Registration for competition is now closed.

2010 Fast Pitch Finalists

Encendia

Encendia recycles organic waste material into a natural soil amendment called biochar.  Biochar’s porous structure increases soil’s capacity to hold onto water and nutrients.  This stimulates root growth and conserves water and improves the efficiency of fossil-based fertilizers.  When applied to soils, Encendia’s designer biochar will lower costs and improve environmental performance for turf managers.  Our initial market will be golf courses but eventual use could include farms, lawns and gardens.  Encendia’s product also helps mitigate global climate change by locking carbon in the soil over extensive periods of time.

Helianthus

Helianthus developed a nanotechnology to produce a coating film that improves the efficiency of photovoltaic solar panels (PV). PV solar is currently not as cost-effective as other sources of energy because of the high reflectivity of silicon: up to 40% of incident light is reflected away and cannot be transformed into energy. Helianthus’ improvement – 8% in relative increase compared to 2-3% of current technologies – represents an additional hour of sun per day. Helianthus’ technology is a production module that can be easily adapted to various PV panel production lines.

Pressure Sentinel

“Pressure Sentinel – saving gas, tires, lives and the environment”

Pressure Sentinel’s Automatic Tire Inflation System solves the problem of under-inflated tires by maintaining a tires optimum air pressure.  By eliminating the problem of under-inflated tires, our Automatic Tire Inflation System will immediately impact the trucking industry’s bottom line by saving $6 billion in gas, tires and tire related maintenance.

More than just saving money:

Our purely mechanical, low-cost solution not only increases driver safety by reducing blowouts, but also helps trucking companies meet EPA standards by reducing CO2 emissions.

TerViva

TerViva brings to the US biodiesel market a new tree-based feedstock that is ultra-low cost and sets a new standard of environmental responsibility.  At the heart of our business are elite strains of Pongamia, a non-edible tree that produces oilseeds.  Our trees grow robustly in dry, marginal soils.  Using our IP, we will produce 1,000 gallons of biodiesel input oil per acre of trees, along with high-nitrogen fertilizer and carbon credits.  Most importantly, our oil will cost less than $1.00 per gallon, far below the cost of other biofuels or petroleum diesel. In the next decade, TerViva will establish its trees on one million acres of land, which as an indication of size is roughly one-fifth of the acreage burned in 2009 in US forest fires.  At this scale, we will plant 150 million trees and produce one billion gallons of oil annually ? enough to fuel millions of vehicles per year.

Vertum Partners

Vertum Partners was established after recognizing that the climate modeling capabilities of the UCLA regional climate group could be disseminated to the renewable energy business community.  Our software translates climate data into expected power for wind turbines; it provides analytical assessments of power production and risk factors such as required maintenance and climate change. Our application can also be used to provide wind technology portfolio optimization for such constraints as producing maximum power during specific times of day or continuous power supply despite variable wind speed and air density. We can be reached through our website: www.vertumpartners.com.

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2010 Fast Pitch Judges

Kate Zeng, Technology Planning & Analysis Manager, Sempra Energy Utilities
Shahin Farshchi, Ph.D., Senior Associate, Lux Capital Management
Anil Tammineedi, Associate, Angeleno Group
Rajesh Swaminathan, Applied Materials
John Babcock, Partner, Rustic Canyon Partners
Eric Steeb, LA Chair, CleanTech Open

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Competition Summary

The Fast Pitch Competition provides early stage, clean technology companies a platform to showcase their business to a panel of Venture Capital judges and a wide array of conference attendees. All participants will receive valuable, interactive feedback and attention from industry leaders and professional investors.

This year, we are extremely pleased to introduce a joint CACI & Cleantech Open Fast Pitch Business competition. The winner will gain free entrance to the Cleantech Open National Competition. The mission of CTO is to find, fund, and foster the big ideas that address today’s most urgent energy, environmental, and economic challenges.

  • Presenting teams will receive 2 free CACI conference registration passes.
  • One Grand Prize winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize.
  • The winner will also gain free entrance into the annual Cleantech Open business competition where they will compete to win Cleantech Open’s national prize worth $250,000!!

Who Should Apply?

Early stage clean technology businesses of all types, sizes, legal structures, business models and track records should enter. We strongly encourage participation of early stage companies, yet this is not a requirement. Companies will be judged as “entrepreneurial ventures” and will be ranked on a variety of performance metrics.

What is required for Entry?

  • A 2-3 page executive summary of the Clean Tech Venture. Recommended guidelines for the Executive summary are provided here.
  • In the Final Round, select participants will present their venture in the 5 minute “fast pitch” time restriction. A 10 minute Question & Answer from the judging panel will also be required.
  • There is no fee to enter the competition. Registration is now closed.

What is the Timeline?

  • March 7, 2010 – The CACI website will be accepting Fast pitch submissions.
  • April 16, 2010 – Deadline to submit your final entry.
  • April 28, 2010 – The Venture Capital committee will select the top candidates to present their pitch at the CACI conference; notifications will be sent to selected candidates.
  • May 7, 2010 – The finalists will present their business venture at the CACI conference in front of a live audience and judging panel. The winner will be declared the same day at the award ceremony.

Further Questions

For further information please see FAQ document, and the Recommended Guidelines for Submission.

Or contact: fastpitch@cacleaninnovation.com

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2009 Fast Pitch Winner

UST Profile UST Profile offers a new approach to monitoring the naturally occurring bacteria that breaks down the organic matter in waste water treatment plants. UST Profile is a device that uses optical technology and a patent-pending process to rapidly count total bacteria concentrations in water samples. By monitoring the amount of bacteria present, operators can make real-time, informed, and proactive decisions for cost savings and efficiency.