GE’s Ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid Contest

This contest is an open call by GE's Ecomagination initiative to action for businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and students seeking breakthrough ideas to create a cleaner, more efficient and economically viable grid, and accelerate the adoption of smart grid technologies.

And others can VOTE on the ideas ... see the innovative "idea map" at Ecomagination Challenge.

The Challenge invites people to come together to take on one of the world’s toughest challenges - building the next-generation power grid to meet the needs of the 21st century.

Submitting an Idea

After registering, you may enter as many ideas as you wish in the three categories: Renewables, Grid Efficiency and Eco Homes/Eco Buildings between July 13 and September 30, 2010.

Your entry must include a clear, detailed proposal describing an innovative, original smart grid technology. Please use English for your entry. Let us know if you have already filed a patent application or received a patent on any part of your entry.

It's a venture capital contest

Selected Ecomagination Challenge entrants will be offered the opportunity to develop a commercial relationship with GE through:

• Investment: the $200 million capital pledge of GE and its partners will be invested globally into promising start-ups and ideas
• Validation: evaluation of entrant’s business strategy through in-depth discussions with GE‘s technical and commercial teams
• Distribution: exploration of partnership opportunities with GE to scale a business and create global reach
• Development: leveraging of GE‘s technical infrastructure and GE Global Research Centers to accelerate technology and product development
• Growth: exploration of opportunities for utilizing existing GE customer relationships for your go-to-market strategy

The Challenge, launched in collaboration with leading venture capital firms RockPort Capital, KPCB , Foundation Capital, and Emerald Technology Ventures and with Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief, Wiredmagazine is part of GE’s ecomagination initiative, a global commitment to build innovative clean energy technologies and will help fund the most promising ideas.