INDUSTRY CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES:A GROUP of business people, angel investors and academics have launched Ireland's first networking organisation for anyone involved in developing clean technology industries.
Cleantech Ireland aims to enable established companies, start-ups, entrepreneurs and researchers to meet with investors and to aid technology transfer. Its committee and founding members include former biotech entrepreneur and co-founder of cancer drug company EiRx Therapeutics Peter Daly and Google systems engineer Paul Makepeace, as well as academics from Trinity College and University College Cork and a director of Teagasc.
The group's first meeting last month featured talks by Antoin Russell, chief executive of Powervation, and Roy Horgan, chief executive of Solarprint.
Spun out from the University of Limerick, Powervation won the Irish Times/Irish Technology Leadership Group 2009 Innovation Award and raised €7 million of VC funding in 2007. It provides technology to reduce power consumption of IT data centres and other electronic products.
Roy Horgan and his fellow director Andre Fernon have financial backgrounds. Working alongside chief executive Dr Mazhar Bari, they aim to develop low-cost, spray-on solar cell technology that will dramatically reduce the cost of deploying solar power in developing countries.
Talks were also given by UCD environmental economist Prof Frank Convery and Cormac O'Rourke of Goodbody Stockbrokers.
