively purify municipal & industrial solvents from heavy metals. The waste metal residues that are produced can be recycled and the material returned to the market at a profit. Chromafora use Phosphines which are we’ll known for their ability to selectively bind to heavy metals and to be completely transparent to un-harmful metals. They are today used for REE and radioactive metal extraction. To use phosphines for “ordinary” hazardous heavy metals is not common today because of the high costs. Phosphines are generally are very expensive, and also difficult to handle unless they are attached to a solid particle. Chromafora has the possibility to recycle phosphines efficiently, and therefore produce and use phosphine-filters that can be reused over and over again. First choice of market is power plants that incinerate waste. Today the incineration waste is landfilled and runoff water from these landfills contains hazardous heavy metals. Other potential markets are the mining industry and nuclear industry.
BiocoverDenmark
Contact person:Morten [email protected]
Web sitewww.biocover.dk
BioGTS Finland
Contact person:Annimari [email protected]
Web sitewww.biogts.com
Chromafora Sweden
Contact person:Henrik [email protected]
Web sitewww.chromafora.com
| Companies15 | nordiccleantechopen.com
Cityntel is a new generation Smart Streetlight control that uses a wireless network technology developed by Estonian technology company Defendec. This new and innovative technology enables the creation of a self-configuring wireless network between different devices. This makes Cityntels solution the only truly Plug & Play smart streetlight control system on the market. There is no need for time consuming and expensive network configurations to make it work. Cityntel solution is based on decentralized intelligence architecture. This means that all nodes (luminaire controllers) in the network can work independently as all processes take place in the node itself, instead of on a central server. Each node is aware of its role and reacts based on rules stored in it. The nodes are also able to react to external events or raise events for other nodes. Due to the self-configuring network it is easy to expand installation and add new devices to the network at any time. With this smart control it is possible to save up to 80% of the electricity currently used for street lighting and at the same time gain significant reduction in maintenance costs.
Clean Motions electric tricycles, the Zbee, will significantly improve environment locally and globally through energy efficiency and absence of tailpipe emissions. The key to the vehicles energy efficiency is the low weight. Zbee only weighs 230 kg. The low weight makes the Zbee require a much smaller battery than any competitor. This also means that there is no need for any special charging infrastructure, only a normal wall socket is needed. Energy consumption is 40 Wh/km, which gives the vehicle a negligible running cost. A lot of time and effort have been invested into designing Zbee for maximum safety. By using composite materials it has been possible to strike the perfect balance between lightness and safety. Zbee is significantly safer than other lightweight vehicles. There are currently three safety related patents pending. Clean Motion is currently setting up production facilities in Indonesia and India in order to be able to supply these gigantic markets with a green vehicle at an affordable cost.
ClimaCheck addresses the market of larger refrigeration & air conditioning equipment. This equipment is for example used within grocery stores, buildings, data centres, ice rinks and within production processes. ClimaCheck’s business idea is to realise best possible performance of the RAC-systems, using a unique method for online analyses. The result is commonly energy savings of 10 to 40%. Since the analyses provides input for optimization of existing equipment there is no need for large investments. Therefore payback time for a ClimaCheck system will be very short, usually only a few months. Additional benefits are an early warning system and input for planned preventive maintenance that will prolong equipment lifetime. ClimaCheck has currently over 700 systems running, building a unique base of information for the online service. Since cooling & refrigeration equipment’s usually are quite complex systems, ClimaCheck has built up templates for hundreds of configurations and can easily implement new. This information and experience is ClimaCheck’s core and is based on the founder’s lifelong experiences in the industry.
CityntelEstonia
Contact person:Alar Võ[email protected]
Web sitewww.cityntel.ee
Clean Motion Sweden
Contact person:Göran [email protected]
Web sitewww.cleanmotion.se
ClimaCheck Sweden
Contact person:Anders [email protected]
Web sitewww.climacheck.com
Companies | nordiccleantechopen.com | 16
CorPower Ocean is bringing a new type of compact Wave Energy Converters and drive train products to market. The concept includes unique mechanical design, inspired by the pumping principles of the human heart. This is combined with advanced control algorithms that make the converter oscillate in resonance with incoming waves. Active phase control by latching enables 3-4 times increase in power absorption compared to conventional passive wave power buoys. The result is high power output compared to competing technology with the same physical size and weight. The combination of low investment costs, high capacity factor and an effective maintenance scheme results in an expected cost of energy below 0.15 EUR/kWh. Near-term this will make wave power competitive with offshore wind, and long term the cost of energy can be pushed down in order to be fully competitive with established energy sources. CorPower is also commercializing its unique drivetrain technology for electromechanical cylinders targeting heavy lifting and manufacturing equipment.
