California Clean Tech Open

Over the past few weeks I ran across a green technology related business plan competition called the California Clean Tech Open. The competition is sponsored by Acterra: Action for a Sustainable Earth, a non-profit organization based in Palo Alto, CA. The competition focuses on 6 different clean tech categories:

• Air, Water & Waste
• Energy Efficiency
• Green Building
• Renewables
• Smart Power
• Transportation

Each category winner will receive a "Start-up in a box" prize package worth $100,000. During the course of the competition, there are many opportunities for entrants to attend workshops receive mentoring, and meet many venture capitalists and industry professionals. The entry deadline is June 30.

I'm interested in the clean/green tech field, but I'm not sure I have a good enough idea for a start-up. I did sign up for the Technology and Entrepreneur Matching Event on June 4. This event attempts to match entrepreneurs with researches in the clean tech field. Who knows, maybe I'll find a partner to team up with.

Last year there were more than 500 entries in 5 categories. The winners and finalists are listed here. My favorite entry from last year is a company called SoCool. They are making a solar powered AC for cars which fits into a standard sunroof footprint. It keeps you car cool without wasting gas. It even keeps your car cool while parked on a hot, sunny day! That really is So Cool. Why didn't I think of that? I'm not sure if this product, called Helios, is commercially available yet.