SAVANNAH, Ga., Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As renewable energy and clean technology grows in global importance, the winners of the Global Cleantech Cluster Association (GCCA) Later Stage Award reflect the increasing success of this $163.1 billion global market.  The GCCA's Global Top 10 Winners  represent the best of the association's over 4000 member companies and were recognized on November 12 in Savannah, at a dinner sponsored by Deloitte and McGuire Woods.  The GCCA Global Top 10 Winners were judged by 28 cleantech venture capital and private equity investors and serial entrepreneurs, who collectively manage over $3.5 billion in global clean technology investment. The winning companies will present their technologies in a forum today at the Savannah International Clean Energy Conference.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121113/SF11694)

"Cleantech and sustainability are no longer a niche. They are out performing most market sectors in growth, even during the recession," said Ben Taube, Chairman of the GCCA. "These 2012 Top 10 winners are indicative of the increasing strength of their sectors."

In total, 200 companies were nominated by cleantech member clusters for the 2012 Later Stage Awards. That number was later narrowed to the Global Top 30 Semi-Finalists and then to the Top 10 Winners.

"With so many great cleantech companies, it was extremely difficult to narrow them down to just 10," said Shawn Lesser, co-founder of the GCCA and Watershed Capital Group. "The Global Top 10 Winners represent premier companies that are leading the way, both regionally and globally, to a brighter future for the cleantech industry."

The Global Top 30 were selected using the Keystone Compact™, a business and venture development tool developed by GCCA Head Judge Dr. Peter Adriaens, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at the Ross School of Business, along with Dr. Tim Faley, Managing Director of the Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies both located at the University of Michigan.

"We've used the Keystone Method since 2006 and it has proved effective in pinpointing companies which hold strong potential for profits and investability," said Adriaens. "These winners are an excellent representation of the types of innovations currently taking place in the cleantech industry."

The GCCA Global Top 10

Biothermica Carbon, Inc - Best in BioEnergy
Nominated by Ecotech Quebec 
Montreal, Canada

Biothermica develops, finances, builds and operates carbon and energy infrastructure projects based on the destruction and utilization of landfill gas and coal mine methane. The company owns a 25 MW landfill gas power plant located on the city of Montreal's landfill, in Canada, and also developed the first coal mine ventilation air methane destruction project at an active mine in the U.S. (Alabama).

Cylon - Best in Lighting/Energy Efficiency
Nominated by The Green Way
Dublin, Ireland

Cylon is an international leader in the development of smart building energy solutions.  The Cylon Energy Solution combines Cylon's 27 year heritage and knowledge in building controls and automation, and expertise in cloud based real time energy management tools to deliver real control and real savings to an expanding global client base.

GreenWave Reality- Best in Smart Grid/Sustainable IT
Nominated by Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster
Copenhagen, Denmark

GreenWave Reality is a global innovator in the Smart Home Services market which includes Energy Management, Connected Lighting, and Home Monitoring services.

Geostellar- Best in Solar
Cleantech Alliance Mid-Atlantic
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Geostellar brings distributed solar generation closer to grid parity and opens new markets across the United States. Through its proprietary predictive algorithms, the company offers access to the knowledge and guidance required for residential and commercial property owners to make smarter energy decisions and benefit from reduced electricity costs.

Leclanché - Best in Storage
Nominated by swisscleantech 
Zurich, Switzerland

Leclanché specializes in the production of tailor-made energy storage solutions and is one of Europe's leading lithium-ion cell producers and solution providers for renewable energy storage systems.

Hydrovolts - Best in Tidal/Hydro
Washington Clean Technology Alliance 
Seattle, Washington, USA

A producer of hydrokinetic turbines that generate renewable energy from moving water in canals and water treatments facilities, Hydrovolts economically generates reliable, local clean power in millions of locations around the world.

Eniram- Best in Transportation
Finnish CleanTech Cluster 
Lahti, Finland

Eniram delivers marine energy management technology to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Created by experienced seafarers and technologists, Eniram's solutions range from single onboard applications to comprehensive fleet analysis. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, the company has subsidiaries in the UK, US and Singapore.

FlexEnergy- Best in Waste Management
CleanTECH San Diego 
San Diego, California, USA

FlexEnergy is a technology company that designs and manufactures innovative systems capable of producing continuous energy with near-zero emissions from a broad range of fuel sources, including otherwise unusable low quality gas.

Waterleau - Best in Water Treatment
Flanders Cleantech Association 
Flanders, Belgium

Waterleau provides turn-key solutions bases on proprietary technology for the treatment of water, air, waste and for new energy recovery applications. It has built more than 1000 sustainable solutions for municipalities and industries in 80 countries around the world.

The Switch- Best in Wind
Finnish CleanTech Cluster 
Lahti, Finland

The Switch is a leading supplier of megawatt-class permanent magnet generator (PMG) and full-power converter (FPC) packages for wind power and other renewable energy applications. The Switch has delivered more than 6,500 MW of renewable power-generating components to China, Korea, Europe and the US.

A full list of the 2012 Later Stage Award nominees and Top 30 semi-finalists can be found at http://www.globalcleantech.org/awards/2012-later-stage-award/

About the Global Cleantech Cluster Association

Global Cleantech is a non-profit association, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. that creates conduits for companies to harness the tremendous benefits of international cleantech cluster collaboration in an efficient, affordable, and structured way.  Global Cleantech provides a gateway for established and emerging cleantech companies to gain exposure to potential investors, new markets, influential networks, innovative technologies and best practices.  GCCA was founded by the Finnish Cleantech Cluster, Skipso, swisscleantech, Technica Communications and Watershed Capital Group. For more information about Global Cleantech, please visit www.globalcleantech.org.

MEDIA CONTACT
Technica Communications 
Lisa Ann Pinkerton
408-806-9626
Lisaann@technicacommunications.com     

SOURCE Global Cleantech Cluster Association (GCCA)