Cleantech Group Releases Latest Global Cleantech 100 List and Report

Cleantech Group has released the fifth annual Global Cleantech 100 list and report.

Highlights include:

Company of the Year was awarded in each of three regions to the highest-ranked company from that region:

•  North America: Nest, designer of a networked “learning” thermostat for the home
• Europe & Israel: Organica Water, provider of Fixed-Bed Biofilm Activated Sludge (FBAS) wastewater treatment plants in urban and residential population centers
• Asia Pacific: Hydrexia, developer of solid hydrogen storage systems based on magnesium alloys

Other categories:

• Rising Star of the Year, given to the highest-ranked new entrant on this year’s list: Ambri, developer of an all-liquid metal battery technology for grid-scale energy.
• Continued Excellence, given to the highest-ranked of companies that have made it onto the Global Cleantech 100 list for at least the last three consecutive years: LanzaTech, developer of a process that increases industrial energy efficiency by capturing waste gases (CO, CO2) and converting them to fuels and chemicals.
• Early Stage Company of the Year, given to the highest-ranked product development stage company: Alphabet Energy, developer of low-cost thermoelectric technology for waste heat recovery.

Awards were also given in three investor categories:

• Corporate Investor of the Year, given to the corporate investor with the largest percentage of its cleantech venture portfolio in the 2013 Global Cleantech 100 (with a minimum of three on the list, and a minimum of eight qualifying portfolio companies overall): GM Ventures
• Financial Investor of the Year, given to the financial investor with the largest percentage of its cleantech venture portfolio in the 2013 Global Cleantech 100 (with a minimum of four on the list, and a minimum of 10 qualifying portfolio companies overall): VantagePoint Capital Partners
• Graduate of the Year, given to the company the most impressive exit (as rated, by the financial investors in the expert panel) of a Global Cleantech 100 alumnus company (i.e. that has at one time been on the Global Cleantech 100 list). The exit must have happened in the 12 months prior to the cut-off date (in 2013 that meant pre-July 31): SolarCity

2013 Global Cleantech 100 Quick Facts:

• 18 countries are represented in the 2013 list. The United States is the most highly represented country with 56 companies.
• Energy Efficiency remains the hottest and growing sector within cleantech, with 27 companies on the list, up from 22 in 2012 and 19 in 2011.
• Solar’s representation in the 100 falls again, down from 20 companies in 2011, nine companies in 2012 to six companies in 2013. Those that remain on the list are primarily solar financing companies.
• Corporations continue to be ever more active in global cleantech innovation as investors, partners, licensees, customers, and acquirers of Global Cleantech 100 companies. GE is the most active overall partner with 2013 Global Cleantech 100 companies, followed by Waste Management, Siemens, Google, and IBM.
• Over 400 investing entities, from 26 different countries, have a shareholding in the 100 companies. Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers is the most prolific shareholder of 2013 Global Cleantech 100 companies. It has invested in 19 companies in the list, unchanged from 2012.