In the News 
ClearEdge Power hires Silicon Valley sales exec
August 5, 2010, Christina Williams, Sustainable Business Oregon
Fuel cell company ClearEdge Power announced this week that it hired Dane C. Smith, a former executive with VMWare and Sun Microsystems, as a senior vice president of sales.
Hilsboro-based ClearEdge makes fuel cells for buildings including its new ClearEdge5 system which launched this year and converts natural gas to electricity and heat.
Smith was on hand at VMWare during the software company’s successful IPO in 2007 as the vice president and general manager for the Americas.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with some of the nation’s largest energy providers, as well as the US Department of Energy and the US Environmental Protection Agency, while at VMware and Sun,” said Smith in a press release. “I look forward to continuing those relationships to further alternative energy solutions in the U.S. and abroad as a leader for the ClearEdge Power team.”
Hot Startup Companies
June 25, 2010, Mike O’Donnell, Associated Content
StartupBUSINESS.COM set out to find the young companies that are blazing new trails in their respective markets. We found hundreds of very cool companies that are, well…hot. Innovation is flourishing in all sectors, driven by new thinking and new opportunities. Times have changed and today’s startups have changed with them. Even in this deep recessionary time, smart people are pursuing their passions and are hell-bent on controlling their futures and on changing the world.
ClearEdge scores $40 million in Korea — next stop Oregon?
June 16, 2010, Jessica Hoch, Oregon Business
ClearEdge , the fuel cell company headquartered in Hillsboro, made big headlines last week after announcing a $40 million deal with Korea’s LS Industrial System to distribute 800 of its fuel cells over the next three years to commercial businesses. The deal marks the company’s first major expansion out of its target market of California and its first foray overseas.
Despite being an Oregon company, ClearEdge has yet to target business in the state. All but one of the fuel cells the company has installed are in California, where energy rates are higher and the tax incentives are greater. But if millions can be spent in California and Korea will Oregon be next?
ClearEdge hopes so. Mike Upp, ClearEdge’s vice president of marketing, said the company has found renewed interest in the Oregon market in the last two months and is making strides to secure business. Upp said he has a meeting scheduled with the Oregon Department of Energy this week.
“The biggest stumbling block for Oregon is that energy rates are so low, but we are redefining our Oregon strategy and we are certainly starting to get noticed,” said Upp.
Fuel Cells Deliver a 24/7 Clean Energy Choice
June 11, 2010, Carolyn Allen, LA Times/Mediaplanet Supplement
A fuel cell is an appliance that generates electricity and heat through a series of chemical reactions—all without burning fuel. And they’re making a new clean, local generation option feasible and affordable in the alternative energy sector.
Fuel Cell Systems Inch Their Way into the Lodging Industry
June 10, 2010, Glenn Hasek, Green Lodging News
NATIONAL REPORT—Fuel cell power systems, installed at properties such as the Hilton New York, Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina, and Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino, have worked reliably for years now but have failed to catch on in a big way throughout the lodging industry. Cost and availability of funding have certainly been reasons and the recent recession certainly has not helped. A lack of a serious marketing push by suppliers has contributed to the technology’s slow acceptance and systems have also not been available for smaller hotels. Some recent developments, however, could make fuel cells a more attractive option for the lodging industry.
The first development is the availability of smaller power systems. ClearEdge Power, Hillsboro, Ore., for example, is now offering a 5-kilowatt system. A little smaller than a refrigerator, the ClearEdge5 is now available in California. The company, which has grown from 33 employees in January 2009 to 150 employees today, will be expanding its business outside of the Golden State by early 2011. Michael Upp, vice president of marketing for ClearEdge Power, says the ClearEdge5 is ideal for B&Bs, boutique hotels and properties up to the size of a Four Points by Sheraton. The ClearEdge5 provides an alternative to the larger systems—up to more than 2 megawatts in size—that companies like FuelCell Energy, Inc., Danbury, Conn., and South Windsor, Conn.-based UTC Power offer. Up to five or six ClearEdge5 systems can be grouped together to create an up to 30-kilowatt plant. (Larger systems offered by FuelCell Energy, Inc. and UTC Power can also be grouped together to meet a property’s power needs.)
Hillsboro Fuel Cells Go To Korea
June 10, 2010, Nathalie Weinstein, Daily Journal of Commerce
A Hillsboro-based manufacturer that makes fuel cell systems for homes and businesses will soon export its technology to Korea.
