Put on your thinking hats and sharpen your pencils! GE and four venture capital firms (Emerald Technology Ventures, Foundation Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer and RockPort Capital) have created a $200 million fund (with GE contributing half of the amount) whose purpose is to invest in the most promising ideas to create a “smarter”, cleaner, more efficient electric grid. This is the first collaboration of its kind in the clean tech/smart grid space.
I attended the event in San Francisco this morning where GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt unveiled the “GE ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid”. GE wants entrepreneurs, startups and even companies that have been around for a while to submit their best ideas, and get a chance to obtain funding and build a commercial relationship with GE.
To apply go to www.ecomagination.com/challenge. There are 3 categories for proposals: Renewables, Grid and Eco Homes/Eco Buildings. The Challenge is open to anyone 18 and older and to all legally formed entities from around the world. Entries will be evaluated as candidates for both a potential future commercial relationship, as well as a $100,000 innovation challenge award acknowledging their entry as an example of outstanding entrepreneurship and innovation.
Candidates for a future commercial relationship with GE will be evaluated by representatives of GE’s businesses and the VC firms. The entry receiving the most user-submitted votes (people’s choice award), will receive a cash award of $50,000. GE will present each of 5 innovation challenge award recipients with $100,000 in cash, for a total of $500,000, to acknowledge these entries as examples of outstanding entrepreneurship and innovation.
- an equity investment by GE or others;
- a cooperative agreement to develop a product or technology;
- a review of the product or service for possible qualification to be a part of the GE Ecomagination program.
Round 1: From July 13 – September 30, 2010: The general public will vote on ideas that they consider the most promising smart grid technologies; however, the ultimate decision will rest with GE.
Round 2: From October 1 – November 30, 2010: In late October, GE will announce those entrants with whom GE intends to pursue commercial relationships. In November, GE will announce any business deals with GE that have been formalized.
GE and the venture capital firms are partnering to fund innovative ideas because entrepreneurs in the clean tech and smart grid areas have difficulty scaling their businesses. It’s very difficult for a small startup alone to sell to a large utility in China or Brazil, or even to a large utility in the US such as PG&E. However, if these small firms partner with GE, their chance of commercializing their products increases dramatically.
So, check out the GE ecomagination challenge and apply now. Check out the other announcements below for the GE Nucleus and the Wattstation because if you have ideas for products (software, hardware) that would work with them, you should submit your ideas to GE.
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The other announcements today were for the GE Nucleus and the Wattstation. The GE Nucleus is a communication and data storage device that provides people with information about their household electricity consumption and costs. It attaches to smart meters and appliances, and lets you track your electricity usage from a computer or hand-held device.
The Wattstation is an electric car charging station designed by Yves Behar. The price will be between $3000 and $7000. It charges a car between 4 to 8 hours, unlike other car charging posts that take 12 to 18 hours.
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