CleanBeta

9 Gamechanging Cleantech Start-Ups on the East Coast

1. Blue Power Home Networks

Blue Power Home Networks has designed the prototype of a new energy control system that will allow consumers to reduce their use of electricity. If widely adopted, the technology could reduce the strain on grid infrastructure during peak load hours, which have led to several blackouts in recent years. The web-based system operate home appliances remotely and can regulate net-energy consumption in real-time. The company, which says it is in deep stealth mode, wants to transform energy conservation into a painless process, but its commercial prospects depend on the outcome of multiple factors beyond its control. In particular, the company would flourish in a carbon emissions reduction scheme that gave consumers economic incentives to cut power usage. In addition, in the very unlikely event, energy prices plummet, the company’s prospects would likely follow. In any event, Blue Power will likely attract the interest of many environmentally conscientious consumers regardless of policy and economic developments.

2. FloDesign Wind Turbine Corporation

Despite the recent surge in investment in wind energy, progess in wind technology has been hampered by the unavailability of turbines suited for more than one type of wind. The patented FloDesign FD700 shrouded turbine will outperform existing turbines by a factor of three or more in a much wider range of wind resources. The company is led by retired aerospace scientists who helped develop the Stealth bomber, Gulfstream II and Comanche helicopter. They are rapidly bringing aerospace concepts and practice into the nascent field of wind power.

3. LiteTrough

LiteTrough has commercialized high-efficiency solar concentrators for space and water heating in commercial and industrial settings. The concentrators have achieved efficiencies of 65% in installations over several years. The company has begun filling new orders made by state governments. Several companies in the laundry and cleaning businesses have expressed an interest in the technology.

4. Pyrolitix Biofuels

Pyrolitix Biofuels, an Amherst, Mass. biofuels start-up, is commercializing technology for converting cellulosic biomass (e.g. woodchips, grasses and agricultural waste) to aromatics that can be blended with gasoline. By relying on a thermo-chemical process instead of a biological process, Pyrolitix Biofuels says it will keep costs low. The company also intends to exploit distribution problems that many believe will limit ethanol’s ability to scale to commercial sizes. Unlike ethanol, Pyrolitix’s biofuel can be distributed through the U.S. pipeline infrastructure.

5. Solaflect Energy

Solaflect Energy has pioneered breakthrough low-cost technology that could make concentrated solar thermal energy on to the main electricity grid. The “Suspension Heliostat” costs less than half the amount of extant solar technologies and weighs half as much too. The patent-protected technology so significantly reduces capital costs that it already produces solar energy at prices competitive with fossil fuels.

6. SweetWater Ethanol

SweetWater Ethanol’s mission is to restore ethanol’s promise a commercially viable liquid fuel. Ergo: SweetWater’s sweet-ass slogan “Making ethanol make sense.” Rather than reinvent ethanol itself, the start-up wants to redesign the processes for making ethanol. The key to its strategy is a cellulosic liquid concentrate called CCF that the company says will lower the cost, energy, and carbon footprint of producing ethanol. CCF is sold to ethanol refineries as a liquid feedstock, which allows producers to reorganize the refining sequence in a fashion that eliminates many of the high energy consuming steps required when processing corn kernels into ethanol. Sweetwater has applied for a patent on its new technology, which is still pending final approval and claims to reduce transportation costs 80% and energy costs associated with feedstock processing by 67% — measured against the current corn-based dry mill production methods.

7. Windera Power Systems

Windera Power Systems develops innovative and highly advanced direct-drive, variable speed generator technology for wind turbines and other clean energy generating applications. A patent-pending prototype generator has been designed, built, and tested. The Windera generator is a cost-effective and high-efficiency retro-fit solution to the aging wind turbine population in California in the 100 kW Class. Windera is presently seeking funding to go into full testing and production of its 100 kW generator and is in the beginning design stages of a megawatt Class generator.

8. Ethanol Boosting Systems, LLC

Ethanol Boosting Systems provides game changing engine technology for fuel efficient cars and light duty trucks. It breaks the paradigm that high efficiency can only be obtained at high cost of by compromising performance. The EBS Approach uses a small amount of separately injected ethanol to enable replacement of present gasoline engines with much smaller, more efficient engines with the same or greater power. It enables an efficiency gain comparable to the diesel and the hybrid at less than one quarter of the incremental cost.

9. Sequesco

Biofuels avoid and even remedy problems associated with fossil fuels. But current approaches to photosynthetic generation of fuels require either expensive infrastructure or agricultural crops as a feedstock. Sequesco is developing a technology that converts CO2 into biofuels without relying upon photosynthesis. Sequesco says its technology will solve problems of both greenhouse gases and fossil fuels.

Note on how companies were selected. The companies on this list were finalists in MIT’s 2008 Ignite Clean Energy Competition, which ended last week. FloDesign won the $200,000 grand prize.