Cheryl Martin of ARPA-E to Deliver Keynote at 5th Annual Mid-Atlantic Energy Tech Forum

The 5th Annual Energy Technology Investment Forum is shaping up really well since I first posted about it a couple of weeks ago. As April 17th approaches, we've been working hard to build-out our program.

We just confirmed Dr. Cheryl Martin from ARPA-E as our keynote and have put together a top-notch Investor Panel, which I'll be moderating. 

Presenting company applications are due this Friday, March 8th, and already we have a stellar group of submissions -- making it harder to choose. 

Early Bird registration is good until March 15th. Register here today! 

Here are the latest details:

Blank Rome's Venture Group, the Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic, and the Academy of Natural Sciences are pleased to host the 5th Annual Mid-Atlantic Energy Technology Forum which will feature a panel of experts and thought leaders discussing energy technology venture and corporate investing, as well as showcase of leading Mid-Atlantic energy technology companies. The program will include:

•	Keynote Speaker: Dr. Cheryl Martin, Deputy Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). Dr. Martin is responsible for the oversight of ARPA-E and leads ARPA-E's Technology-to-Market program, which helps breakthrough energy technologies succeed in the marketplace.
	Prior to joining ARPA-E, Dr. Martin was an Executive in Residence with Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California and spent 20 years with Rohm and Haas Company in various research and marketing roles before becoming the General Manager for the Paint and Coatings Materials business in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
•	Energy Technology Investment Panel, including: Andrew R. Garman, Managing Partner, New Venture Partners LLC Diana Propper de Callejon, General Partner, Expansion Capital Partners, LLC Purnesh Seegopaul, Ph.D., General Partner, Pangaea VenturesModerated by Scott E. Anderson, Cofounder, Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic
•	Introduction to the EEB Hub by Laurie Actman, Deputy Director, EEB Hub
•	Cleantech Company Showcase (companies to be announced) introduced by Thomas P. Dwyer, co-chair of Blank Rome's Venture Group

Energy Technology Forum Call for Companies:
We are currently accepting applications for companies who wish to participate in the Energy Technology Forum Company Showcase. Click here to download the application. Forward completed applications by March 8 to Nikki Benner at Benner@BlankRome.com.

Want to be a sponsor of the Mid-Atlantic Energy Technology Forum? We are currently seeking providers of capital, technology entrepreneurs, and policy makers to participate in this forum as sponsors. Please contact Nikki Benner at Benner@BlankRome.com for more information.

(Disclosure: The author is co-founder and a board member of the Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic, which is co-host for this event.)

5th Annual Mid-Atlantic Energy Technology Investment Forum - April 17, 2013

Are you an investor looking for opportunities to invest in the energy technology revolution? Are you an entrepreneur with a killer app or energy platform that's looking for funding? Are you a service provider wanting to learn about the latest trends in energy tech investing from venture to corporate and seed to late-stage? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you won't want to miss our 5th Annual Mid-Atlantic Energy Technology Investment Forum (formerly known as the Mid-Atlantic Cleantech Investment Forum). This is the premiere energy technology investment forum in the region and always sells out fast. So register today! 

Wednesday, April 17, 2013 
3:30-4:00 p.m. Registration and Networking 
4:00-6:00 p.m. Program 
6:00-7:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception 

The Academy of Natural Sciences 
1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy 
Philadelphia PA 19103 

Ticket Pricing: 
$50 Early Bird (on or before 3/8) 
$65 (on or before 4/16) 
$75 (at the door) 
Ticket prices include all processing fees. 

Click here to register. 

Hosted by Blank Rome's Venture Group, along with my Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic, and the Academy of Natural Sciences, the 5th Annual Mid-Atlantic Energy Technology Forum will feature a panel of experts and thought leaders discussing energy technology venture and corporate investing (moderated by yours truly), as well as a showcase of leading Mid-Atlantic energy technology companies. Topics and presenters to be announced. 

Energy Technology Companies: We are currently accepting applications for companies who wish to participate in the Energy Technology Forum Company Showcase. Click here to download the PDF application. Forward completed applications by March 1 to Nikki Benner at Benner@BlankRome.com. 

Want to sponsor the Mid-Atlantic Energy Technology Forum? We are currently seeking providers of capital, technology entrepreneurs, and policy makers to participate in this forum as sponsors. Please contact Nikki Benner at Benner@BlankRome.com for more information. 

You don't want to miss this very popular event -- register today! 

See you there! 

(Disclosure: The author is co-founder and a board member of the Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic, which is co-host for this event.)

Mosaic Shows Crowdfunding Cleantech May Get Its Time in the Sun

"The road is paved with ideas -- good, bad, and disastrous," I wrote in a blog post about how I nearly started The Disaster Channel, a 24-hour cable network devoted entirely to disasters and their impacts.

Ideas are a dime a dozen. Timing is worth a lot more.

When I set out to develop my green energy web marketplace, variously called "Seat 28B" and "VerdeInvesting," among other names, it was the fall of 2008. 

