APPLY FOR
EARLY-STAGE INVESTMENT
FUNDING
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Oregon BEST's SBIR/STTR Support Center lists funding opportunities from a range of federal agencies in one place for your convenience.
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More events listed on our Events page...
December 5
(
Application Deadline
)
Apply to present!
Calling the world's most innovative, emerging clean energy startups with prototype-stage, pre-commercial, or late-stage renewable energy or energy efficiency technology solutions to apply to present at this forum. Since 2003, presenting companies have collectively raised more than $5.1 billion in growth financing.
December 7
The Portland metro area alone has more than 50 organizations dedicated to helping entrepreneurs. But which ones are the best fit for YOU? This event is a starting point for new entrepreneurs trying to navigate Oregon's startup ecosystem. Portland, OR
December 7-8
Now in its second year, this summit brings together utilities, financiers, regulators, technology innovators, and storage practitioners for two days of data-intensive presentations, analyst-led panel sessions with industry leaders, and extensive, high-level networking. San Francisco, CA
January 23-25
This annual gathering of the global cleantech innovation community offers a comprehensive, three-day program along with opportunities to network, learn, and get deals done. San Francisco, CA
January 28
Hispanicpros' second annual Latin@ Technology Fest provides a platform for technology companies and government agencies to engage hundreds of Hispanic professionals with STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Math) backgrounds as well as college students interested in STEAM careers. HIllsboro, OR
February 27 - March 1
The ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit is an annual conference and technology showcase that brings together experts from different technical disciplines and professional communities to think about America's energy challenges in new and innovative ways. Washington, DC
March 1
This event, sponsored by Innovate Collaborate Oregon (ICOregon) serves as a platform to promote interaction between industry, legislators, and Oregon research universities by working to advance discoveries through collaborative research and licensing. Salem, OR
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Executive Director's Report >>
OREGON'S CLEANTECH ALIGNMENT
The Oregon Innovation Council (Oregon InC) - the Governor-appointed group that makes recommendations to the state on funding for Oregon BEST and other innovation initiatives - is currently undergoing a major strategic planning process. After 10 years of economic development focused investments in a range of industry sectors,
Oregon InC is looking to determine which sectors will bring the most economic opportunity to the people of Oregon in the coming years.
Oregon InC put out a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input on which industry sectors are a good fit for the state's innovation funding. They asked which sectors have unique connections to Oregon, the ability to leverage other resources, the ability to use state funds to make an impact, and the potential to create jobs.
Based on these criteria, we can't think of a better fit than Cleantech.
Oregon BEST recently submitted a response to the RFI that laid out this great alignment - evident from substantial industry data and demonstrated through our work over the past nine years. We included data highlighting
the 10X increase in Cleantech investment in Oregon in the past 15 years as well as data supporting our argument that
Cleantech is more manufacturing and export intensive than the overall economy. Further, we identified four focus areas within Cleantech that offer significant opportunities unique to our state:
Smart Cities,
Precision Agriculture,
Smart Grid, and
Advanced Wood Products. You can read
our full response here.
We look forward to the outcome of this process and see this as an opportunity to help focus and grow the cleantech leadership position we've developed with consistent support from our state. You can help by letting
your legislators know that cleantech is good for Oregon, and Oregon is good at cleantech, as you'll read about below!
Thanks for your continued interest and support,
David Kenney
, President & Executive Director
Oregon BEST
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TALKIN' ABOUT
OREGON BEST
New video captures the wide ranging impacts of Oregon BEST
In this video, you'll see entrepreneurs, investors, and even Portland Mayor-Elect Ted Wheeler talk about the impact Oregon BEST is having on the state's economic landscape by helping cleantech startups succeed. Rita Hansen of Bend, Ore.-based
Onboard Dynamics, Inc. credits Oregon BEST with helping her company bring $3.6 million to Oregon.
In fact, over the past 15 months alone, our
Oregon BEST Companies
have brought in $33 million in revenue and outside funding.
Watch the video >>
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"If Oregon BEST had not come to the table when they did - partnering, collaborating - that $3.6 million would have never come into the state. And I wouldn't be here."
- Rita Hansen, CEO, Onboard Dynamics, Bend, Oregon |
MAKING NATIONAL
HEADLINES
National news stories highlight the impacts of Oregon BEST
 We continue to see
Oregon BEST Companies gaining more and more national media attention, from stories in
Forbes to the
New York Times. And just last month, Oregon BEST was featured in an
EnergyWire article that said Oregon "has become one of the country's most consistent and generous patrons of clean-energy technology" and stated how Oregon BEST is uniquely "singular in the United States" compared to other economic development engines in the cleantech sector - something we take great pride in!
More >>
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"I'd be lost without Oregon BEST. They've helped focus my approach to the market in a smart and educated way."
- Dirk Wallace, CEO, Formology Architectural Products,
Hubbard, Oregon |
A NEW USE FOR
LOGGING WASTE
Oregon BEST Company turns logging slash into coal replacement
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (
pictured, far right) helped Oregon BEST Company
HM3 Energy celebrate the grand opening of its $4 million demonstration facility in Troutdale, Ore., last month. The company, founded by Hiroshi Morihara (
pictured, center), has developed a novel process that transforms slash, the waste wood from logging operations, into energy-dense briquettes that can be used in coal-fired power plants. This lowers toxic emissions and could bring economic relief to timber communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. A Japanese company has agreed to construct a full-scale plant in Oregon next year.
