{"id":44726,"date":"2015-12-30T11:25:09","date_gmt":"2015-12-30T16:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetsave.com\/?p=44726"},"modified":"2015-12-30T11:25:09","modified_gmt":"2015-12-30T16:25:09","slug":"flow-competition-environmental-entrepreneurialism-at-its-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetsave.com\/articles\/flow-competition-environmental-entrepreneurialism-at-its-best\/","title":{"rendered":"FLoW Competition: Environmental Entrepreneurialism At Its Best"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published on CleanTechnica<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Student teams of environmental entrepreneurs are being sought for this year\u2019s\u00a0FLoW competition<\/a><\/strong>. Why? $100,000 in prize money is available to winners, plus our planet and its population need as much in the way of sustainable innovations\u00a0as possible.<\/p>\n

\"FLoW<\/a><\/p>\n

The FLoW Basics<\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s what you need to know for starters.<\/p>\n

FLoW (first look west) was launched<\/a> in 2011 with a grant from the US Department of Energy. The DOE sought to \u201caccelerate cleantech innovation and foster student entrepreneurship.\u201d The results of this program have been no less than spectacular. In its first three years FLoW startups raised over $35 million in follow-on funding. Other FLoW startups came to be acquired by leading companies, among them, SunPower.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2015, FLoW won a further DOE Cleantech UP grant to extend the program for another three years. Today, FLoW teams benefit from the competition\u2019s special relationship with the DOE labs, and recipients of the DOE\u2019s National Incubator Initiative for Clean Energy (NIICE) \u2013 national incubators, the Electric Power Research Institute and DOE\u2019s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"FLoW<\/a><\/p>\n

Today FLoW operates under the leadership of the Resnick Sustainability Institute at Caltech.<\/a><\/p>\n

Of note, the FLoW 2.0 program has been structured to prepare students having projects contributing to environmental sustainability<\/a> with a pathway leading to \u201centrepreneurial success.\u201d Targeting scientists and engineers, FLoW 2.0 fosters skills that can convert ideas and technologies into products and businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough our program, scientists and engineers emerge as future leaders in the business community,\u201d write FLoW 2.0 program backers.<\/p>\n

According to program information, FLoW 2.0 works with entrepreneurs to mitigate the major challenges that often stop them in their tracks. The list of these challenges include inadequate business training, finding money, finding facilities for building prototypes, and connecting with mentors who understand their technologies and can help them advance their businesses.<\/p>\n

Five-point program<\/h3>\n

FLoW\u2019s five point program<\/a> shortens the odds by paying attention to the three core \u201cC\u2019s\u201d that prevent technology innovators from becoming entrepreneurs: culture, connections and cash.<\/p>\n

FLoW\u2019s 2015 winners<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. First Prize \u2013 Axiom Exergy, <\/strong>led by a Stanford University team, won the $75,000 with refrigeration battery technology that could save the food industry millions in energy costs.<\/strong>Refrigerating food accounts for a substantial 55% of the energy use in supermarkets. Axiom\u2019s Refrigeration Battery \u201ccharges\u201d by freezing tanks of salt water at night, when electricity is cheaper, and then it uses those frozen tanks to provide refrigeration throughout the day.<\/li>\n
  2. Second Prize \u2013 NexTint\u00a0<\/strong>for developer of a dimmable, retrofittable window film that can tune the amount of light and heat transferred through a building\u2019s windows to keep occupants comfortable, reduce glare, and save energy and money.<\/li>\n
  3. Third Prize \u2013 Reebeez,<\/strong>\u00a0an Austin, Texas startup commercializing a lightweight, solid-state microengine that can revolutionize power propulsion systems in small, unmanned aerial vehicles such as drones.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Transformational Idea Award went to Obtainium<\/strong> for a pilot-scale reactor for converting CO2 into ethanol using unique copper catalysts\u2013that works at room temperatures and air pressures.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"FLoW<\/a>
    Mentoring<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    About the competition, Axiom Exergy writes, \u201cThe FLoW program offers a cohesive set of services to startups, supporting them from the early idea phase (the Transformational Idea Award) through demonstration projections (the Rocket Fund). Few other accelerators, incubators, or business plan competitions offer such a long and cohesive chain of support.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The 2016 FLoW Competition<\/h3>\n

    The coming FloW program is open to university students and recent graduates across the United States. These are the innovators who have innovations span the breadth of contemporary cleantech and sustainability issues.<\/p>\n

    As might be apparent from last year\u2019s competition, FLoW has two competition tracks for contestant teams:<\/p>\n