CrayoNano is developing optoelectronic epiwafers and devices based on semiconductor nanowires on graphene. This technology can be tailor made for specific applications emphasizing novel characteristics like flexibility and transparency, and will enable smaller and more efficient wafers for high growth markets like flexible LEDs, displays and solar cells. The result is a flexible and extremely thin and lightweight epiwafer able to produce or emit large amounts of energy from a small area using less material. Today’s flexible electrodes are made of organic compositions, with significant lower efficiency and robustness. Graphene is expected to become even cheaper than silicon within few years, making the CrayoNano technology platform the most efficient and cost effective standard for optoelectronic devices. CrayoNano will be the first company in the world to show and commercialize semiconductors on graphene.
Cyclicor has developed a technology platform that makes it possible to remove all isocyanates from the production of polyurethanes and all bisphenols from the production of polycarbonates. Via a new simple and cost competitive chemical synthesis pathway Cyclicor has the ability to produce bio and non-biobased polycarbonates for a range of consumer and industrial applications. This can be done completely without the use of bisphenol, toxic phosgene or organic solvents. With the removal of bisphenols, polycarbonates produced from Cyclicor’s technology are safer, more biocompatible and do not have the same estrogenic activity or other health concerns connected to traditional polycarbonates. The ambition of Cyclicor is to help spearhead an evolution towards safer & more sustainable polycarbonates through continued R&D investments and research partnerships with leading polycarbonate producers.
CorPower OceanSweden
Contact person:Patrik Mö[email protected]
Web sitewww.corpowerocean.com
CrayoNano Norway
Contact person:Morten Frø[email protected]
Web sitewww.crayonano.com
Cyclicor Sweden
Contact person:Kristoffer [email protected]
Web sitewww.cyclicor.com
| Companies17 | nordiccleantechopen.com
Disruptive Materials has invented a novel new material named UpsaliteTM. Upsalite is a mesoporous form of magnesium carbonate with extraordinary properties. To mention a few, Upsalite has the best moisture adsorption capability in the world and at the same time low temperature regeneration. The material is non-toxic and approved for use in food and pharma applications. The manufacturing process is inexpensive and the raw material cost is low. Upsalite´s unique properties have a huge impact on energy efficiency in adsorption based applications like dehumidifiers, dishwashers, HVAC systems, etc. A big dehumidifier system can be over 30% more efficient with Upsalite, and this correlates to over 1 MUSD in energy savings during the lifetime of the system.
The use of wood in the construction industry carries certain limitations because of the inability of wood to withstand weather conditions, insects, and fire. DWT has invented a financially attractive technology, which will revolutionize the impregnation, fireproofing and dying process of wood in the future. The technology is based on high frequency and vacuum pressure and carries a number of market-specific advantages. For example the wood can be impregnated fully and all the way to the core. This significantly prolongs the lifespan of the wood because of the immensely improved and more even distribution of impregnation liquid. The technology also opens for impregnation of a large variety of wood species that are not possible to impregnate today. It will also be possible to use less or non-toxic impregnation agents without compromising the results.
Ecofective supplies an energy and cost saving solutions for existing buildings through its software and hardware energy efficiency management solution EE2. The EE2 collects and measures data to determine the buildings thermal behaviour. This means continuous calculations of the free heating energy sources, (Sun, People, Machines, etc). EE2 then influence the existing HVAC system to consider available free heat and adjusting for optimum energy use and indoor climate. The EE2 also provides a real time energy footprint of the buildings energy balance 24/7. High-tech thermodynamic optimisation calculations combined with low-tech smart analogue integration gives customers high value at low cost. Ecofectives solution reduces the need for purchased heating energy in existing buildings by 13-25% for 1-2€/sqm. The company focuses on large multi tenant buildings, schools, student housing, elderly care etc. The payback time for these customers is within 2 heating seasons.
