Cleantech Group Reveals the 2012 Global Cleantech 100 List and Announces Award Winners in Eight Categories at the Global Cleantech 100 Gala

List Recognizes the Top Private Companies in Clean Technology

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cleantech Group, a leading global research and advisory firm focused on energy and environmental innovation, today released the fourth annual Global Cleantech 100 list and report. The list recognizes the one hundred most promising and innovative companies in areas such as energy efficiency, biofuels & biochemicals, smart grid, renewable energy, water and waste, and transportation.

“The Global Cleantech 100 list reveals an increasing maturity of the cleantech sector”

The list identifies the private cleantech companies most likely to make a significant market impact over the next five to ten years. “The Global Cleantech 100 is a natural extension of our companywide mission to help corporations, investors and financiers, professional service firms and governmental agencies connect with global cleantech innovation,” said Sheeraz Haji, Cleantech Group CEO. “This report celebrates the best in innovation and is the industry standard for gauging where cleantech innovation is headed next.”

The full list of Global Cleantech 100 firms and the full report are available online for free at Cleantech Group’s website. Complete profiles of all 100 companies can be found in Cleantech Group’s i3 market intelligence platform.

“The 2012 Global Cleantech 100 is markedly different in its composition to that of 2009, our first edition,” said Richard Youngman, Managing Director, Europe & Asia for Cleantech Group. “As such, it is a strong statement of how the collective market opinion has shifted as to what type of companies are the most likely to have significant market impact in a 5-10 year timeframe.”

To qualify for the Global Cleantech 100, companies must be independent, for-profit, cleantech companies not listed on any major stock exchange. This year, 5,117 companies were nominated from 85 countries. A 75-member expert panel, including leading global investors and a wide range of corporate executives from multi-national enterprises such as ABB, BP, Ecolab, GE, General Motors, IBM, Intel, Johnson Controls, Procter and Gamble, and Vestas, gave input on the shortlisted 236, to get to the final list of 100 companies from 13 countries.

The input of the expert panel is an integral component in the selection process. “The Global Cleantech 100 list reveals an increasing maturity of the cleantech sector,” said Colin le Duc, Partner, General Investment Management LLP and member of the 2012 expert panel. “In contrast to what the press and stock markets may have you believe, many private cleantech companies are gaining real market traction, generating significant revenues and profits and contributing materially to the challenges of resource efficiency and the climate crisis. The best companies in this sector are demonstrating the value of focus and persistence and are emerging as stronger organizations for having thrived in a very challenging environment over recent years.”

Cleantech Group presented awards in eight categories to clean technology innovators at the Global Cleantech 100 Gala at the Italian Embassy in Washington, DC on October 1.

Company of the Year was awarded in each of three regions to the highest-ranked company with no negative votes from the expert panel:

• Opower, developer of a software-as-a-service that utilizes customer engagement and billing analytics for utilities, won for the region of North America
• NovaLED, developer of energy-saving, long-life organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), won for the region of Europe & Israel

• Miartech, designer of integrated circuits for power line communication systems, utilizing power lines as a medium for transmitting information, won for the region of Asia Pacific

Other categories:

• Rising Star of the Year, given to the highest-ranked new entrant on this year’s list, was awarded to Clean Power Finance, provider of power purchase (PPA) financing for solar PV installations as well as customer acquisition software for installers.
• The Continued Excellence award, 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 was awarded to Harvest Power, which maximizes the value of organic materials through the production of renewable energy and soils, mulches and natural fertilizers.
• Early Stage Company of the Year, given to the highest-ranked product development stage company was awarded to Siluria Technologies, developer of methane conversion technology for creating fuels and chemicals from natural gas.

Awards were also given in two investor categories:

• Google Ventures won Corporate Investor of the Year, as the corporate investor with the largest percentage of its cleantech venture portfolio in the 2012 Global Cleantech 100.
• An award was given to Bright Capital for Investor of the Year as the financial investor with the largest percentage of its cleantech venture portfolio in the 2012 Global Cleantech 100

Over 28 of the companies on the Global Cleantech 100 list were in attendance at the Gala. “We’re thrilled to be named the 2012 Global Cleantech 100 North America Company of the Year,” said Opower President and Founder Alex Laskey. “In our first five years, we expanded to more than 75 utility partners in six countries and saved utility customers more than $170 million on their utility bills. I’m excited that our work is being recognized by a list widely regarded as the leading standard for identifying leading industry innovation in the clean tech sector. Over the next five years, we will continue to work with our utility partners to drive significant customer engagement and large-scale energy efficiency.”

2012 Global Cleantech 100 Quick Facts:

• 13 countries are represented in the 2012 list. The United States is the most highly represented country with 64 companies.
• Energy Efficiency remains the hottest and growing sector within cleantech, with 22 companies on the list, up from 19 in 2011 and 15 in 2010.
• Solar’s representation in the 100 falls again, down 40% from what it was in 2009.
• 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 2012 Global Cleantech 100 companies, followed by Siemens, Google, IBM and Waste Management.
• Over 400 investing entities, from 28 different countries, have a shareholding in the 100 companies. Kleiner Perkins is the most prolific shareholder of 2012 Global Cleantech 100 companies. It has invested in 19 companies in the list, representing 44% of its overall cleantech portfolio.

About Cleantech Group

Cleantech Group’s research, events and advisory services accelerate market adoption, stimulate demand, and remove barriers to cleantech innovation. A global company with offices in North America and Europe, Cleantech Group helps business leaders make strategic decisions involving cleantech innovation through the i3 Platform, the most comprehensive, vetted, up-to-date source for insights into companies, investors, financing and relationships across the clean technology ecosystem.