That's right the fall of 2008. Should be a capital letter on that Fall, maybe even all caps, FALL of 2008.

What seemed like a great idea that summer -- actually, it was an evolving idea that I and my friend Lucinda had as far back as 2006, only then it was for conservation projects -- turned into a really good idea whose time had most decidedly not come by that Fall.

The collapse of the financial markets and downwardly spiraling oil prices conspired to make timing for that idea um, to say the least, problematic. 

Add to that mix the SEC challenges raised early on by the venerable Steve Goodman at Morgan Lewis, and we had a kind of perfect storm against our retail alternative energy investing business. 

As I've said before, we were too small to fail, hadn't taken anyone's money and hadn't hired anyone, so it was fairly easy to downshift and turn it into a consulting practice. 

I still believe the idea of a web marketplace for cleantech is a good one. And this week proved it, as Mosaic, which I've written about here back when they were SolarMosaic, fully funded four projects in its first day of activity.

Mosaic connects ordinary investors to high quality solar projects. Their mission is "to open up clean energy investing and fundamentally change the way energy is financed."

The economy is still bad and some seasoned investors are starting to move away from cleantech. So what's different and why is Mosaic working?

The JOBS Act. 

In 2012, President Obama signed into law the JOBS Act, which stands for Jumpstart Our Business Startups, effectively making it easier for public solicitation by private companies raising money.

The SEC still has to file some rules on the matter, which it didn't do within the 270 days they were given to do so by Congress. Mosaic does not have an official approval from the SEC, but worked with state officials to open their platform to residents of California and New York.

Mosaic had a private launch in early 2011. Since that time it has raised $1.1 million from 400 or so investors and funded 11 projects. This week, they raised $300,000 in 24 hours to fund 4 projects. 

Crowdfunding for cleantech may yet get its time in the sun.

Man the Lifeboats and Consider the Hype Cycle

I had an email exchange the other day with my friend John Moore of Acorn Energy, a long-time energy entrepreneur and investor, who wrote to me, almost as an afterthought, "FWIW, I am seeing interest in cleantech crumble with the Indexes."

"I'm beginning to think that cleantech may have to wait until my kids' generation takes over," I responded. 

Then John reminded me of the Gartner Hype Cycle for Technology and added, "Usually big things happen after the parade has passed." 

Gartner Hype Cycle for Technology

"I strive to dwell on the slope of enlightenment," I responded.

Later in the week I spoke with a cleantech investor who was bemoaning the state of things.

Usually an optimist, this investor said it was getting harder and harder to maintain that position.

While family offices, strategics, and international investors (read China) are entering the game, from this investor's perspective, the cleantech investing scene looks pretty bleak. 

The funds still investing seem to be doing follow-on rounds to shore up their existing portfolios. And a number of investors have left or are leaving funds and flocking to positions at companies (or even big four accounting and advisory firms -- ahem).

"But perhaps," this investor offered. "Perhaps cleantech investing will be stronger with a smaller group of dedicated people."

I couldn't help thinking of that Gartner Hype Cycle and especially the through of disillusionment. Perhaps that's where we are now and maybe, just maybe, we'll climb the slope of enlightenment to reach the plateau of productivity.

May it happen in our lifetime.

4th Annual Mid-Atlantic Cleantech Investment Forum - April 12th

The Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic, along with Blank Rome's Cleantech Group and the Academy of Natural Sciences are pleased to host our 4th Annual Mid-Atlantic Cleantech Investment Forum featuring panels of experts and thought leaders discussing the new future of shale gas development, cleantech venture and corporate investing, as well as our annual showcase of leading Mid-Atlantic cleantech companies.

The program will include:

Keynote Speaker: Mark Fulton, Managing Director and Global Head of Climate Change Investment Research & Strategy, Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors

Shale Development Panel featuring
Andrew Leitzinger, Director, Appalachian Basin UG Services, URS Corporation
N. Foster Mellen, Senior Strategic Analyst-Oil and Gas, Ernst & Young LLP
Thomas Murphy, Extension Educator and Co-Director, Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research 
Peter Terranova, Vice President Midstream Assets and Services, UGI Energy Services, Inc.
Moderated by Peg Hill, Chair of Blank Rome's Marcellus Shale and Hydraulic Fracturing Industry Group

Cleantech Investment Panel including:
Bruce Chung, Vice President-Venture Investments, NRG Energy
Michael Cichowski, Principal, Edison Ventures
Ellen Purdy, Chief Financial Officer, Renmatix
Tucker Twitmyer, Managing Director, EnerTech Capital
Josh Wolfe, Founding Partner and Managing Director, Lux Capital
Moderated by Thomas P. Dwyer and Louis Rappaport, co-leaders of Blank Rome's Cleantech Group 

When: Thursday, April 12, 2012, 3:30-7:30 PM
Where: The Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia

To purchase tickets: Mid-Atlantic Cleantech Investment Forum


(Disclosure: The author is co-founder of the Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic.)