Disruptive MaterialsSweden
Contact person:Mattias [email protected]
Web sitewww.disruptivematerials.com
DWT Denmark
Contact person:Claus L. E. [email protected]
Web sitewww.dwt.as
Ecofective Sweden
Contact person:Mats [email protected]
Web sitewww.ecofective.com
Companies | nordiccleantechopen.com | 18
Ferroamps EnergyHub allows solar cells and local energy storage to be combined in a single home unit. The EnergyHub automatically controls the energy flows between solar cells, energy storage, local loads and the grid. This control is able to optimize the economical benefit for the consumer. The EnergyHub responds to information about current electricity price, weather forecasts, state of charge of the battery and local consumption. The EnergyHub can also bring benefits to Grid companies and Balance Responsible Parties by allowing spare capacity in the EnergyHub to be utilized for grid supporting services. This is done through a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), which will allow cost effective and large‐scale utilization and integration of solar energy. The solution has a lot of unique features such as the patented current equalizing technology and a modular power stack and battery that enables scalability as the system can easily be adapted and expanded as the need changes.
Based on unique and patented technology, Giamag Technologies designs and develops magnet systems and devices, which produce very strong magnetic forces. The patented magnet design constitutes the strongest magnetic separation technology on the market, with a broad range of possible applications within e.g. life science, medtech, automotive, aerospace, mining, and IT. Combining the GIAMAG Magnet Technology with nanoparticles is a particular focus, e.g. for more efficient and environmental friendly separation of oil in water and scaling (significant issues in oil production today).
The business idea is to exploit graphene´s potential in the Li-ion battery market. In this application graphene may help solve the major performance bottlenecks of Li-ion battery technology for the EV-market. Between the company and the end-user are the manufacturers of batteries and battery-packs. Thus, the target market for Graphene Batteries is industrial producers of Li-ion battery electrodes, cells, modules and battery packs. These manufacturers are on constant outlook for material providers to offer them materials and solutions that will enhance the properties of their cells and set them apart from the competition. Graphene Batteries is currently approaching the pilot scale manufacturing of its first product LFP/Graphene composite material. Graphene Batteries expects to sell significantly improved materials and technology licenses to such manufactures and build a gradual and steady stream of revenue.
Ferroamp ElektronikSweden
Contact person:Björn Jernströ[email protected]
Web sitewww.ferroamp.com
Giamag Technologies Norway
Contact person:Morten H. Ø[email protected]
Web sitewww.giamag.com
Graphene Batteries Norway
Contact person:Rahul [email protected]
Web sitewww.graphenebatteries.no
| Companies19 | nordiccleantechopen.com
Nocart offers conversion and storage solutions for small power plants. The Nocart Power Generation Unit can be connected with multiple different types of power units, such as wind turbines and solar panels. The unit is modular and can fulfil electricity production needs, whether the need is for own consumption, or for selling excess power to electrical companies. With an easy and clear user interface the operation can be monitored, even remotely. Energy storage allows storing of power when producing more than consuming and usage when the energy source is not available. For example, use solar to produce power for immediate use, store excess power to energy storage and it can be used during night time. The unit is very reliable as it uses only industrial level components. The primary target market is emerging countries where there is a huge demand of power generation solutions as there is often no strong, reliable public grid. With off-grid plants using renewable energy Nocart can deliver local “smart-grids” that can electrify for example a villages or a hospital.
Optistring develops a novel inverter technology for grid connected photovoltaic installations. The module level electronics increase the energy harvest, up to 25%, in the final PV installation as well as making it compliant with new stricter safety requirements. The Optistring inverters have a 99% efficiency and can compete with the low features string inverter when it comes to cost. The Optistring technology is the combination of all the different competing alternatives advantages to a cost level similar to that of the simplest and cheapest inverters. The low cost is a result of an innovative converter topology that needs very little electronic hardware. The technology is ideal to be integrated direct onto the PV modules, and will reduce both the hardware cost and shortening the time for planning and installation of PV systems. With a OEM setup and an outsourced production it is possible for Optistring to ramp up volumes, sales and profit quickly. Brake even is expected already 6 months after start of sales.
