Two R.I. companies semifinalists in Cleantech Open

BOSTON – The Northeast Region of Cleantech Open, an energy and environmental technology accelerator, has announced that two Rhode Island companies are among the 38 semifinalist participants in the annual accelerator program and business competition.
Selected from a record applicant pool of 90 cleantech startups, this year’s class is the most geographically diverse to date, according to a news release from Cleantech Open announcing the semifinalists.
“This year, the Northeast recruited more accelerator applicants than anywhere else in the country, and our historic numbers enabled us to become more selective and better serve our participating teams,” said Cleantech Open Northeast Regional Director Katherine MacDonald. “The bar is higher than ever before, and we look forward to enabling these promising companies to make new connections, take advantage of existing resources, and fully participate in what our business accelerator and mentorship programs have to offer.”
HMSolution, a Providence company that has developed a faucet filter to remove arsenic and heavy metals from drinking water, has won a place as a semifinalist in the competition’s agriculture, water and waste category, while Leading Edge Hydro, founded by Brown University researchers with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, entered its concept for a hydrofoil capable of capturing ocean and river tidal currents in the energy generation category.
Of the 38 semifinalists registered in the Northeast, 14 came from Massachusetts and 14 from New York, while New Jersey entered four participants, Rhode Island and Maine each produced two semifinalists, and Connecticut and Pennsylvania each produced one.
“These emerging cleantech companies are driving innovation across the region and Cleantech Open is the perfect home for entrepreneurship,” said Alicia Barton, CEO of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, a premier sponsor of Cleantech Open Northeast. “We’re thrilled to be a partner in helping support the leading clean energy companies of tomorrow.”
While the majority of startups that entered the competition this year were based in the energy generation and energy efficiency categories, the class of 2014 also saw more technological diversity than in previous years, with information and communications technology companies representing 16 percent of the startups and the agriculture, water and waste category representing 13 percent.
The 2014 accelerator semifinalists will formally begin the program at the Cleantech Open East Coast Academy from June 17-18, where they will hear from prominent speakers, receive specialized startup mentoring and refine their business plans, Cleantech Open said. The accelerator program will culminate with the Northeast Regional Final Judging and Awards Gala, to be held at the Boston University School of Management on Oct. 27-28.

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