10 startups that could make serious green at GreenBeat 2010

We’re excited to announce the finalists of the GreenBeat 2010 Innovation Competition. VentureBeat and its advisors selected these companies for having the most promising ideas for making the next generation of the smart grid — a bionic upgrade we’re calling the super grid that’s the ultimate marriage of infotech and cleantech — a big business.

Our team looked for companies developing new technologies to help decarbonize the grid, facilitate data transmission and monitoring of power use, and increase efficiency and conservation.  In addition to innovative technology, we looked for clear revenue models that can be sustainable in a rapidly changing space.

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Executivess from the 10 finalists will present live onstage at GreenBeat 2010, the executive summit on the super grid we’re cohosting with SSE Labs at Stanford University, November 3-4.

The finalists will vie for the top prize in a competition emceed by DLA Piper’s Craig Tighe. Our stellar cast of judges includes Steve Vassallo, general partner at Foundation Capital; Lafe Vittitoe of Silicon Valley Bank; and Mike Dauber, vice president of Battery Ventures.

In addition to the fame and glory that comes with presenting at GreenBeat 2010, the overall winner will receive an opportunity to launch their products at DEMO in 2011, a prize valued at $18,500. DEMO, a conference VentureBeat also produces, is the leading launch platform for emerging technologies.

Here are the finalists for the GreenBeat 2010 Innovation Competition:

Ecofactor delivers a personalized and automated HVAC demand-response system that allows homeowners to maintain the level of comfort and convenience they’re accustomed to, without changing behavior or sacrificing control. EcoFactor makes DR programs attractive to the consumer, and more effective for utilities, all the while propelling the growth of the smart grid in the residential sector.

Gridbot creates networked hardware which intelligently manages one of the largest emerging loads on the grid, electric vehicles.

OpenADR provides a simple interface that facilitates real-time monitoring and control over the HVAC system and other large building loads. Its platform specifically targets peak reduction by helping the end-user implement a custom load-reduction plan that includes reducing lighting, HVAC and plug loads when a demand-response signal is sent from the utility.

Optimized Energy Networks is a development company specializing in the creation of microgrid projects in a new application of the project finance model.

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PowerMap makes the MyPowerMap meter, which plugs into any outlet in the home and provides consumers with real-time energy consumption information for their home appliances and other electonics.

Redwood Systems is pioneering a new, unified power and control architecture, purpose-built for the properties of LEDs, to dramatically improve energy efficient lighting. Leveraging technology from networking, Redwood’s solution facilitates unprecedented energy savings and greatly improves overall building performance.

SmartGridView creates tools which help thinkers make sense of vast amounts of smart-grid information.

World Infrastructure Technologies creates smart-grid infrastructure visualization software which displays susceptibility and reliability issues in the form of heatmaps and geo-referenced visualizations of equipment.

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Enbala Power Networks allows large energy users like municipal water plants to participate in an electricity management program enables them to provide services to the ISOs and RTOs — the entities responsible for operating electricity systems and markets in deregulated regions, such as Ontario, New York, New England, California, and so on.  The goal is to provide better quality and reliability of electricity delivered across the grid.

The last company, an innovative powerchip developer, will be launching at GreenBeat 2010.

Want to learn more? Register now for one of the few remaining spots at GreenBeat 2010 to watch the presentations and learn who wins.

Are you a green executive or entrepreneur? If so, sign up now for GreenBeat 2010 — the year’s seminal conference on the smart grid — November 3-4 at Stanford University. World leaders in smart grid initiatives will debate how the new “Super Grid” is creating huge opportunities in cars, energy storage, and renewables. GreenBeat 2010 is hosted by VentureBeat and SSE Labs of Stanford University. Go here for full conference details.

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