Orbital Systems is a cutting-edge technology company that have developed a disruptive water recycling technology to be used in domestic appliances. The patented technology realizes the world’s most advanced and efficient shower unit. The unit effectively filters, heat and pressure compensates and sends the used water back in the loop. The system does not compromise but actually increase the user experience as well as the hygienic level. The most amazing thing is that the system manages to save up to 90% of the water and 80% of the energy used for a shower. Orbital Systems technology enables a comfortable and eco-friendly as well as economically smart lifestyle and do not compromise with comfort. The product can save as much as 35 000liters water and 2 000 kWh energy per person a year! First target markets are swimming baths, gymnasiums, elderly care facilities and other facility’s with frequently utilized showers.
NocartFinland
Contact person:Vesa [email protected]
Web sitewww.nocart.fi
Optistring TechnologiesSweden
Contact person:Anders [email protected]
Web sitewww.optistring.com
Orbital Systems Sweden
Contact person:Mehrdad [email protected]
Web sitewww.orbital-systems.com
Companies | nordiccleantechopen.com | 20
SenSiC develop, designs and manufactures silicon carbide based gas sensors for high temperature operation. There are a number of applications SenSiC approaches; NOx reduction for automotive, NOX reduction for ships/vessels and increase of efficiency for wood/pellets based bioheaters and boilers. SenSiC’s sensors can operate from 175° to 450° Celsius. They are matched to sense a number of various emissions (O2, NH3, CO, NOx) from combustion. In a feedback loop the efficiency and the elimination of regulated and dangerous NOX gasses can be optimized. By controlling the air intake to the combustion the sensor can also minimize soot and control the amount of NOx in emissions. SenSic are currently sampling to OEM’s building bio-heaters and bio-boilers. There is also tests on going with customers for NH3 slip tin Selective Catalytic Reduction system as well as O2 for Exhaust Gas Recirculation systems. Sales will be starting 2014. Together with Volvo and Scania SenSic are developing the next generation sensors for direct NOx emissions and are testing an O2 sensor in the Exhaust Gas Recirculation system. Basically the technology challenge the Lambda sensor which Bosch has manufactured 500.000.000 pieces of since 1978.
Spectral Engines’ products remove the burden for using expensive and bulky process control and quality validation instrumentation through introducing a miniaturized spectral sensor, utilizing innovative microelectromechanical technology. The product enables brand new applications, where online measurements for material efficiency or quality control have not been possible due to the high cost and large size of analysers. Commonly, in almost all spectral measurement devices one needs a linear array detector with hundreds of pixels. These detectors are expensive and poor in performance in the infrared, where all material detection and analysis is done. The devices are based upon a patented, tuneable infrared filter based on microelectromechanical technology. Spectral Engines’ tuneable IR filter removes the need of the linear array detector, dropping the key component cost by at least by a factor of 100, and in addition making the rest of the system smaller, simpler and more robust.
Stigo scooter is an elegant and practical personal vehicle for daily urban commuting in busy cities and travel destinations with planes, yachts and motorhomes. No other vehicle can be folded in two seconds and taken indoors and public transportation like a luggage on the wheels. Stigo have secured EU branding support for Chinese distribution partners. The primary B2C segments include: daily urban commuters; yacht owners and caravan travellers. B2B segments include: yacht and caravan manufacturers and dealers; airports; ports; exhibition halls; large factories; hotels, bike rentals. The direct benefits of the product for customers are less time and fuel wasted in daily urban commuting.
SenSiCSweden
Contact person:Bo [email protected]
Web sitewww.sensic.se
Spectral Engines Finland
Contact person:Jarkko [email protected]
Web sitewww.spectralengines.com
Stigo electric scooter Estonia
Contact person:Rando [email protected]
| Companies21 | nordiccleantechopen.com
Tamturbo’s oil free turbo compressors meet the needs of the most demanding process applications such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, electronics and paper. In these processes any risk of oil contamination must be excluded. Compared to any other known solution Tamturbo’s compressors offer the most advanced solutions for compressed air free of oil. The solution combines a new innovative capacity control, high efficiency, compact size and reduced number of components. The solution is almost maintenance free. Tamtrubo offers 6 - 9 bar, 50 - 250 kW oil free turbo compressors to Scandinavian markets and turbo compressor units with control function to compressor manufacturers outside of Scandinavia.
