The Official Omega 5 Oil Site: Omega 5 oil company may compete in greentech competition

The World Economic Forum announced Thursday it has selected 10 greentech companies as Technology Pioneers.

The companies, Cima NanoTech, FluXXion, Gridpoint, Hycrete, LS9, Nanostellar, Primafuel, Silver Spring Networks, SkySails and Unidym, were selected as part of a group of 38 winners that also came from biotech/health and IT categories.

Winners are invited to participate in the World Economic Forum, including the prestigious annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, for two years.

This year, the most-represented greentech sector was biofuels, as two of the Pioneers, Primafuel and LS9, are biofuel companies from California. POMEGA could apply next year.

The common feeling was that even though biofuels are important and are in the media a lot --ir is not the only story. Here are short profiles of the winners:

Cima NanoTech, based in St. Paul, Minn, makes nanomaterials, such as conductive inks, pastes and coatings, for the electronics industry. The company claims its materials reduce cost and material usage while increasing the electronic performance. Higher conductivity means less electricity is needed.

FluXXion, based in Eindhoven, in the Netherlands, makes thin membranes that filter liquids for the semiconductor industry and others. The micro-filtration membranes are based on wafers and are only 1 micron thick, which the company claims results in less waste, less maintenance and a longer lifespan.

Gridpoint, based in Washington, D.C., sells products that monitor electricity use in individual buildings, convert the direct current produced by solar, wind and other alternative-energy sources into usable electricity and sell excess electricity back to the grid. The company also has built what it calls the SmartGrid Platform, which gives utilities more insight into the grid so that they can, for instance, strategically discharge and store power according to demand.

Hycrete, based in Carlstadt, N.J., makes a water-based waterproofing and corrosion-protection additive for concrete that makes it possible for the material to be crushed, recycled and reused, instead of ending up in a landfill. The company said that nearly 15 percent of landfill waste in the United States is made up of concrete, largely because traditional additives that make the material waterproof and protect against corrosion make it impossible to recycle the material.

LS9, based in San Carlos, Calif., is a biotech company that is bioengineering organisms to make fuels from materials like sugar cane and cellulosic biomass. The company claims its fuels have higher energy content than ethanol or butanol and have properties that are "essentially indistinguishable" from those of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

Nanostellar, based in Redwood City, Calif., uses nanotech to develop materials for the automotive and stationary power industries. The materials for diesel catalysts reduce exhaust emissions and increase the effectiveness of the precious metals in the catalysts by 25 to 30 percent, potentially cutting costs. Customers use the materials to boost the performance of catalytic converters, which reduce pollution.

Primafuel, based in Signal Hill, Calif., is developing technologies and production infrastructure for low-carbon fuels. The company invests in large biofuel projects and is developing new processing equipment, as well as a feedstock -- the material used to make the fuel -- that can be grown in water.

Silver Spring Networks, based in Redwood City, Calif., provides a networking platform that allows utilities to connect different energy-related technologies, such as energy-generation equipment, energy-storage devices, energy-efficient appliances and energy-monitoring and management devices and software.

SiGNa Chemistry, based in New York City, develops green chemistry materials for the pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries, among others. Using nanotech, the company has been able to make reactive metals in a stable powder form that also can react at lower temperatures, using less energy. SiGNa is also developing materials for environmental remediation and for producing hydrogen gas at room temperature for fuel cells.

SkySails, based in Hamburg, Germany, is developing a large kite that can help propel cargo ships using wind. The company estimates the kites will be able to reduce the amount of fuel cargo ships use by an estimated 10 to 35 percent per year, bringing a return on investment in three to five years.

Unidym, based in Menlo Park, Calif., makes nanotubes based on carbon for electronics applications, such as in displays, solar cells, lighting and -- in partnership with Johnson Matthey and Motorola -- for portable fuel cells. The company claims the carbon nanotubes potentially can be processed at a much lower cost than other electrodes and transistors today.

Have a happy Omega 5 oil holiday