In Dublin last November, some of the most promising cleantech companies across the globe were lauded by the first batch of the Global Cleantech Later Stage Awards. The Global Cleantech Cluster Association (GCCA), a non-profit formed a year ago, hopes to not only highlight the winning technologies, but also to provide them with investment exposure (the judges have collectively invested over $3.5 billion in global cleantech) and business support to accelerate the development and adoption of these new technologies.

Selected from 4,000 qualifying companies, narrowed down to 185, finalists competed in 10 categories, including solar, energy efficiency, new material, waste, and more. Best in Biofuels went to Imperative Energy, an Ireland and UK-based bioenergy project developer noted for its rapid turnover and profitability; Albeo Technologies, a Colorado-based manufacturer of white-LED lighting systems, whose developments include high-bay LED lighting for Apple’s iCloud data center, took Best in Energy Efficiency/Green Buildings. Best of New Materials recognized Beneq, a Finnish supplier of equipment and coating technology whose developments range from glass, solar, and emerging thin film markets to coatings in optics, barriers, and passivation layers; OpenHydro, an Irish tidal energy technology company, was awarded Best of Renewable Energy for its efforts in deploying tidal turbines underwater for generating renewable electricity without incurring environmental costs. Best of Solar went to Solaris Energy Solutions, a Chicago-based firm noted for its contribution in water/space heating, ventilation systems, and pv electricity generation. San Diego-based PowerGenix, a leading developer of Nickel-Zinc batteries, won Best of Storage/Smart Grid; Best of Transportation went to SAM Group from Zurich, noted for its lightweight, energy efficient, and affordable electric vehicles; Quebec’s industrial waste management and environmental services company, Newalta, was awarded Best of Waste.

Finnish Moventas, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of wind turbine gears, took home Best of Wind. Finally, New York’s Rentricity, an eight-year-old renewable energy company, won in the Best of Water category. Its innovative Flow-to-Wire configuration converts ubiquitous excess pressure in water mains into clean electric power and represents a new stage of clean: applying higher resourcefulness to resources.