Cleantech trends.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: CLEANTECH

Critical mass. Turning point. Widespread adoption.

These are the terms we hear in relation to many emerging clean technologies: They are seemingly continually on the cusp of hitting the mass market in a big way, any day now. But hype sometimes overshadows reality.

The times, however are a-changin': Market dynamics for four prime clean-tech categories--biofuels and bio-based chemicals, solar, wind and electric vehicles--are not just theoretically on the cusp any more. They are visibly on the cusp. Cleantech is happening now, and it's happening here: Colorado is emerging as an industry hub, with local players grabbing national headlines.

And it's not just hype. "I think it's reality," says Alexandra Tune, director at Deloitte & Touche's Denver office. "There are a lot of cleantech companies in Colorado and a lot of cleantech companies are relocating here." She points to the federal government--largely in the form of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden--as well as the slate's mandate that 30 percent of electricity come from renewable sources by 2020. Plus, there's a highly educated work force and numerous cleantech-relevant programs and initiatives at the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, and the Colorado School of Mines. "It's a culture here," says Tune.

So can Colorado capitalize on its current position and leap to the head of the cleantech class as an international center? Citing state-led and municipal recruitment and messaging efforts as well as the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association's in-progress "road map" to such an endpoint, Tune says, "There's no reason it can't."

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BIOFUELS AND BIO-BASED CHEMICALS

"Many companies that were focused on biofuels are beginning to say they're more interested in bio-based chemicals," says Charles "Chas" Eggert, CEO of Boulder-based OPX Biotechnologies. Why? "Specialty chemicals have higher prices, so they can have higher manufacturing costs. The initial commercial plant size for a bio-based chemical can be significantly smaller than a plant for a biofuel."

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OPX engineers microbes to efficiently produce bioacrylic and biofuels, and the former has been the company's primary push since its 2006 founding. Biofuels will come next: Because of the market dynamics, small-scale ethanol production can't compete with the oil industry and its vast extant infrastructure, says Eggert. He sees biofuels moving from such inputs as corn and...