Calling early career professionals in clean technologies

Kristin: Are you under 30 and pursing a career in science, technology or engineering related to cleantech and the renewable energies sector?

Bridge8 and Australian CleanTech are conducting a nationwide search for university graduates, technicians and young professionals working in wind, solar, biofuels as well as other cleantechnology and clean energy applications. We are looking for a range of disciplines and professions. We want to share your stories in trade journals and schools’ resources to inform skills development and general science communications about this sector. The best submissions showing how your career path is making a difference for the future will be announced in early February.

To enter, please email your application to info@bridge8.com.au by 31st December 2009, with the subject title ‘Cleantech Careers Search’ and including your name, title, organisation and contact details. We’d like your application to address the following questions:

• What did you study?
• What has been your career progression?
• What are your career aspirations?
• Describe the tasks and responsibilities of your current job in the clean energy sector. What impacts might this have on the wider community?
• What is the most challenging part of your job?
• What is the most rewarding part of your job?
• Why is the study of science, technology or engineering relevant for your role?
• What career advice would give to school students interested in a similar career?

Further information on the conditions and outcomes of the Cleantech Careers Search can be obtained by emailing us.

Filed under: Cleantech, Creativity, Energy, Environment, Futures, Leadership, Learning, Opportunities, People , careers, Cleantech, Futures, Innovation, public science

CleanFutures secures funding for biosensor

Kristin: We have been successful in securing funding for CleanFutures AquaSens to finalise prototypes and complete testing of a biosensor technology that is set to revolutionise the testing of water, wine and food throughout the world. CleanFutures AquaSens, was formed by Bridge8 and Australian CleanTech specifically to develop the AquaSens biosensor.The technology is a rapid, highly sensitive sensor probe for the detection of nitrates and phosphates in water, and sulfites in wine and food products.

The technology was developed by Monash University in Victoria and had started its commercialisation process through a Victorian State Government body, Nanotechnology Victoria. Bio Innovation SA recognised its potential and has provided funding through its Business Development Initiative(BDI) grant to allow the final testing to be completed. The funding will enable CleanFutures AquaSens to design and manufacture industrial prototypes of the biosensor and to then conduct customer trials. One of these trials will be completed with the Australian Water Quality Centre, SA Water’s testing laboratory.

The technology allows for tests to be completed immediately and in the field rather than taking samples for further analysis in a laboratory. Results are within minutes rather than having to wait a week or more. Increased phosphates and nitrate levels are key indicators of the likelihood of blue-green algae forming. The use of this biosensor could provide early warning of problems in water bodies such as the River Murray.

The issue of sulfite in wine is currently a major problem for the industry: as it is hard to detect and it is estimated that 1% of the population are sulfite-sensitive. With South Australia’s position as a leader in wine production, the development of the sulfite biosensor here is a natural fit. CleanFutures has arranged for the technology’s inventor, Professor Sam Adeloju from Monash, to work with both Flinders University and The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) to finalise the required research for the sulfite application of the AquaSens technology.

FURTHER INFORMATION: www.cleanfutures.com.au

Filed under: Cleantech, Environment, Innovation, Manufacturing, Nanotechnology, Opportunities , cleanfutures, Cleantech, Industrial Biotechnology, Innovation, nanotech, water, wine

COMS2009: Funding Micro/Nano Start-Ups

Kristin: VCs are in chaos. They are not making new investments, they are downsizing personnel, and when it comes to making a deal, they don’t want to go it alone. Additionally, limited partner investors are upset with the poor performance of VCs, they have concerns about high fee structures and want liquidity.

So how might you fund a start-up in an economic crisis? Robert Mehalso provided some advice in a plenary session at COMS2009.

Bob’s advice on dealing with VCs? Well, VCs consume an incredible amount of time in due diligence – they ask thousands of question to find reasons not to invest. Working with VCs is expensive – they require IP reviews, legal/contractual documents, due diligence payments, and annual fees for attending board meetings. And your company pays. VCs want control even for a minority position. And the due diligence process can create apprehension with customers and suppliers. They tend to stick to your original forecasts and often bring little in terms of relationships, customers or future round funding. Additionally, the VC business model is broken – more than half the VC funds will disappear over the next two years. Use VC as a last resort!

So how to prepare for funding?

• Obtain advice from a commercialisation expert on the maturity of the technology
• Focus research to address commercialisation challenges
• Obtain government funding
• Develop industrial interest and funding
• Engage a corporate partner
• Use personal, family and friends’ funds
• Focus on specific markets
• Minimise funds usage by conducting research at university as long as possible, using the research institutions’ facilities and equipment, and engage subject-matter experts to get things done faster.

To maximum opportunities for funding, it’s important to remove technical and market risk and be able to demonstrate manufacturing (eg through pilot). Companies should try to engage government funds for prototyping and pilot plans and engage corporate partners. Wherever possible show he company has revenue. Bob suggests that external funding is possible, but it’s difficult, time consuming and the conditions are onerous.

Is there any upside?

