The executive director of the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory said the commercialization of technology created through research at universities is on the rise.

David Hiller said the main goal of the callaboratory, which consists of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, and the University of Colorado at Boulder, is to create commercialized renewable energy technologies, use renewable energies to support economic growth, and work with and educate researchers in the field of renewable green technologies.

"We are also supporting the development of the "green collar" workforces in Colorado," Hiller said. The collaboratory assists the current underfunded workforces and is working with colleges and other green facilities to provide centralized training centers.

The four organizations of the collaboratory essentially have spinoff companies that have commercialized after initial research and development through the collaboratory.  OPX Biotechnologies Inc. is a spinoff biofuel and green chemistry product company based in Colorado.

Tim Bour, director of the Boulder Innovation Center, an incubator that help companies enter into the green technology industry, is working with ION Energy of Boulder who is producing carbon dioxide from ionized salt.  Bour said the center is helping to fund a company that was developed by a CU professor who found a cost effective way of cleaning heavy metals out of water, which is a major environmental issue for the mining industry.

David Gold, with Access Venture Partners, has had a significant role in a variety of industries over his career and believes strongly in the change and growth of green technologies.  Gold said that one should not be forced to make a choice between living a clean sustainable life and living a life of fun and commodity.  "The answer to living cohesively with both options is innovation," Gold said.  

Trent Yang, working the University of Colorado's energy initiative, explained that his role includes policy, business law, business innovation, commercializing and entrepreneurships within the energy initiative.

Yang said CU is planning to make a big announcement that included "big money" and large companies such as Xcel Energy, but could not go into further details.

Questions aimed at the panelists at the end of the session surrounded the effects of the current down economy and how Colorado and the Front Range are positioned in terms a leader in clean energy technology.

The panelists agreed that it is difficult for startups that come out of tech transfer programs to attract private investment capital. Gold explained that companies need to prove that they have current and potential equity, which means that it is harder than ever for startups to grow based off of debt-financing.

Gold said, "There is a growing interest from the government and researchers are shifting interest from the government for research and development."