Positive Impact

The winner of the 2012 National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition doubles its team size in one year. Company employee is recognized by Forbes Magazine as Energy 30 under 30.

Location

Illinois

Partner

NuMat Technologies

EERE Investment

$100,000 and various technical support

NuMat Technologies, the winner of the 2012 National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition, has been making enormous progress toward building the company. NuMat Technologies is a nanotechnology company developing metal organic frameworks that have several market applications, including dramatically increasing the storage capacity for natural gas in vehicles. Over the course of the last year, the company fully executed an exclusive license with Northwestern University, was awarded funding through ARPA-E for the MOVE Initiative (to develop methane storage materials), and has moved into a new research facility at Illinois Science and Technology Park. And to top it all off, NuMat recently closed a $2 million seed round with private investors, bringing the company’s financial total to $2.4 million. In addition to its monetary success, the NuMat Technologies team has doubled its team size, stating that the team will likely triple it in the next 12 months. 

DOE’s National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition, which launched in 2012 as part of the Obama Administration’s Startup America Initiative, is designed to inspire entrepreneurship through student-focused business creation. Students are able to network and compete through six EERE-funded regional competitions, leading up to the final national competition—where regional winners compete for the grand prize. In its inaugural year, more than 300 teams participated from across the country to compete for more than $700,000 in cash prizes. Since the national competition in June 2012, last year’s competitors have raised more than $4 million in follow-on funding, incorporated more than 52 startups, and created more than 42 new jobs. Several of the regional winners are rapidly scaling up, helping to accelerate clean technology startups and create green jobs.

The Office of Strategic Programs helps EERE promote the development, commercialization, and deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. The office informs EERE corporate decisions and support program implementation through analysis, coordination, collaboration, and communication functions that crosscut EERE programs.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) success stories highlight the positive impact of its work with businesses, industry partners, universities, research labs, and other entities.