Nordic Cleantech Open final attracts more than 50 investors

From nearly 100 applicants, 10 start-ups remain as the second Nordic Cleantech Open (NCO) competition is arranged at Aalto Venture Garage in Lahti, Finland, on the 25th of April.

A jury of prominent professionals from leading industrials and investors across Europe, USA and Asia will make their final decision on that very day.

The event is unique. Nowhere else in the Nordics are as many start-ups and investors gathered, with a clear common goal: Making cleantech business grow.

260 participants have signed up for the event, out of which more than 50 are investors. A one-hour speed-date between 40 start-ups and 40 investors will mark the start of the three-day meeting. In only one hour an amazing 500 meetings will have taken place.

 ”New deals will be struck. At other similar events you will not have this amount of investors present. Nordic Cleantech Open is internationally attractive because of Scandinavia’s strong position within cleantech. Investors who come to Lahti know that this is the place to find the success stories of tomorrow”, says Alexander ”Bigge” Lidgren, founder of Cleantech Scandinavia, the investor network managing the NCO.

 “Year after year NCO showcases exiting new companies with global potential. NCO has made a huge contribution in opening international audiences eyes on the wealth and quality of cleantech deals from this region, ” says Lassi Noponen , chairman of the private equity fund Cleantech Invest.

 Out of last year's 25 top nominees at the NCO 8 start-ups have received essential funding for further expansion and several have proven that fast growth is possible. And many large industrials are eager to acquire new cleantech innovations.

 ”There is a great interest in cost-saving solutions for specific problems within industries. Energy efficiency is high on the agenda as well as finding new innovations to meet tougher environmental regulations in many markets,” Alexander ”Bigge” Lidgren continues.

 For instance, one of this year's top 10 companies (Numcore) has already been acquired by a large minerals and metal processing company, which was looking for a more energy efficient way to recover metals.

Other break-through innovations among the Top 10 start-ups at Nordic Cleantech Open:

• Software that makes it possible to predict energy from wind power more precisely. (Aquiloz)
• A sensor for continuous fine particle concentration monitoring for diesel vehicles. It can also be used for air quality monitoring. (Pegasor)
• A control system for the dewatering process in the paper industry, lowering steam consumption. (Vasasensor)
• A nanotechnology process for improving silicon solar cells by reducing costs rather than improving efficiency. (Black Silicon Solar)

We are happy to assist in arranging interviews with participants.

For further information and interviews with investors, jury members or start-ups:

Alexander Lidgren, 

Managing Director, Nordic Cleantech Open


bigge@nordiccleantechopen.com


+46 73 660 10 07

About Nordic Cleantech Open:

The aim of this initiative is to strengthen the pipeline of new innovative Cleantech ideas and promote the development of these ideas into successful businesses in the Nordic countries.

The Finals is organized in connection to this year's largest cleantech venture conference in the Nordics - the 6th Cleantech Venture Day in Lahti on April 26 - 27th.

 www.nordiccleantechopen.com

About the Top 10 Finalists in the NCO competition:

Aquiloz
Norway
www.aquiloz.com
If you think weather is just a conversation topic for old people you are wrong. For wind park owners correct predictions on future wind production is essential. Aquiloz is developing the next generation of wind power prediction and trading information system.

The Aquiloz system uses computational fluid dynamics - CFD models combined with both production forecasting, risk assessment and decision support tools. The system will deploy plug-ins and adaptors in order to be integrated with the customers’ existing systems.

Black Silicon Solar
Denmark
www.blacksiliconsolar.com
Imagine coming up with a substance that makes production of silicon solar cells cheaper, faster and less messy, and at the same time increases efficiency of the panels. Black Silicon Solar did just that.

Black Silicon Solar develops a nanotechnology process for improving silicon solar cells in a cost-efficient way. Focusing on cost reduction rather than improving efficiency Black Silicon Solar has developed an alternative texturing process that reduce production cost, production time, use of toxic chemicals and use of silicon.

MetGen
Finland
www.metgen.com
MetGen is developing and producing oxidase enzymes called Laccases. These enzymes can achieve a 15%-20% reduction of the energy consumption for wood pre-treatment in pulp and paper mills as well as other industrial processes.  

Another use is cellulosic biofuels where a reduction of chemical and energy consumption plus improvements in production yields can be achieved. In Industrial wastewaters Laccases can degrade toxic phenols. 

Numcore
Finland
www.numcore.com
Numcore has developed a solution that increases the recovery in froth flotation processes. The solution enables automatic control of froth properties leading to a significant increase in recovery.

Numcore creates a 3D-image of the flotation cell and accurately measures stiffness and thickness of the froth via conductivity measurements. This enables automatic control of froth properties leading to a significant increase in recovery.

Pegasor
Finland
www.pegasor.fi 

Pegasor makes a sensor for continuous measurements of fine particles in air. The company already has a market presence in the automotive industry. This market will grow rapidly in the next few years as well as the market for indoor air, outdoor air and stack emission monitoring that Pegasor will also commercialize solutions for.

The sensor which Pegasor has developed will be required by law in all new vehicles, both in EU and the US, within two years. This will open a market for Pegasor of 10-15 million sensors each year.

ReformTech Heating Technologies
Sweden
www.reformtech.se

ReformTech manufactures burners but without the flames. Catalytic combustion makes ReformTech’s heaters flexible in respect to fuels, very effective and free of any dangerous emissions. It can be used for any application where heat is needed and size and mobility matters, for example, engine and compartment heating, mobile home heating and battery pre-heating.

Among other advantages are the possibility to use different fuels, a directionally controllable heat radiation, low costs and robust performance.

Tomologic
Sweden
www.tomologic.com

Tomologic has developed a technology that optimize sheet metal cutting. The process reduces scrap from raw material in this energy intensive industry up to 50%.

Tomologic offers a scalable optimization service online that benefits customers through cost savings without the need of any user interaction and initial investments.

The patented cutting technology combines extensive experience in the cutting industry with advanced optimization algorithm design. It is remotely controlled through a database, which has been programmed to adapt the process according to the material being cut, the thickness of the material and the machine model.

Ultranat
Finland
www.ultranat.fi

Turning waste to value is the ultimate cleantech dream and this is really what Ultranat does. Ultranat makes use of ashes from bio-fuel power plants and turns this ash into valuable nutrition and fertilizers. The only thing left is purified silicates that can be used for several industry applications.

The micronutrients are separated and used for fertilizers and animal feed. The remaining parts, i.e. the body part of ash, consists of purified silicate fractions, which have several applications.

After the Ultranat End-of-Waste process, waste taxes on the ash are no more applicable.

Vasasensor
Sweden
www.vasasensor.com

Vasasensor makes a sensor that is able to register important parameters during the dewatering stage of paper production.

Vasasensor’s thin sensor units enable optimization of production processes during full speed. This is a solution for the needs of the paper industry to better control dewatering in the press section of the paper machines. Only 1% more efficient dewatering in the press leads to 4% increased production or 4% less steam consumption.

Zemission
Sweden
www.zemission.se
Heating the interior of an electric or hybrid car is a problem. Using traditional electric heating depletes the battery and reduces the driving range of up to 50%.

Zemission’s product is a multi-fuel, zero emission burner system for heating systems in Electric and Hybrid vehicles. Due to the absence of heat from a combustion engine, heating the interior of these is a problem. Electrical heating reduces the driving range of up to 50%. The Zemission burner is outstanding for this application. It does not reduce the range, it is silent, and it is Zero Emission.

- ENDS -