CTSI seeks companies and technologies, from around the globe, focused on cleaner and more environmentally sustainable energy solutions.  Submissions accepted through January 31, 2012 for utility & building energy technology demonstration awards totaling $100,000

December 01, 2011 - The Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI) today opened the third Utility Technology Challenge (UTC).

This year, CTSI and its partner, Fraunhofer TechBridge, are expanding the Challenge to include $100,000 in pilot project awards for promising utility and building energy technologies.

"The UTC has been highly successful as a technology-matching program that catalyzes partnerships between utilities and companies with relevant, promising early-stage clean technologies," said CTSI President and Founding Chairman Matthew Laudon.

"With our partner, Fraunhofer TechBridge, we are now expanding the Challenge to include funded demonstration projects and to address the building energy technology space."

Selected early-stage technologies may be featured in Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems' Building Technology Showcase, a first-of-its-kind deep energy efficiency retrofit of a historic building that will be a "living laboratory" of building-integrated energy research projects in Boston.

Organizations with pilot-ready or early-commercial stage solutions targeting utilities and large customers should apply here.

Key technology solution areas for the contest include: smart grid technology areas including: transmission and distribution, demand response, and power electronics.

This year, there is a new emphasis on demand-side building energy technologies, such as energy efficiency measures (e.g., HVAC, lighting, and building management), as well as distributed generation systems (e.g., building-integrated solar photovoltaics and combined heat and power).

"The collaboration on the Utility Technology Challenge brings the benefits of Fraunhofer's new Building Technology Showcase to technologies most deserving of additional testing and public visibility," said Nolan Browne, Managing Director of Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE). Fraunhofer TechBridge is a program of CSE.

Companies participating in the Utility Technology Challenge will gain visibility with the utility and industry partner group. 

The technologies with the best balance of stage of development, potential impact, cost and ease of implementation will be selected to present at Clean Technology 2012.

Sponsors include: the US Department of Energy Innovation Ecosystem Development Initiative, Austin Energy, National Grid, Shell, and the Anaheim Center for New Energy Technologies (AC-NET).

Other regional partners include: the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the New England Clean Energy Foundation, the Association of CleanTech Incubators of New England (ACTIONetwork), the Austin Technology Incubator and the Clean Energy Trust.

Over the course of several review rounds, this group will select top solutions to present at the Clean Technology 2012 Conference at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California, June 18-21, 2012.

These semifinalists will have an opportunity to network with the utility partner group and other potential partners and customers in attendance, and several winners will receive funded services for pilot projects.