Made in Colorado: Cleantech/new energy

Lisa Ryckman //April 1, 2012//

Made in Colorado: Cleantech/new energy

Lisa Ryckman //April 1, 2012//


Luca Technologies
Golden
www.Lucatechnologies.com
It’s not exactly spinning straw into gold, but it’s close. Luca Technologies’ “Restoration Process” technology uses microbes to access the energy in coal, oil and shale and turn it into natural gas, bypassing the need for mining, hauling and cleanup.
Luca uses existing wells and delivers the gas through existing pipelines, and its research shows that its technology is far more sustainable than traditional extraction methods. Luca’s current operations focus on the company’s 1,350 wells in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, but the company plans to expand across the nation and the world.

Ascent Solar
Thornton
www.ascentsolar.com
Ascent Solar makes lightweight, flexible photovoltaic panels, and it’s has taken those solar panels to the next level with its flexible, thin-film modules. This make harnessing the sun’s power possible in a variety of applications where glass panels won’t work, including building materials, electronics, fabrics, portable power generation, defense, aerial solutions, and solar integrated vehicles.
“Our flexible solar panels integrate seamlessly with countless applications across a wide variety of markets,” Ascent President and CEO Ron Eller says.
Ascent’s flexible solar panels were named one of Time magazine’s “50 Best Inventions of 2011,” an honor bestowed in the past on the iPad, the Nissan Leaf and 3-D cameras.
“Time’s recognition further validates the transformational aspects of Ascent’s technology,” Eller says.


Silver Bullet Water Treatment
Aurora
www.silverbulletcorp.com
Silver Bullet’s founder and chief technology officer David Kolstad invented a water-treatment system to address problems he experienced with traditional cooling tower water treatment systems during 30 years as an operating engineer in power plants, commercial buildings and hospitals. The result is the Silver Bullet, the first chemical-free system for conditioning and treating water in commercial applications.
The company’s patent-pending system uses modified ultraviolet rays to treat water in cooling towers. Its system reduces bacteria and other biological growth, eliminates the addition of toxic chemicals used to control scaling and microbiological growth and saves energy by increasing heat transfer efficiency.
The Silver Bullet system helps prevent hard-water scaling buildup, and that means the water can be recycled more often – reducing water consumption and increasing energy efficiency.

10 More
ceramics
Coorstek, Golden
www.coorstek.com

groundwater
equipment
Geotech Environmental Equipment Inc., Denver
www.geotechenv.com

energy storage
systems
ICE Energy, Windsor
www.ice-energy.com

solar panels
Abound Solar, Loveland/
Fort Collins
www.abound.com

electric vehicles
Boulder Electric Vehicles, Lafayette
www.boulderev.com

energy platform
Tendril,
Boulder
www.tendrilinc.com

valves, hydrolics, electronics
Sturman,
Woodland Park
www.sturman-industries.com

super-efficient air conditioners
Coolerado, Denver
www.coolerado.com

plug-and-play led modules and light engines
TerraLUX Illumination, Longmont
www.terralux.com

sunlight transport systems
Sundolier, Boulder
www.sundolier.com