Seven Colorado companies were named semifinalists in the Rocky Mountain region of the Cleantech Open competition, a national competition for entrepreneurs to develop environmentally clean tech products and processes.
The instate companies named among 16 finalists are AGREBON, of Louisville; Balkrete Custom Aggregates Inc., of Centennial; TMG, of Centennial; Veritek Coal Processing, of Littleton; RGI, of Denver; GeoTree Technologies, of Broomfield; and NextStep Electric, of Longmont.
Utah has four finalists; and Arizona, two. Texas, New Mexico and Montana each have one.
“The Cleantech Open helps to validate our business model and the assumptions we have undertaken that manufactures renewable fertilizer to the food industry,” said AGREBON CEO Justin Eisenach, who added that he looks forward to focusing on marketing in the competition.
The teams will take part in a competition for up to $20,000 in cash and in-kind services. Companies that advance to the national competition will compete for a grand prize up to $250,000 in cash, investments and services.
“I am genuinely delighted in the caliber of entries this year. Every year the quality gets better and better,” said Richard Franklin, chair of the Rocky Mountain chapter of the Cleantech Open, and CEO and founder of sustainable consulting service Envirobrand.
Franklin said the region and the nation are slowly recovering from the recession years of 2007-2009, and the competition turns ideas into products that can provide the spark for job creation.
During the next few months, each team will receive expert coaching; one-on-one consulting with specialists; a business “boot camp;” and numerous supporting events, training and materials. Three finalists will be selected at the University of Denver Cable Center Oct. 6 after presenting final business models with an investor pitch.
Bill Lowstuter of Suntrac Solar, sun-tracking solar collector products, was a finalist the first year Colorado entered the contest in 2009.
“It was an interesting experience to get some support. I was able to put a business plan together and get a little further down the road,” Lowstuter said. “It kind of helped in terms of the marketing and tools, financial spreadsheets and pro formas, and also in terms of putting together websites.”
Franklin said BioVantage Resources in Boulder is an example of a Colorado company that did well in the competition last year and continues to grow.
The Cleantech Open mission is to find, fund and foster entrepreneurs with big ideas that address today’s urgent energy, environment and economic challenges. The website is cleantechopen.org.
Colorado finalists
AGREBON of Louisville: Manufactures renewable fertilizers
Balkrete Custom Aggregates Inc.
of Centennial: Manufactures lightweight concrete aggregate from recycled plastic waste
TMG of Centennial: Utilizes a cold fermented composition from organic ingredients to help clean up waste and toxic gases from confined animal feedlots
Veritek Coal Processing of Littleton: developer of nanotechnology process that makes coal more efficient by extracting mercury and other toxic elements without the use of water or chemicals.
RGI of Denver: Manufactures a heated glass that stops internal heat loss from escaping out of windows, lowering building energy consumption by as much as 40 percent.
GeoTree Technologies of Broomfield: developer of technology that allows infrastructure rehabilitation at a lower cost, with minimal disruption to the public and with a reduced environmental impact.
NextStep Electric of Longmont: Developer of a smart grid solution providing monitoring, real time outage and power management, and renewable solar energy at the point of distribution.