ClearEdge Power announced Tuesday that it has signed a three-year $40 million distribution agreement with LS Industrial Systems, a Korean-based electric power generation company. The company plans to purchase more than 800 of ClearEdge’s ClearEdge5 fuel cell units, which convert natural gas into electricity.
LS Industrial Systems partners with the Korean government on energy projects. The government there recently mandated that all new buildings have 10 percent of their power come from alternative sources.
“A government mandate in Korea is driving our opportunities back here,” said Mike Upp, vice president of marketing for ClearEdge. “They took a wide look at the market and honed in on us.”
Upp expects to hear from other overseas companies in the future but notes that the company is still mostly focused on the California market because of its high utility costs.
ClearEdge Power deal with LSIS to distribute ClearEdge5 fuel cell CHP systems in Korea
June 09, 2010, Renewable Energy Focus
The $40 million agreement between ClearEdge Power and LSIS covers the sale, distribution, and servicing of more than 800 ClearEdge5 fuel cell units in Korea.
LSIS chose the 5 kW ClearEdge5 fuel cell system after a worldwide review, on the basis of its high-efficiency, high-temperature hybrid PEM design. The system leverages the availability of the natural gas or directed biogas infrastructure to offer buildings a source of baseload power created onsite.
The ClearEdge5 reduces carbon emissions by more than 35%, while reducing energy requirements and costs for customers. The system is self-contained, requires a minimal footprint for installation and service, and is safe and quiet enough for residential or highly populated areas.
LSIS will integrate the ClearEdge5 fuel cell as a clean alternative energy option for over 80% of Korean energy customers. The company, which focused on solutions that maximize energy efficiency, applications in the automation field, and green solutions, is partnering with the Korean government to offer energy solutions and services nationwide.
Home Fuel Cell Maker ClearEdge to Tackle Korea
June 8, 2010, Josie Garthwaite, Salon.com
Bloom Energy may capture the lion’s share of buzz among fuel cell startups, but ClearEdge Power — working on a $50,000 fuel cell device for producing heat and power — has been generating a fair amount of business. The company, based in Hillsboro, Ore., announced on Tuesday that it has secured an exclusive 3-year distribution deal with Korean industrial giant LS Industrial Systems, or LSIS, which was spun out of LG Group. Valued at $40 million, according to ClearEdge, the deal encompasses sale, distribution and service for more than 800 units of the startup’s ClearEdge5 fuel cell device in Korea.
Fuel-cell maker ClearEdge signs $40 million deal
June 08, 2010, Erik Siemers, Portland Business Journal
ClearEdge Power on Tuesday said it has reached a three-year agreement with LS Industrial Systems to distribute 800 of its hydrogen-powered fuel cells throughout Korea in a deal valued at $40 million.
The move marks the first significant geographic expansion for the fast-growing Hillsboro-based manufacturer, which last year began selling fuel cells almost exclusively into California.
ClearEdge’s core product is the ClearEdge5, a combined heat and power device capable of generating five kilowatts of power an hour using hydrogen extracted from natural gas. Aside from the electricity it generates, the heat produced by the system can be used for water or space heating.
Break The Power Industry’s Grasp
June 05, 2010, Jay Marathe, RocNow
The New York Power Authority wants to build windmills in Lake Ontario. The subsidies for these will be another stimulus for the power industry, just like the one for the banks who used taxpayers’ money to rob them.
Is there a way to get out of the clutches of the power industry? Yes, if we can produce electricity in each home to meet its needs.
There are three distinct technologies that can be used together to meet the needs of a home. They are: solar cells (Photovoltaic), wind turbines and fuel cells.
Indian Wells planning commission vote a step off ‘bandwagon for oil’
May 28, 2010, Mariecar Mendoza, The Desert Sun
A change to certain city ordinances could help Indian Wells prepare for a greener future.
The Indian Wells Planning Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a zone text amendment to allow residents to install alternative energy devices.
A recommendation to formally change the Indian Wells Municipal Code to reflect the amendment is expected to be considered by the City Council on June 17.
“What we’re trying to do is provide development standards for alternative energy production devices to give homeowners a choice in terms of sources of power,” said Community Development Director Corrie Kates.
The idea to revise the city code comes as half a dozen residents are seeking to install a new device created by ClearEdge Power that boasts “ultra-clean and efficient on-site energy generation systems for homes and small businesses,” according to a city staff report.