More >>
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"The amount of wisdom, experience and knowledge (Oregon BEST) brings to the table is tremendous."
- Sce Pike, CEO, IOTAS, Portland, Oregon |
STUDENTS
SERVE UP RESEARCH
UO undergrads help Oregon BEST Company with market research
A team of undergraduate students from the
Oregon Business Consulting Group (OBCG) at the University of Oregon, conducted in-depth market research for Oregon BEST Company
TryEco, developer of a biodegradable super absorbent polymer that helps the agriculture industry save water while increasing crop yields. Results from the Oregon BEST-funded project are helping TryEco calculate and communicate the value of its product based on crop type and growing conditions.
More >> In addition, the UO's MBA program, a close collaborator with Oregon BEST, has been ranked the nation's No. 1 "Green" MBA by the Princeton Review.
More >>
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"Oregon BEST's support is pushing us forward faster than we would have been able to move on our own."
- Jason Wright, CEO, NW Renewable Energy Corp.,
McMinnville, Oregon |
Two opportunities to weigh in on economic impact in Oregon
 We invite you to participate in two different and important surveys to inform future support for innovation and entrepreneurship in Oregon:
If you're an Oregon entrepreneur, please take
our short survey so our network of entrepreneurship support organizations understands what
you need most to succeed.
Business Oregon wants your input for its strategic planning process.
Their survey is a great opportunity to share what you've learned about the impact of the Oregon Innovation Council and the Innovation and Entrepreneurship team, including Oregon BEST's success with cleantech, which would not have been possible without their support. Thank you for taking a few minutes to offer your valuable input!
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OREGON BEST COS. SEE SUCCESS
Companies attract funding, customers and create new jobs
Energy Storage Systems (ESS) of Portland, Ore., has now installed its nontoxic, all-iron flow battery at two locations and was featured in the IEEE Spectrum. The shipping container-sized batteries offer a way to store large amounts of energy.
More >>
HoneyComb Corp., the Wilsonville, Ore.-based drone maker, was featured in a New York Times article. The single-wing drone flies over fields gathering data that helps farmers locate issues ranging from irrigation leaks to weed control.
More >>
eWind Solutions, the Beaverton, Ore., startup developing a tethered, rigid-wing kite system that generates energy from the stronger winds found at higher altitudes, has been awarded a $600,000 SBIR grant from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
More >>
D.R. Johnson Wood Innovations of Riddle, Ore., is seeing "unbelievable" interest in its cross-laminated timber (CLT) and is staffing up to meet the growing demand for the material in construction projects across the country.
More >>
Puralytics, Inc., the Beaverton, Ore., firm that makes water purification products, including one aimed at stormwater cleanup that Oregon BEST helped support, shipped products to Haiti following the hurricane to help supply safe drinking water.
More >>
IOTAS, developer of a smart energy technology that taps the Internet of Things to lower power bills for apartment renters and operational costs for building owners, has been named a CES 2017 Innovation Awards Honoree.
More >>
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OREGON BEST RESEARCHERS
IN THE NEWS...
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C.J. RILEY
(left) and MATEO ABOY, engineering professors at Oregon TECH, have been awarded $214,000 in grants - $100,000 from the NW Collaboratory for Sustainable Manufacturing will help Riley add equipment for Oregon TECH's Manufacturing Engineering Technology program, and $114,000 for Aboy to further develop a bridge monitoring toolkit that includes virtual visual sensors. More >>
··· MATT EVANS, an associate professor of civil engineering at Oregon State University, is tapping the tiny microbes found in the soils underneath buildings to not only help stabilize existing structures during earthquakes, but to also reduce the use of Portland cement used to make concrete during construction, reducing the overall carbon footprint of new buildings made of concrete.
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ALAN WANG
, an assistant professor of computer and electrical engineering at Oregon State University, has combined one of nature's tiny miracles, the diatom, with a version of inkjet printing and optical sensing to create a sensing device that could be 10 million times more sensitive than other commonly used approaches and have applications ranging from detecting pesticides in organic foods to environmental monitoring.
More >>
 ··· GREG HERMAN
, a professor of chemical engineering at Oregon State University, is part of a research team that has developed a transparent electronic sensor that might one day help people with Type I diabetes monitor their blood sugar levels and potentially transmit real-time glucose information to a wearable pump that delivers the hormones needed to regulate blood sugar: insulin and glucagon.
More >>
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Oregon BEST funds and assists cleantech startups, bringing together Oregon's significant R&D strengths to support entrepreneurs in the creation of new products and services.
The nexus for clean technology innovation
,
Oregon BEST
builds capability, convenes collaborations, and accelerates the solutions to environmental challenges that deliver prosperity in all corners of Oregon.
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Oregon BEST
PO BOX 212 · PORTLAND, OR 97207-0212
PH: 503.928.7902 · WEB:
oregonbest.org
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