Thermo Power is developing thermodynamic, energy efficient technology for the cooling and heating area. The company focuses on market introduction of refrigeration units for road transports. Thermo Power refrigeration unit have a number of advantages compared to competing technologies such as; lower maintenance costs, weight reduced by 700 kg, environmentally friendly refrigerant, lower noise and lower production cost. Also the higher efficiency of the unit leads to significant reduction in fuel consumption, Because of Thermo Power’s unique refrigeration unit design customers will immediately be less dependent on service as less maintenance of the products is needed. Due to the fact that Thermo Power’s unit is more compact and has a much lower weight than existing technology it also makes the whole vehicle lighter and the unit can more easily be replaced in case of malfunction. The goal is that through licenses introduce Thermo P’s technology in the refrigerated transport market.
TamturboFinland
Contact person:Timo [email protected]
Web sitewww.tamturbo.fi
Thermo Power Scandinavian Sweden
Contact person:Bo Sö[email protected]
Web sitewww.thermopower.se
Founders | nordiccleantechopen.com | 22
About the founders, sponsors and friends
Founder and steering
Cleantech ScandinaviaCleantech Scandinavia is a membership network of investors and affiliated cleantech professionals designed to provide cleantech knowledge, contacts and investment opportunities; be a coordinating voice to promote the Nordic cleantech sector, and drive cleantech innovation and growth in the Nordic countries.
Partners
LadecLahti Region Development LADEC Ltd offers companies a comprehensive range of development services for all stages of the business life cycle. LADECs expertise covers environmental technology, industrial design, and pragmatic innovation. LADEC also leads the Finnish Cleantech Cluster and is the organizer of the Cleantech Venture Day event. The company has an extensive international cooperation network, especially in the cleantech and growth funding sectors.
Klak InnovitKlak Innovit is an independent center for innovation and entrepreneurship, for energetic and ambitious people with good business ideas. The main emphasis is placed on supporting entrepreneurs and start-ups which are formed at Icelandic universities. Klak Innovit’s operations are diverse, but rich emphasis is placed on building an open and creative venue for imaginative and well-educated people, and creating a positive and encouraging environment for people to gain experience and succeed in their field.
Sponsors
The Nordic Cleantech Open is generously supported by the following organizations. Without their support this would simply not be possible.
TekesTekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and InnovationTekes is the main public funding organization for research, development and innovation in Finland. Tekes works with the top innovative companies and research units in Finland. Every year, we finances some 1,500 business research and development projects, and almost 600 public research projects.
Swedish agency for Economic and Regional GrowthThe aim of the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth – Tillväxtverket – is to achieve more enterprises, growing enterprises and sustainable, competitive business and industry throughout Sweden.
Swedish Energy AgencyThe Swedish Energy Agency is a Swedish governmental organisation with an overall responsibility of promoting sustainable energy systems through the use of renewable energy, energy efficient technologies, a smarter end-use of energy, and mitigation of climate change. The Agency is also the most active public financier of early and growth stage cleantech companies in Sweden through a system of grants and soft loans.
LadecLahti Region Development LADEC Ltd offers companies a comprehensive range of development services for all stages of the business life cycle. LADECs expertise covers environmental technology, industrial design, and pragmatic innovation. LADEC also leads the Finnish Cleantech Cluster and is the organizer of the Cleantech Venture Day event. The company has an extensive international cooperation network, especially in the cleantech and growth funding sectors.
Enterprise EstoniaThe Estonian Investment Agency, a part of Enterprise Estonia, is a government agency promoting foreign investments in Estonia and assisting international companies in finding business opportunities in Estonia. The goal is to increase the awareness of business opportunities in Estonia and the image of Estonia as an attractive country for investments in order to help investors to be more successful in their global markets.
Estonian development FundEstonian Development Fund is a public law entity founded by the Estonian Parliament with the objective to initiate and support changes in the Estonian economy and society to help updating the economic structure, ensuring the export growth, and creating new jobs requiring a high qualification. For that purpose, the Development Fund performs risk capital investments into the starting and growth-oriented technology companies together with the private sector and carries out socio-economic and technology foresight
AutodeskAutodesk is a world leader in 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software and services.
Level39 and Pivotal InnovationPivotal Innovations provides custom-designed accelerator and innovation programmes to corporations and government organisations seeking innovation & growth. Operating within Level 39, Europe’s largest technology accelerator of its kind in the heart of Canary Wharf, they make the connections necessary to accelerate technology discovery and adoption, enable new product and market entry, overcome business challenges, and cultivate intra & entrepreneurship.
*Value is based on a package of up to five commercial licenses of each application.
Autodesk is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.© 2014 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
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