– Name better reflects mission, eliminates confusion for the private, non-profit organization –
MADISON, Wis. (June 6, 2006) – To better reflect its mission of facilitating and funding innovative, energy saving technologies, the Center for Technology Transfer, Inc. announced it is changing its name to CleanTech Partners, Inc. The private, non-profit organization provides investment funding and business expertise to companies that have developed new energy saving technologies and need assistance bringing their products and services to the marketplace.
Masood Akhtar, CleanTech Partners’ President, stated, “We expect that this change will eliminate the confusion caused by our earlier name. The words ‘technology transfer’ are too often associated with the sort of work conducted by university organizations that license research discoveries. The term ‘cleantech’ has entered the public lexicon to describe technologies that are energy efficient, economically viable and environmentally friendly. It feels like a better fit for our organization.”
The term “cleantech” is now widely used to describe technologies that improve productivity and efficiency while reducing energy costs or pollution. The cleantech concept can apply to any number of industries or operations – from manufacturing to transportation to agriculture to water management. According to the investors association, Cleantech Venture Network, such markets represent annual global revenues greater than $150 billion. In a recently published report, it estimates the total capital requirements of cleantech companies between 2006 and 2009 may reach $8.7 billion in North America.
CleanTech Partners scouts venture fairs, universities, tech organizations, and industry looking for new energy-saving technologies in which to invest. The organization currently focuses its efforts on assisting in the commercialization of innovative technologies that can reduce energy costs for the pulp/paper, metal casting, food processing, printing and plastics industries.
Some of CleanTech Partners’ recent investments have facilitated:
* the installation of ceramic radiant tube inserts into metal heat-treating furnaces to improve heat transfer and reduce the amount of natural gas needed
* a technology that reduces pulp production costs and converts by-products into a renewable fuel gas that is used to power plant operations
* the conversion of a whey-processing facility from using natural gas to using waste wood from nearby sawmills to supply process heat
* the development of enzymes that will make the production of ethanol from corn and wood more cost-efficient.
CleanTech Partners, Inc., founded in 2002 as the Center for Technology Transfer, Inc., is a private non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that facilitates the commercialization of new technologies to improve the competitiveness of Wisconsin’s key industry clusters. CleanTech Partners also provides financing for the installation of energy-efficiency best practices when financing from traditional sources is not available.
CleanTech Partners’ activities have the added benefit of keeping money in Wisconsin by reducing the amount of energy purchased from other states and nations. CleanTech Partners is sponsored in part by Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s energy efficiency and renewable energy initiative.
For more information, please contact Masood Akhtar (608) 203-0111 or visit http://www.cleantechpartners.org.
