Students and scientists team up for cleantech

Scientists and MBA students in Berkeley, Calif., have teamed up for a collaboration intended to “jump-start” new sustainable businesses, University of California, Berkeley staff says.

Through a partnership launched in Fall 2008, called Cleantech to Market (C2M), scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley MBA students are working to speed the pace of moving cleantech projects developed at the lab to market.

The lab, which is managed by the university and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, markets about 50 technologies annually, but lacks the resources to perform in-depth market analyses of every one. Such evaluation helps to propel technologies into the private sector and to secure venture capital, Cheryl Fragiadakis, head of technology transfer and intellectual property at LBNL, says.

“There’s a big gap,” between the lab and the marketplace, which having information, analysis and recommendations can help close, Fragiadakis says.

Through C2M, student teams—which also include graduate students in law, public policy and engineering—research projects’ commercial viability and possible industry and venture partners. Teams produce a market analysis and a marketing description, which can be presented to potential investors and partners.

In Fall 2008, C2M teams evaluated a method for pre-treating biomass, intended to improve existing methods for breaking down cellulose for biofuel production. Other student teams worked on a new fabrication method for photovoltaic devices, energy storage innovations and water purification technologies.