Filed under: Innovation, Leadership, Manufacturing, Nanotechnology, Opportunities, People, conference , commercialisation, coms, Innovation, mancef, mancef-coms

Reconnecting farmers and consumers for sustainable futures

Kate: Bridge8 is currently working on a project looking at how farmers receive information. One aspect of farm communication that interests me is the information that passes directly between farmers and consumers. In modern agricultural systems where produce is sold via central distributors, processors and retailers there are rarely direct connections between consumers and the farmers who produce their food.      This can make it difficult for farmers to respond to consumer preferences for quality and diversity. It also favours larger producers able to maximise output of produce, often through more resource intensive (and therefore usually more environmentally harmful) methods. Lack of direct farm-consumer links also contributes to a general lack of understanding by many people of where their food comes from and how dependent therefore they are on things like healthy soils and river systems. Planet ARK’s recent STOP FOOD WASTE campaign urges supermarkets to reconnect consumers with farmers to encourage people to consider the hard work and resources that have gone into making their food.

Farm models and communication strategies that encourage closer links between farmers and consumers have been receiving increased attention in recent years. These are motivated both by farmers wishing to diversify, reach new markets and use more sustainable practices, as well as by consumers seeking quality produce and more direct links to their food. I’ve highlighted a number of strategies below. From the perspective of those interested in communication technologies it is interesting to note how many strategies involve Web-based communication.

Strategies and models promoting farmer-consumer links include:

• Farm gate sales and farmers markets that allow frequent face-to-face communication with customers.
• Direct selling to consumers via internet marketing. Some smaller wine companies in the US and Australia are surviving the GFC by using Facebook and Twitter to converse directly with consumers.
• “Farm to Fork” arrangements where shops and restaurants buy direct from individual producers. These are often businesses wishing to sell quality produce with a commitment to buying fresh local, organic or fair trade.
• Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) which is a global phenomenon (In Brisbane FoodConnect works in this manner) where city consumers aim to directly support local farmers by signing up to food delivery schemes. Buyers take on a degree of the risks of production by agreeing to pay for food deliveries regardless of seasonal supply variations. Direct communication between farmers and consumers occurs via websites, farm visits and often collective agreements on pricing.
• Horticultural Auction Markets. Establishment or revival of regional produce markets (sometimes using online auctions) has been proposed as a way of supporting small scale farming.
• Marketing strategies aimed at communicating the quality and place of origin of produce through labelling are also ways of promoting farm-consumer links. The EU has recently decided to extend country of origin labelling to increase protection of geographical indications (Expect more restrictions on produce like “Australian Champagne”) and to create more effective labelling for organic produce. Supermarkets in Australia are responding to demand for more information about the story behind products with labels carrying information down to the names of individual farms. In the US half of meat is now estimated to be supplier branded.

Filed under: Digital Media, Environment, Futures, New Media, Opportunities, Uncategorized , consumer, country-of-origin, CSA, Digital Media, Environment, facebook, farmer, farmer-consumer links, food, food waste, Futures, labelling, local, marketing, New Media, organic, supermarkets, sustainability, twitter

Action on our Future Environment

Kristin: Today, in honour of World Environment Day I am attending a lunch that follows efforts by school children to clean-up their local area. They’ve been armed with tongs and gloves and are acting to do their bit. This is the third event I will have attended in Adelaide this week that focuses on taking action on the opportunities offered by a greater focus on the environment.

Wednesday was a forum for the book ‘Opportunities Beyond Carbon’ edited by John O’Brien. The book was launched at an event hosted by CEDA which featured several of the authors talking, not about the problems posed by climate change, but rather the opportunities presented by the transition to a low carbon economy. My chapter focuses on how we perceive the future and on the potential opportunities of nanotechnology. I discuss needing a new vision for the future – one that doesn’t consider technology as energy intensive, and one that doesn’t view sustainability as ‘going without’. One pathway to a new vision might be through nanotechnology; in particular the potential of nanotechnology to deliver targeted and precise solutions that minimise resource waste. This feature of nanotechnology is demonstrated in medicine, materials and renewable energies and something we are working hard to create in our commercialisation venture CleanFutures.

The book launch and seminar was also sponsored by The Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide, which was itself launched on Thursday night. The Director of this new centre is water expert, Prof Mike Young. You can hear a podcast of Mike’s speech here, and how he speaks about the idea of ‘three revolving doors’ – a way of describing how the Institute will engage with government, business and the community (Mike Seyfang’s blog summaries this well). However the image that stuck with me from Mike’s speech was him talking about his father’s interest in the Murray-Darling. He noted that the environment is an area of concern and interest for everyone and everyone wants to see positive change.

My mantra this World Environment Day is action. Like the children picking up rubbish, the call to act on ‘opportunities beyond carbon’ and the call by The Environment Institute not just to grow ideas, but to work with government, business and community to see change happen. It’s exciting to be part of a community with such committment.

Filed under: Cleantech, Energy, Environment, Events, Leadership, Opportunities , cleanfutures, Environment, environmentinst, world environment day