Wisconsin's Model for Commercializing Emerging Industrial Technologies

Preston Schutt and Doug Presny, CleanTech Partners

Keywords

Abstract

A systematic method for commercializing emerging industrial technologies is an important, but often overlooked part of most industrial energy efficiency programs. Emerging industrial technologies, particularly process technologies, typically encounter commercialization hurdles that drastically slow or prevent them from reaching full commercial success and thereby reaching Best Practice status. The results of fewer new Best Practices are fewer energy savings produced by industrial efficiency programs, lower success rates for R&D programs, struggling technology developers and fewer improvements to industrial competitiveness.
CleanTech Partners (CTP) has developed a Mentoring and Investment Model to commercialize emerging industrial technologies. The model addresses four categories of commercialization hurdles: validation of technology performance and reliability; validation of technology’s value proposition; the firm’s business model viability; and the firm’s financial capacity. CTP truly partners with developers by offering mentoring and investment funds to be used to overcome identified commercialization hurdles. CTP negotiates a partnership agreement that helps align the motivations of all parties toward commercializing the technology, saving energy and developing a viable new business.
CTP’s model can help federal and state R&D programs increase their success rate and can also inform and advise R&D programs on the methods and criteria employed to choose which technologies to fund. Programs that promote industrial Best Practices can use the model to systematically evaluate emerging technologies and create a feeder system of validated new Best Practices. Finally, energy technology developers can use this model to assess their commercial readiness, anticipate commercialization hurdles and reach commercial success.