CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2006--Energy entrepreneurs in solar, hydro-power and waste processing convinced a panel of industry leaders and venture capitalist judges that their businesses can make clean energy competitive with conventional energy to win the Finals of the 2006 Ignite Clean Energy Business Presentation Competition.

Started in 2005 by the Energy Special Interest Group (ESIG) of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, the Ignite Clean Energy Competition provides training, mentoring, coaching, $125,000 in prizes and services to clean-energy entrepreneurs, with one overarching goal - to build a thriving clean-energy industry in Massachusetts.

The winning team, Stellaris, expects to build a vibrant company in Lowell, MA, capturing its share of the growing $11 billion in annual worldwide solar energy panel sales. Stellaris COO Lee Johnson presented the team's plan to the judges and an overflow audience of nearly 400 at the MIT Stata Center. Stellaris solves the high cost of solar energy systems by decreasing the solar module size by 40% while increasing the efficiency of its energy-generation by more than 20%. The Stellaris PowerTile(TM) captures and concentrates indirect light via a translucent panel that can be used in conventional windows, patio tiles, and skylights, combining architectural appeal with energy production.

For its efforts, the Stellaris team, which includes Marketing & Sales VP Tom Ward, won $15,000 cash, plus $25,000 in office/incubator space, and $7,500 in legal services. The award was presented by Warren Leon, Director of the Massachusetts Technology Center's Renewable Energy Trust, Platinum Sponsor of the Competition.

"Winning this competition will greatly increase our visibility with potential investors on both coasts, and for this we are grateful," said Jim Paull, president and co-founder. "It is always rewarding when a team of industry experts from energy technology companies, venture capital firms, and academic technology experts confirm that you are on the right track."

Two 2nd place teams each took home $5,000 cash awards, $25,000 in office/incubator space, and $5,000 in legal services:

-- 2nd place (professional) prize went to Solasta (The Eagle Axis), a Boston College faculty team developing ultra high efficiency solar cells using nanoscale elements. Solasta includes Kris Kempa, PhD, Mike Naughton, PhD, Zhifeng Ren, PhD, Jakub Rybczynski, PhD,Yang with advice from Mentors Chris Hobson, SVP Operations, eCredit, and Bud Enright, Vice President of Technology Business Development, HP, retired advised the team.

-- Feed Resource Recovery won the 2nd place (student) prize for their company that uses food and other organic wastes to produce biomethane and a highly effective organic fertilizer. Feed Resource Recovery is a Babson College student team with Shane Eten and John Gingrich and advised by Mentor Jeff Behrens, former CEO, Telluride Group.

The two 3rd place winners won $2,500 cash awards, plus $12,500 in office/incubator space:

-- NatEl won 3rd place (professional), to convert underutilized low-head dams for hydropower generation with its Linear HydroEngine(TM) technology, making existing small dams cost-effective power sources. NatEl includes Abe Schneider, Elizabeth Wayman, and Chris Rivest. Lucinda Seigel, Communications Solutions and attorney Jeff Seul mentored the team.

-- Synergetic Power Systems, an MIT-student team, took home 3rd prize (student) for their parabolic concentrating solar collector systems business. The team includes Amy Mueller, Matthew Orosz, Sorin Grama, Ignacio Aquirre, Perry Hung, Elizabeth Wayman and Mentor Mark Wolf.

Dr. Linda Plano, Chair of the Ignite Clean Energy Competition, began the evening explaining the Competition's focus on presentation skills. "Investors are a tough audience," Plano said, "Everyone wants to talk to them, everyone wants their money. They can usually pick and choose their investments. So it's critically important that an entrepreneur be able to catch an investor's imagination and hold it for ten minutes by getting them excited by the opportunity and confident of the team's ability to execute. Sometimes an entrepreneur will have 30 seconds, sometimes half an hour - but every entrepreneur should have a killer ten-minute presentation ready to go."

While the Finalist's 10-minute presentations were the highlight of the evening, the crowd also took advantage of networking opportunities while viewing 30 exhibits presented by finalists, semi-finalists and sponsors. Technologies included a wide variety of solar, wind, hydrogen fuel cells, hydropower, biofuels, energy efficient desalination and water-purification, and harnessing heat energy from pavement.

Robert Lifton, CEO of Medis Technologies provided the keynote address, offering advice from his experience growing Medis from a start-up to a business valued at over $800 million.

Reaching the Finals stage in the 2006 Ignite Clean Energy competition (www.IgniteCleanEnergy.com) wasn't easy, as each team had to survive two elimination rounds against almost 40 other start-ups. The Finalists, selected by 47 judges, from 29 teams that made the first cut to compete in the Semi-Final round at UMass/Lowell in April, spent many hours over 4 weeks absorbing feedback from judges and honing their business presentation skills. To win an invitation to the Finals, these teams made a compelling case to energy venture capitalists, CEOs, and industry experts that they have the right stuff to build new clean energy tech companies - helping to create one of the fastest growing industry clusters from Boston to the Berkshires. Many of the student teams faced the added challenge of taking their final exams while preparing for the Ignite Clean Energy Finals.

The entire event is geared to educate the teams and introduce them to the network of investors, including the well-established Boston venture capital community, and industry experts that can help these early stage companies grow. "The questions our judges asked were so insightful," said one team member. "We couldn't buy that kind of expert guidance - It's amazing that all these CEOs and successful investors would volunteer their time and wisdom to help our clean energy companies get off on the right foot."

The Finals judges were:

-- Cary Bullock, President and CEO, GreenFuel Technologies Corp.

-- Mark Farber, VP Strategic Planning, Evergreen Solar Inc.

-- Pamela Winer Goldberg, Director, Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, Tufts University

-- Daniel P. Goldman, CFO, New Energy Capital Corp.

-- Kenneth Mabbs, Senior Managing Director, FA Technology Ventures

-- Chuck McDermott, General Partner, RockPort Capital Partners

-- Peter Rothstein, President, Allegro Strategy

-- Deb Shufrn, Director, Massachusetts Department of Business and Technology

The Ignite Clean Energy competition is designed to help new business leaders create a compelling story for raising funds from government, angel, and venture capital investors; teach entrepreneurs superior business plan presentation skills; and encourage networking among entrepreneurial participants, investors and industry leaders.

The Ignite Clean Energy Competition is sponsored by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Foley Hoag LLP, Mintz Levin, The University of Massachusetts/Lowell's Commercial Venture Development, Cummings Properties, Rich May Law, RockPort Capital Partners, Maniv Energy Capital, Business Wire, and Constellation NewEnergy.

The MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, www.mitforumcambridge.org , is a volunteer, non-profit organization based at MIT whose mission is to promote and strengthen the process of starting and growing innovative and technology-oriented companies.

For more information on the Ignite Clean Energy Competition and on the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, please visit www.IgniteCleanEnergy.com or call 508-698-6810.

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Copyright Business Wire 2006

MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge

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