Third Annual Clean Energy Venture Summit Offers Behind the Scenes Look at the Smart Grid Agenda

June 24, 2009

AUSTIN, Texas — The third annual Clean Energy Venture Summit: Bringing the Smart Grid to Life is scheduled for Oct. 14 and 15 at the AT&T Executive Center, the Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) Clean Energy Incubator has announced.

The Clean Energy Venture Summit (CVES) will focus on technology related to the Pecan Street Project (PSP), the largest clean energy laboratory in the United States and the only place where researchers and entrepreneurs can develop and test their technology on the grid.

"With its tie-in to Austin's Pecan Street Project, a real-world, citywide, smart-grid laboratory, the Clean Energy Venture Summit is a necessary venue for any investor who is serious about smart grid technologies," said Ned Hill, managing partner of DFJ Mercury, a venture capital firm. "Playing to traditional venture capital areas of expertise like telecom and Internet, smart grid is a natural fit for venture capital investment. And with the recognized importance of better securing and controlling the electrical power infrastructure, we are at the very early stages of the emergence of a huge potential market."

The day-long summit on Oct. 15 will include a competition of 30-40 early stage clean energy companies in five focus areas: distributed generation and renewable energy, energy efficiency, transportation and storage, demand management and miscellaneous. From each area, the strongest company will emerge and compete to win overall. Summit organizers will pre-screen participating companies based on innovation, overall market opportunity, stage of development, intellectual property position, resource requirements, environmental impact and potential return on investment.

"This event positions companies to take a leadership role in this growing space," said Steve Taylor, director of North American corporate affairs at Applied Materials Inc. "The Pecan Street Project is one of the country's most advanced and active energy projects, and CEVS can be the launching pad for the companies that will convert the project's ideas into commercial products."

CEVS also presents an opportunity for networking and software companies, including wireless mesh companies, broadband power line companies, energy dashboard Web interface makers and software systems developers.

In addition, CEVS will host an invitation-only, pre-conference event on Oct. 14 for CEI-accredited investors and sponsors to get a behind-the-scenes look at the Smart Grid agenda from the Austin Energy technology pathway. The University of Texas at Austin Office of Technology and Commercialization also invites them to the Austin Energy Footprint showcase, featuring presentations by key university researchers who will highlight clean energy and wireless solutions for distributed generation and renewable energy.

Entrepreneurs, investors and attendees can register online.

About the Austin Technology Incubator Clean Energy Incubator
The ATI Clean Energy Incubator (CEI) provides young clean energy companies with the resources they need to succeed and grow into self-sustaining entities that contribute jobs to Austin and intellectual capital to the world. Located in Austin, Texas, CEI provides the resources and facilities necessary for start-up companies to attract funding, aggressively compete in the free market and turn ideas into reality.

About the Pecan Street Project
The Pecan Street Project (PSP) intends to establish the City of Austin as America's clean energy laboratory. The overarching mission is to design and implement an energy generation and management system that generates a power plant's worth of power from clean sources within the city limits and delivers it over an advanced delivery system that allows for unprecedented customer energy management and conservation.

For more information, contact: Tim Green, Office of the Vice President for Research, 512 475 6596; Melissa Rabeaux, marketing communications, Austin Technology Incubator, 512-305-0024.