The Future of The Green Economy
April 22, 2010, interview with Erin Burnett, Street Signs, CNBC
Recently, in support of Earth Day, CNBC provided coverage on some of the newest clean technology investments for future. Jim Kohlberg, Principal of Kohlberg Ventures was interviewed and discussed his current financial involvement with ClearEdge Power and the ClearEdge5, a high efficiency fuel cell energy system that leverages the current natural gas infrastructure to offer an alternative to the alternatives. Kolhberg’s view sees the current sustainable energy options (solar, wind) as well-funded and the future of the clean tech economy requiring additional solutions that are both “green” and affordable.
Fuel cell systems like the ClearEdge5 are available now and provide base load power 24/7 without intermittency or space constraint issues; they are poised to offer a viable solution for the energy issues we face today and will face tomorrow.
ClearEdge Power goes to TED2010
Long Beach, California
ClearEdge Power recently attended TED2010, in Long Beach, California. This unique conference brings together three distinct worlds: Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Established as a nonprofit in 1984, TED is devoted to the notion of Ideas Worth Spreading.
Since the theme for TED2010 centered on What the World Needs Now, the ClearEdge Power team shared in new idea exchanges about energy, how to create it and how to use new fuel cell systems to reduce our environmental impact.
ClearEdge Power was part of TED2010 as an idea generator for energy change.
New Technology May Help Lower Local Energy Bills
ABC Channel 10 News, San Diego, California
Fuel Cell technology, in education and in action, was recently featured on the evening news for San Diego ABC affiliate Channel 10. Bill Sproull, Senior Vice President of New Business Development at ClearEdge Power, is interviewed just before taking the stage a workshop on Fuel Cell technology, hosted by the California Center for Sustainable Energy. Fuel Cells are already powering some local San Diego businesses, including the Sheraton Harbor Island Hotel & Marina. The Sheraton produces 70% of its power onsite with the fuel cell system installed onsite 5 years ago. The facility reportedly uses all of the produced heat for their domestic hot water needs, including needs for guest rooms, kitchen and the hotel pool.
New home offers glimpse of future
March 24, 2010, Carolyn Allen, California Green Solutions
RANCHO MIRAGE — Its address — 47 Ambassador Circle — fits the title.
A new $2.3 million home in Artisan by Quinn Enterprises Inc. and Behr Development LLC is being showcased as the first in the United States to be powered by a fuel cell energy system, making it the veritable ambassador in revolutionary, green technology.
Its ClearEdge5 MicroCHP fuel cell unit, encased in a futuristic spin on the old Kenmore refrigerator, will cleanly separate hydrogen from natural gas. The hydrogen is sent through a fuel stack to produce electricity and heat for the house, domestic hot water system, pool and spa.
Translation, no burning flames.
The photochemical reaction the fuel cell system creates cuts carbon emission by more than one-third. What’s different about the system, too, is the heat is being captured and reused. The system is considered to be 11 times more productive than solar energy.
MicroCHP Fuel Cells for Homes and Businesses
March 24, 2010, Carolyn Allen, California Green Solutions
MicroCHP (combined heat and power) fuel cells convert natural gas into ultra-clean hydrogen through a catalytic process, as opposed to burning the natural gas, which dramatically reduces pollutants.
The hydrogen is processed through a Fuel Cell Stack, creating direct current (DC) power and heat. The Power Conditioning Unit converts the DC electricity into alternating current (AC), which then ties directly to the main electrical panel, providing steady continuous power for home or business electricity needs.
The heat produced by the fuel cell is moved to the building through a heat exchanger supplying a continuous source of heating for hot water or space heating.
ClearEdge Power, a leading manufacturer of MicroCHP (combined heat and power) fuel cells for homes and businesses manufactures ClearEdge5, a combined heat and power (CHP) energy system based on fuel cell technology.
Fueling The Future: Fuel Cells Show Promise
March 07, 2010, Onell R. Soto, San Diego Union Tribune
Fuel cells, which decades ago powered the moon mission, are quietly making their way into businesses and homes, and some see them as the future of power production.
Instead of burning fuel to make heat that then drives a turbine, fuel cells use an electrochemical reaction similar to that inside a battery to make electricity.
Proponents say today’s fuel cells produce more power from the same amount of fuel than the most efficient gas turbine, create fewer pollutants and give off heat that can prove useful.
