One finalist from each Nordic country selected to compete in Global Ideas Competition in San Jose, California

Lund, 11 November 2010

PRESS RELEASE

One finalist from each Nordic country selected to compete in Global Ideas Competition in San Jose, California

Nordic Cleantech Open, the newly launched Nordic competition for Cleantech start-ups, is also appointing the country finalists from the five Nordic countries to the Global Ideas Competition final that takes place in San Jose, California on the 17^th of November. Selection process is now finished and we are very happy to have found five outstanding country winners among many great early entrants to the Nordic Cleantech Open.

The companies are selected because of their characteristics and capacities in four different areas:

Idea Concept: Is it concisely and clearly explained

Innovation: The breakthrough in thinking or design

Business Viability: If significant and interesting market exists

Sustainability: The positive impact on environment

Kevin Braitwaite from the Global Ideas organization team looks forward to the Nordic participation:

”I very much look forward to seeing how the participants from the Nordic countries will do in the Global Ideas Competition Final. I’ve always been impressed with the innovation I’ve seen in the Nordic region and I believe many cleantech innovations from this part of the world are highly marketable in the US and beyond."

The winning teams are:

From Sweden:
Ecospark. Ecospark develops a new superior type of LED chips based on a Zink oxide semiconductor and nano wires. The chips will emit a high quality light spectrum similar to the sun at with very low energy consumption compared to light output. The manufacturing costs for the chip will also be 8 to 10 times lower than conventional technology.

From Denmark:
Abeo. Super-light building structures using various types of lightweight concrete that support a skeleton of strong concrete is the innovative idea that is introduced by Abeo. This method can typically save 30-50% of material costs in buildings. The technique also has several other benefits and opens up for new exciting architectural possibilities.

From Norway:
PontoonPower. Have constructed a floating wave energy converter based on working pontoons, hydraulic pumping cylinders, hydroelectric turbine and generator mounted on a patent pending ballasting and load-bearing structure. The construction is relatively large scale with a production capacity of 15-20 megawatt. Energy production is estimated to be profitable compared other renewable offshore energy sources.

From Finland:
ZenRobotics. Have invented a robotic waste sorting system. Built with off the shelf industrial robotics components, the system utilizes biomimetic artificial intelligence to separate raw materials from construction and demolition waste (CND).

From Iceland:
RemakeElectrics. ReMake offer the public and SMEs an economical energy consumption monitoring system that can inform about real-time electrical load by a simple technique. This creates new opportunities in energy savings, electrical safety and in efficient electrical operation management.

We would like to wish these five finalists good luck in the global competition. We are certain that more news will follow on their successes in the Global Ideas Finale.

-ENDS-

About Nordic Cleantech Open

The Nordic Cleantech Open is a business competition, aiming to identify, upgrade and display the top 25 early stage cleantech companies in the Nordic region each year.

Identify: Trough working with the start up ecosystem to identify existing cleantech start ups and to inspire entrepreneurs about the cleantech potential.

Upgrade: A highly competent jury selects 25 top runners based on their growth potential. These 25 will undergo a program of activities that will help them build a solid business case, including a Nordic weekend camp.

Highlight: A Nordic final in Copenhagen brings together leading investors, professionals and industrials active in the cleantech sector and selects the ultimate winner.

For more information visit www.nordiccleantechopen.com or contact:

Alexander Lidgren at +46736601007 or bigge@nordiccleantechopen.com www.nordiccleantechopen.com

About Global Ideas Competition

Global Ideas Competition is organized by Cleantech Open. The Cleantech Open is a non-profit organization that runs the largest business competition for cleantech entrepreneurs in the world. Since the start in 2006 the Cleantech Open have helped hundreds of companies in the seed stage in the development of their business ideas. Together the participants of the competition have raised over USD 150 millions in venture capital and created over 1000 new jobs. The Global Ideas Competition is s a hunt for the most promising clean technology ideas anywhere in the world. One national winner from each country will compete against the winners from other countries at the global finals in California.

For more information visit http://www.cleantechopen.com/app.cgi/content/home/index