Swedish start-up Tomologic awarded first prize @ Nordic Cleantech Open 2012

Press Release

Lahti, 26 April, 2012

“And the winner is …”

Tomologic awarded first prize @ Nordic Cleantech Open 2012

Out of almost 100 applicants, a clear increase from last year, Nordic Cleantech Open today announced the Top-3 cleantech start-ups in Scandinavia.

Number one in the competition come from Sweden: Tomologic and the second prize went to the Finnish company Ultranet. The third prize is shared by Danish Black Silicon Solar and MetGen from Finland.

First prize winner Tomologic is a Stockholm based company that offers a scalable online optimization service for sheet metal cutting. The process reduces scrap from raw material in this energy intensive industry up to 50%. It was clearly a combination of Tomologics smart technology and go-to-market strategy that swinged, which earned them the number one spot.

www.tomologic.com

Second prize-winner, Ultranat, is a Finnish company that turns waste to value. Ultranat makes use of ashes from bio-fuel power plants and turns ash into valuable nutrition and fertilizers. The only thing left is purified silicates that can be used for technical construction and special industrial applications. After the Ultranat End-of-Waste process, waste taxes on the ash are no more applicable.

www.ultranat.fi

 The third prize is shared by Danish Black Silicon Solar and MetGen from Finland.

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.

www.blacksiliconsolar.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.  

www.metgen.com

The winners have been selected based on screening of their written description as well as on their ability to present their case and convince the jury of the bright future for their businesses.

The winning companies represent the very elite of the Nordic Cleantech start-up scene. These companies posses innovative solutions with the potential to radically cut costs in established industries.

The finals were held at Aalto Venture Garage in connection with the Nordic Cleantech venture event of the year, Cleantech Venture Day in Finland. The winners were selected with the help of audience votes.

More than 50 international investors and 270 participants were present at the finals. One of them is Per Ericsson, representing Environmental Technologies Fund:

“Nordic Cleantech Open has become one of the most important events for finding new investment possibilities. It has a perfect format for looking closer at Scandinavia’s most exciting innovations within cleantech – and the most important thing is to get to know the people behind the companies,” he concludes.

About the 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 undergo a program of activities that help them build a solid business case, including a Nordic weekend camp.

Highlight: After international showcases in California and Spain the competition culminates in a Nordic final bringing 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 +46736601007 bigge@nordiccleantechopen.com www.nordiccleantechopen.com