CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Clean Energy Trust congratulates SiNode Systems on its grand prize win at the 2013 Rice Business Plan Competition. SiNode, a finalist at the 2012 Clean Energy Challenge, was awarded $811,000 in prizes April 13 in Houston.
SiNode Systems competed against 42 teams and presented its business to 300 judges to take the $350,000 grand prize, awarded by the Goose Society of Texas. SiNode also received $100,000 from OWL Investors plus several other competition prizes.
SiNode is a cleantech startup from Northwestern University that is commercializing an anode for lithium-ion batteries that allows the battery to charge more quickly and hold a charge 10 times longer than current technology. SiNode’s anode could greatly enhance battery life for smartphones and electric vehicles
“This is the second year in a row that the winner of the nation’s largest business plan competition has been a clean energy company developed in the nation’s heartland and nurtured by the Clean Energy Trust,” said Amy Francetic, CEO of the Clean Energy Trust. ”SiNode’s success further validates the Midwest as the leading center for clean technology development and proves that the work of business accelerators like CET is helping to change America’s energy and economic future.”
NuMat Technologies , the 2012 Clean Energy Challenge student winner, won the grand prize at the 2012 Rice Competition and is developing customized nano-materials for gas storage and separations.
CET provides finalists in the Clean Energy Challenge with training and mentoring from business leaders, clean energy experts and entrepreneurs. CET offers business development support to clean energy start-ups throughout the region and leverages its strategic relationships to support the broader mission of education and advocacy to advance commercialization of clean energy technology.
About the Clean Energy Trust
The Clean Energy Trust was founded by prominent business and civic leaders to accelerate the pace of clean energy innovation in the Midwest. The trust is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Small Business Administration and donations from more than 70 investors, corporations, universities, foundations and trade groups. For more information, visit www.cleanenergytrust.org.