For more information contact
Julie Brokaw
972-539-8680
jebrokaw@bechtel.com
Bechtel Announces Winner of the 2003 National
Clean Energy Venture Competition
Advent Solar, Inc Honored for Photovoltaic Technology
AUSTIN,
Texas, November 19, 2003—A small company commercializing advanced photovoltaic
technology has won the 2003 National Clean Energy Venture Competition at the 16th
NREL Industry Growth Forum.
Advent Solar, Inc., based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, beat out
35 competitors to take the top prize of $7,000 plus incubation services from
the Austin Clean Energy Incubator valued at more than $3,000. Winners were
announced Wednesday by Julie Brokaw of Bechtel Corporation, founding sponsor of
the competition.
Advent Solar provides a full line of advanced photovoltaic
cells and modules based on proprietary technology aimed at dramatically
reducing the cost of producing electricity. Advent’s technology is exclusively licensed
from Sandia National Laboratories.
“I’m pleased to receive this award from Bechtel and want to
thank NREL for the opportunity to present to such an illustrious group of
investors and colleagues,” said Rusty Schmit, president and chief executive officer
of Advent. “This validates Advent’s business potential, its technology, and its
team.”
Participants in the competition were selected from hundreds of
applicants to present their business plans to energy executives and other
potential investors. Outstanding Presentation Awards of $1,500 cash and $500 in
incubation services each went to ISE Corporation and Power Tube, Inc.
ISE, based in San Diego, California, is a
leading supplier of hybrid-electric and fuel cell drive systems for heavy-duty
vehicles such as buses and trucks. “Our ThunderVolt hybrid-electric drive
systems and technologies are particularly exciting because of their potential
to create a clean, efficient transportation system,” said Michael C. Simon, CEO
of ISE.
Power Tube is a Texas-based company
developing novel technology for turning the heat of the Earth into electric
power. “Its great to be recognized by the investment community for having a
compelling clean energy business,” said Power Tube CEO Glen Lovelace.
Bechtel provided $10,000 to launch the annual clean energy
award in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and
the Austin Clean Energy Incubator. “As founding sponsor of this
competition, Bechtel is proud to help showcase technological innovation and
vision,” said Brokaw, senior science and technology specialist at Bechtel.
“It’s exciting to get a sneak preview of our energy future. Society requires abundant and varied
supplies of clean energy, and some really smart people are working very hard to
meet that need.”
Headquartered in San Francisco, Bechtel is a global
engineering and construction organization, with 44,000 employees worldwide.
Located in Golden, Colorado, NREL is a premier laboratory for
renewable energy research. Its mission is to lead the United States toward a
sustainable energy future by developing and employing renewable energy
technologies and by improving energy efficiency.
The Clean Energy Incubator is a project of the Austin
Technology Incubator at The IC2 Institute, The University of Texas at Austin.
For more info contact cei@ati.utexas.edu or visit www.cleanenergyincubator.com.
Contact information for the winning companies
Advent Solar, Inc.
Rusty Schmit, President and CEO
Albuquerque, New Mexico
505-281-1505
rschmit@adventsolar.com
ISE Corporation
Michael C. Simon, CEO
San Diego, California
619-287-8785 Ext. 120
msimon@isecorp.com
Power Tube, Inc.
Glen Lovelace, CEO
Austin, Texas
512-858-9410
glovelace@powertubeinc.com