A Unique Business Model to Commercialize Energy and Environmental Technologies

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A Unique Business Model to Commercialize Energy
and Environmental Technologies

• HCT MIT Global Entrepreneurship Conference
  Carsten Heide

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Entrepreneurs Are the Engines of the Economy

• First conference leitmotiv Entrepreneurs are the
  engines of the economy.
• Second conference leitmotiv National development
  should focus on entrepreneurship.

What are the most beneficial conditions for
entrepreneurs?
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Entrepreneurs Thrive in an Entrepreneurial
Environment
One needs to focus on ones strength rather than
weakness!
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There Is Demand for Both More Energy and More
Environment
There is a growing demand for a variety of fuels.
There is a growing demand for the cleanup and
control of pollutants and environmental hazards.
What is the real challenge?
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In Order to Provide Cost Effective Solutions,
One Needs

• Continuous innovation in energy and
  environmental technologies.
• It is not business as usual or using less energy.

Why? It is the economy!
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Where Is the EERC? Grand Forks, North Dakota
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The EERC Had Another Record Year, with 45M in
Contract Awards
Emission Control Technologies Center
Center for Climate Change and CO2 Sequestration
Out of Ten Centers of Excellence
Center for Air Toxic Metals (CATM)
Center for Renewable Energy
Federal and State Organizations
Water Management Center
Coal Utilization Technologies Center
National Alternative Fuels Laboratory (NAFL)
Supercritical and Subcritical Extraction
Technologies Center
National Center for Hydrogen Technology (NCHT)
EERC Technologies
Commercial Success Innovations
Coal Ash Research Center
Industry
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The EERC Offers Extensive Demonstration
Facilities and Corporate Offices for Partners
Relationships are the currency of life.
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Integrated Approach to Technology Management
Creates and Extracts Value
Reward and Communicate Success
Acquire Business Partners
Leverage Research Dollars for Technology
Development
Commercialize Technologies
Value Extraction Through Independent Foundation
Value Creation Through Client-Oriented RDD
Center
Secure and Package Intellectual Property
Demonstrate Technologies
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EERC Emirates Transfers Technology to the UAE and
Facilitates Training Local Workforce
EERC Emirates J.V.
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Small Distributed Energy Systems Have Many
Positive Attributes
Example

• Small distributed energy systems are
• Rugged
• Simple
• Flexible
• Interconnective
• Distributed
• Prepermitted
• Environmentally safe
• Independent
• Low-maintenance
• Low-cost
• Easy-to-buy
• Easy-to-install
• Efficient

Example Small Biomass Gasification System
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EmiratesGen A Vision for a Zero-Emission
Hydrogen Power Plant
Example

• EmiratesGen an initiative to build the worlds
  first zero-emission hydrogen power plant that
  produces
• Hydrogen
• Electricity
• Water
• High purity CO2
• EmiratesGen will be integrated with
• Wastewater treatment
• Petroleum residuals management
• Municipal solid waste (MSW) handling

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EmiratesGen Is Economically Efficient, Socially
Responsible, and Environmentally Sound

• Key benefits of EmiratesGen
• Economic efficiency meeting the simultaneous
  demand of water, power, and biomass utilization
  as well as saving valuable resources for the
  export markets.
• Social responsibility building a cornerstone
  program that invests in the training of UAEs
  human capital and develops new technologies to be
  licensed to the rest of the world.
• Environmental soundness reducing CO2 and other
  types of emissions, better utilizing domestic
  energy resources, in particular biomass and
  residues or through enhanced oil recovery, and
  increasing water use efficiency.

What would you do as next steps? How could you
see yourself participating?
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The Solution (revisited) Focus on Innovation,
Not Invention
Dont invent something that nobody wants!
Thomas Edison
The role of invention in innovation is vastly
overblown. There is no correlation between a
successful act of invention and a successful
marketplace innovation. None. Michael Schrage,
M.I.T.
The market must pull the technology.
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Invention vs. Innovation
Example

• Historical Facts (contrary to popular belief)
• Thomas Edison did not invent the lightbulb.
• Alexander Graham Bell did not invent the
  telephone.
• Guglielmo Marconi did not invent the radio.
• Their recognition and association with these
  successful technologies are largely due to their
  inspired business practices that enabled these
  inventions to become marketable products
• The invention of the lightbulb by Heinrich Goebel
  required the innovation of the Edison electric
  grid.
• The invention of the telephone by Antonio Santi
  Giuseppe Meucci required the innovation of the
  Bell Public Switched Telephone Network.
• The invention of radio transmission by Nikola
  Tesla required the innovation of wireless
  telegraphy and the opening of the worlds first
  wireless factory by Marconi.

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An Entrepreneurial Culture Is Key to Success for
an RDDC Center

• A talented and diverse group of researchers
  thrives in a working environment with an
  entrepreneurial culture
• Freedom The freedom to pursue promising
  opportunities.
• Leadership A willingness to assume risk and
  responsibility.
• Relationships A dedication to building
  partnerships with the private sector, government,
  and the research community.
• Client-orientation A practical market-driven,
  problem-solving approach that consistently meets
  client needs.
• Professionalism A commitment to excellence.
• Marketing A commitment to commercialize
  innovative technologies.

The UAE is a leader in energy. The UAE will
become a leader in energy technologies building
on this strength and an entrepreneurial culture.
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Contact Information
Energy Environmental Research Center University
of North Dakota 15 North 23rd Street Stop
9018 Grand Forks, ND 58202-9018 Web site
www.undeerc.org Phone [phone] Fax (701)
777-5181
Dr. Carsten Heide Deputy Associate Director for
Intellectual Property Management and
Technology Commercialization [phone]
cheide_at_undeerc.org