New Energy Symposium - 2012

2012 New Energy Symposium
July 18-19, 2012 | 7 World Trade Center
New York City

Overview 
New Energy New York, the Energy & Environmental Technology Applications Center (E2TAC) of the College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering (CNSE), iCLEAN, E2TAC's clean energy incubator at CNSE, and the New York Academy of Sciences hosted the Seventh Annual New Energy Symposium July 18-19, 2012 at the New York Academy of Sciences at 7 World Trade Center in New York City.

Investment Pitch Competition
The Seventh Annual New Energy Symposium featured 15 emerging cleantech startups that pitched to a panel of over 40 regional and national VCs, angels, private equity investors, corporate VCs, investment bankers, and government executives at the Investment Pitch Competition on July 18.

The top three companies selected by the investor judges from the Investment Pitch Competition were presented awards and each company received a cash prize of $1,500, sponsored by New Energy New York. The prize money will be used to attend the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Industry Growth Forum, which is being held in Denver, Colorado October 23-24, 2012.

The three finalist companies, in alphabetical order, were:

• Dynamo Micropower Inc. | www.dynamo-micropower.com
  • Presented by Jason Ethier, Chief Executive Officer
• ENrG Inc. | www.enrg-inc.com
  • Presented by John Olenick, President
• Paper Battery Company | www.paperbatteryco.com
  • Presented by Shreefal Mehta, Chief Executive Officer

Now in its fifth year at the New Energy Symposium, the Investment Pitch Competition has showcased 58 early stage companies that have raised over $160 million in venture capital and government funding to develop clean energy technologies, products, and services.

Expert Panel Topics
The July 18 session, in addition to the Investment Pitch Competition, featured a keynote speaker and two moderated expert panel discussions focused on cleantech startup financing:

• Keynote Speaker
  • Sergej Mahnovski, Director of Energy Policy, New York City Office of the Mayor
• Alternative Financing Strategies for Cleantech Startups
  • Moderator: Pradeep Haldar, Vice President, Clean Energy Programs, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering
  • Brian Cohen, Chairman, New York Angels
  • Ilan Gur, Senior Advisor for Commercialization & Program Director, ARPA-E
  • Michael Shimazu, Senior Project Manager, Innovation and Business Development, NYSERDA
  • Dylan Steeg, Director & Kauffman Fellow, Intel Capital
  • David Wells, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
• Raising Capital: Lessons Learned from Cleantech Entrepreneurs
  • Moderator: Pradeep Haldar, Vice President, Clean Energy Programs, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering
  • Eben Bayer, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Ecovative Design
  • Philip Gitler, Fleet Financing Consultant, Proterra
  • Mark McGough, President & Chief Executive Officer, Ioxus
  • Jim Rice, Chief Executive Officer, Nautilus Solar Energy
  • Jun Shimada, Founder & Chief Technology Officer, ThinkEco
    

The July 19 session, co-sponsored by Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C., featured a keynote speaker, presentation, and two moderated expert panel discussions focused on successful strategies and intellectual property protection for clean energy technologies and startups:

• Keynote Speaker
  
  • Michael Hervey, Chief Operating Officer, Long Island Power Authority
• Clean Energy Patent Trends: Solar Technology Analysis
  • Victor Cardona, Partner, Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C.
    
• Strategies for Cleantech Companies Under the New America Invents Act
  • Moderator: David Miranda, Partner, Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C.
  • Janet Gongola, Patent Reform Coordinator, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
    
  • Eric Lane, Of Counsel, McKenna, Long & Aldridge LLP
    
  • Nicholas Mesiti, Partner, Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C.
    
• Importance of IP & Strategies for Commercialization
  • Moderator: Richard Adams, Manager, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  • Stephen Filler, Vice President, Business Development for Joule Assets
  • Andrew Gathy, IP Counsel, UTC Power Corporation
    
  • James Groelinger, Executive Director, Clean Energy Alliance
    
  • George Powch, Chief Executive Officer, Versatilis