A few weeks ago GE launched the next phase of the ecomagination Challenge, which will center on technologies to power the home. With the challenge officially taking submissions starting today, we talked to some of the participants who submitted some of the more than 4,000 ideas in the first Challenge — and who will now be part of the judging panel for the next phase.
In addition to judging the ideas — which can be submitted through March 1 and center on finding better ways to use energy in the home and harness wind, solar, hydro and biomass power — these Challenge Community Leaders, or CCLs, will also help guide the Challenge as it evolves and progresses.
Part 1 of the Challenge was “awesome,” says Sam White, co-founder of Promethean Power and a new CCL. “Going to the ecomagination event and hearing [GE CEO] Jeff Immelt talk about trying to combine GE’s capacity with the innovation of these 2,000 companies that entered — it was a larger-than-life experience.”
The newly-appointed CCLs also see their new role as an opportunity to help scale-up good ideas. “It’s a super leadership example,” says Allison Friedman, co-founder of Rate It Green. “Seeing a big, established company reach out and undertake this large — and risky — of a [project] gives hope that we can make the changes needed to combat significant climate change.”
So what does “Powering Your Home” mean to these new CCLs? Well, it depends on whom you ask.
“The focus of ‘Powering Your Home’ is going to be much more on consumer products,” says Steven Faulkner, founder of GeoHuddle.. “Things that I, as an average consumer, hopefully can buy at Home Depot one day.”
Susan Kling Finston, Managing Director and CEO of Amrita Therapeutics, takes a different view. “‘Powering Your Home’ can mean either a grid system or independence from the grid,” she says. “It can be things that either relate to better grid technology or things like little solar water heaters that create greater independence and more conservation.”
The judges do tend to agree on one thing: When it comes to choosing a good entry, what matters is practicality
“A technology is only worth funding if the average homeowner will find it cost-effective enough to buy it,” says Laura Bailey of Royal Wind. “Cost to the consumer is a significant factor, as are cost per kW produced for energy-generating technologies, and initial cost and payback time for all technologies.”
“I’m looking for ideas that have clear appeal to consumers and require little underlying technical explanation,” says Steven Helms, a master’s student in mechanical engineering at Drexel University.
White is looking for more than just general consumer appeal: “I want to see business models,” he says. “I have a bias toward companies with a laser focus on one niche market that they know they can dominate.”
Of course, each judge has his or her own personal preference. For Scorr Brusaw, co-founder of Solar Roadways it’s originality: “We’d like to see some real game changers rather than better mousetraps. Show us something original that can make a real difference.”
House party: The new phase of the Challenge is geared to developing smart homes on a massive scale. To do it will require a network of ideas from around the world, as there’s no “one size fits all” solution given different geographies and economies.
* Learn more on the ecomagaination blog
* Get started at http://challenge.ecomagination.com
* Read the launch announcement
