Northwestern Students Compete at MIT Clean Energy Prize 2011

On May 3rd Northwestern’s own S2E Solar was one of 25 semi-finalists in the MIT Clean Energy Prize competition. Five teams in five different categories competed to go on for the grand prize, which was awarded on May 9th. The competition was open to student teams from universities across the country.

The categories included Transportation, Clean Non-Renewables, Renewables, Energy Efficiency, and Deployment. S2E Solar, which makes high-efficiency, low-cost transparent conductors for thin film solar cells, competed against four other solar teams in the Renewables category. While the category was over saturated with solar-based technologies, there were plenty of interesting companies. The category winner, Ubiquitous Energy, has developed ultra-lightweight, ultra-flexible solar cells that can be deposited on paper or textiles.

Stand out teams in other categories included PK Clean, which can transform plastic waste into fuel, and the grand prize winner, CoolChip Technologies, which has developed a technology to address thermal management issues at computing and data centers.

The day consisted of a closed judging round, as well as a three hour poster showcase open to the public. The poster showcase gave teams the chance to speak with a wide variety of industry people, make contacts, and share their companies with the general public. A reception after the days events allowed teams and judges to mingle and network. The clean tech landscape in Boston is robust, and the event drew a large and enthusiastic crowd, making it fertile ground for entrepreneurs, investors, and those interested in the future of energy and clean tech innovation.

S2E Solar will go on to compete as a finalist on May 24th in Northwestern’s NUVC competition.

 

Calling all NU Students! Dow Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge

For the third year in a row, Northwestern students have the chance to compete for $10,000 in the Dow Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge. The challenge rewards three students or student groups with the most innovative approaches to meeting human needs in areas such as sustainable infrastructure, sustainable freshwater supply and distribution, climate change and energy efficiency. Students will be judged by NU faculty based on excellence in research, innovative thinking, and the use of interdisciplinary approaches.

Kimberly Gray, a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, worked with NU Development to establish this relationship with Dow. She says, “We are grateful to the Dow Chemical Company Foundation for partnering with us in this international effort to promote sustainability.” Northwestern prize winners will join winners from five other universities around the world: Cambridge, Peking, Tufts, Michigan, and Sao Paolo.

The highest scoring proposal in last year’s challenge was from former NUvention Energy student Jon Servaites, for his work in enhancing the efficiency of organic photovoltaic solar cells. The deadline for applications this year is May 16th. Prizes will be awarded on May 25th. Winners will prepare a poster and short presentation for a local awards ceremony, and may participate in a regional awards event hosted by Dow.

You can find more information on the challenge here.

 

Kellogg Green Week!

Monday, April 25th was the kick off of Kellogg’s Green Week. The Environmentally Sustainable Business Club (ESBC) has prepared a week of speakers and events focused on opportunities in the emerging landscape of sustainable business. Monday night’s topic was “Entrepreneurship, Sustainability and Environmental Commodities Trading.” The speaker, Steve McDougal (Kellogg ’95), co-founded 3Degrees, a company that helps its clients buy, sell and market environmental commodities. These commodities include Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and verified carbon offsets.

A REC represents 1 MWh of renewable electricity generated and delivered to the grid. 3Degrees commits to buying a certain number of RECs from a renewable energy facility, such as a wind or solar farm, then sells those RECs to its customers. The customers, which include Starbucks and Whole Foods, are directly supporting the financing of renewable energy projects while adhering to their own sustainability commitments. Many of the companies that buy RECs from 3Degrees cannot have their own renewable facilities (you won’t see solar panels on the roof of a Starbucks in the Loop), so purchasing RECs is a way to support the development of clean energy resources. McDougal said the U.S. REC market has helped the solar and wind markets grow by 600% since 2002.

3Degrees also sells verified carbon offsets. A carbon offset represents 1 MWh of greenhouse gas emissions that are prevented or destroyed. A carbon offset doesn’t necessarily have to be energy-related; for example, a sustainable forestry project that has been third-party verified could generate carbon offsets. A company would buy carbon offsets from 3Degrees if they wanted to specifically offset greenhouse gas emissions, as from a large fleet, for example.

Environmental commodities trading has received considerable criticism, primarily because it is often perceived as a way for large, polluting companies to “atone” for their environmental sins without doing anything to change their practices. It is also a mostly unregulated market (although it’s becoming increasingly more so), and critics point out the opportunity for scammers. However, the environmental commodities market has also created a tangible financial reward for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and has been instrumental in channeling funds to renewable energy projects. McDougal pointed to a number of renewable energy projects they work with that wouldn’t have been financed but for the sale of RECs.