“There isn’t another technology that can do this, produce power at this high efficiency at this low emissions at that small a scale,” said fuel-cell researcher Jack Brouwer.
ENERGY: Homegrown Power, Cleaner Than That Mass-Produced Stuff
March 03, 2010, Eric Wolff, North County Times
A residential fuel cell produces electricity more efficiently and with less carbon dioxide than a utility gas turbine -- and no one in San Diego or Riverside counties has one.
It’s too new. The electricity-generation alternative didn’t exist on a scale practical for home users until 2009.
It’s so new that representatives from San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison said they have no residential fuel cell customers.
To introduce the device, which is about the size of a refrigerator and can power an entire home, the California Center for Sustainable Energy is holding two seminars next week to explain the costs and benefits of these high-tech generation units.
ClearEdge Power Keeping Base In Oregon
February 2010, Fuel Cell Works
At ClearEdge Power, each of the firm’s fuel cell systems are made by hand, monitored at every step using advanced software technology more likely to be found in Silicon Valley than deep in the Hillsboro suburbs.
Oregon’s electricity rates are relatively low, which could limit the demand here for ClearEdge’s products, but the clean tech company has kept its headquarters in Oregon and is poised to grow.
When asked why ClearEdge has stayed in Oregon, when it could be in California, where the average electricity cost per kilowatt-hour is 14 cents (approximately 5 cents more than Oregon), Mike Upp, ClearEdge’s vice president of marketing, responded, “Why Oregon? Why not?”
ClearEdge’s systems, which use fuel cells to convert natural gas into electricity, were created by Oregonian Brett Vinsant in his garage in Hillsboro. ClearEdge Power was established in 2003, and then California investment firm Kohlberg Ventures purchased the company from Vinsant in 2006, The company started selling systems in 2009.
“When Jim Kohlberg bought the company, he saw access to ports to ship our technology, a good tax situation and smart people,” Upp said. “Can we find all of these things in a number of places? Yes. But why not Oregon? There’s no reason for us not to be here.”
Congressman David Wu: Fuel Cells Working for Oregon
February 2010, Fuel Cell Works
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman David Wu joined Oregon clean energy leaders today to discuss the benefits that locally produced combined heat and power fuel cells are providing to our region’s economy.
Hillsboro’s Ronler Acres Fire Station is using a fuel cell manufactured less than a half mile away by ClearEdge Power to simultaneously reduce carbon emissions and operating costs, saving taxpayers money and helping protect our environment.
“Oregon is once again leading the way toward a more sustainable future,” said Congressman David Wu. “The next-generation design of fuel cell technology recently installed at Hillsboro’s fire station replaces an older fuel cell unit, keeping our first responders on the front lines of clean energy users.”
CCSE Introduces Innovative Fuel Cells
February 2010, California Center for Sustainable Energy
One of the first clean-energy fuel cells for generating electricity and heat for large homes, businesses and institutions will be featured at two workshops at CCSE on Monday, March 8. A workshop for business owners will be held at from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., and a workshop for homeowners will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Fuel cells have been widely used for self-generated energy in industry for many years, but scaling the technology to fit homes and smaller businesses has been a challenge, according to Ryan Amador, an energy program manager at CCSE. The workshop will focus on a five- kilowatt, refrigerator-sized fuel cell manufactured by ClearEdge Power, a Hillsboro, Oregon-based company.
Rep. David Wu discusses fuel cells at Hillsboro fire station
February 18, 2010, By Bill Oram, The Oregonian
PORTLAND, OR – Rep. David Wu spent today touting fuel cell technology in Hillsboro.
He spoke at the Ronler Acres Fire Station, where fuel cells are used to reduce carbon emissions and costs. Wu, who recently introduced a bill in Congress that would increase the tax break for people who use fuel cells in their homes, was joined by leaders from ClearEdge Power, Bonneville Power Administration and the Hillsboro Fire Department.
“Fuel cells can provide families with both heat and power from a clean, efficient energy source,” Wu said in a release. “My legislation will help expand the use of this cutting-edge technology, in turn creating more jobs in our community.”
After the outdoor discussion, Wu was scheduled to tour the manufacturing plant of ClearEdge Power, which is located less than a mile from the station.
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Director of Marketing
877.257.3343 x1672
nelovitz@clearedgepower.com