And it’s good business. 3Degrees has gone from a $10M company in 2007 to $22M in 2010, McDougal said. It has a growing list of partners that include major companies, nonprofit organizations and government agencies. In fact, Northwestern University has purchased RECs from 3Degrees for 30% of its electricity usage.

We’re looking forward to more interesting events for Green Week. You can find the schedule and more information here: http://kellogg.campusgroups.com/esbc/green-week-2011/

 

NUvention Energy 2011

On March 11^th, 2011 seven teams of would-be energy entrepreneurs pitched businesses as their final presentations for NUvention Energy.  The course brings together students in engineering, business, law and other graduate and undergraduate disciplines to form interdisciplinary teams that work on projects in energy innovation. These projects stem from faculty and student research at Northwestern, as well as research from Argonne National Lab, and advisory board partners, such as the Center for Neighborhood Technology and ComEd. Students pitched to a judging panel made up of industry experts, entrepreneurs, and clean tech investors. They received valuable feedback and advice on their business plans and how to move forward with their businesses. Congratulations to all the teams for a great quarter!

Projects from the Winter quarter NUvention Energy class included:

SiNode

The highest scoring team this quarter worked on lithium ion battery technology. The business, SiNode, commercializes a new silicon-based anode that combines the high capacity of silicon for Li storage with the high conductivity of graphene in a composite structure based on nanotechnology. This anode provides a 30% increase in energy density for the total battery, is low cost compared to competitors, and highly scalable. SiNode plans to license their technology to component and battery manufacturers.

Members of the winning team - SiNode

EVIDENT

Second place went to the team working on electric vehicle charging infrastructure. EVIDENT uses proprietary software analytics capabilities to identify optimal locations for electric vehicle charging stations. The company plans to sell site selection services to municipalities, electric vehicle supply equipment companies, and national retailers. Their model combines core predictive data, client and site specific requirements, and proprietary algorithms to allow customers to make informed and cost-effective decisions about EV infrastructure locations.

Urban Sustainability Scans

The Urban Sustainability Scans team will offer its clients, municipalities, the opportunity to become more environmentally sustainable, create jobs, and save money. The team, in partnership with the Center for Neighborhood Technology, will perform a scan on a municipality for a fee, using public data and proprietary models. The scan focuses on key areas of environmental concern, such as transportation, buildings and land use. The final product will be a report detailing opportunities for areas of improvement with a quick ROI, a plan for implementation, and opportunities for grants, subsidies, or additional sources of revenue.

Materials Nexus

The computational materials innovation team focused on encouraging the commercialization of new materials key to clean technologies. They propose to do this by providing a platform that would reduce the time necessary for research and development of these materials. Their company, Materials Nexus, aggregates and organizes valuable data from academic collaborators while providing an interface between researchers and industry, accelerating the pace at which vital new technologies can be developed.  For a fee, users have access to the database, which provides powerful search, visualization, and data mining tools, enabling users to easily find materials that meet their needs.

Model-T Solar

The solar team worked on developing thin film solar modules that provide the highest return on investment for utility-scale solar developers. They partnered with Argonne National Laboratory, who pioneered their technology. The company, Model-T Solar, boasts solar technology that includes improved efficiency, low cost due to the use of widely available raw materials, and ease of scalability.

The judging panel asking questions during a team presentation

RUN GREENER

This team focused on creating a system to motivate people to reduce energy consumption and develop more energy efficient behaviors. Their business, RUN GREENER, is a year-long reward system that allows users to earn points through engaging in energy efficient behavior. Users participate through a contest website and can redeem their points for attractive prizes provided by partner companies. RUN GREENER plans to contract with energy utilities, providing them with a program to reduce energy consumption, encourage behavior change, and ease the mounting burden on the grid.

SmartBridge

This team worked on a project to drive behavior change in the way people interact with smart grid technology. SmartBridge is a social gaming platform that allows users to take full advantage of smart grid technology by encouraging them to use energy more efficiently. Customers will be able to compare their utility usage with friends and family, track their energy use and carbon footprint, receive energy saving tips, and then redeem their energy savings for reward points, which can be used purchase products from partner companies.