The cleantech export opportunity

With their heritage of innovation, New Zealand companies are well placed to meet world demand for products that improve performance, productivity or efficiency while reducing costs, raw materials, energy consumption and waste streams – the definition of clean technologies.

“We’ve got to concentrate on what we’re good at – on what makes sense,” says New Zealand Trade and Enterprise clean technologies specialist Chris Mulcare.

The scale of investment in solar and large-scale wind energy development by Europe and the US, for instance, means this is not where New Zealand should focus its efforts.

“That said, we have companies like Windflow and others developing smaller scale wind turbines that are ideal for projects in Asia Pacific.”

Novel industrial and transport technologies, sustainable agriculture and renewable energy – particularly geothermal and marine energy – are other areas of strength for New Zealand. “And we’re seeing companies innovating right across the industrial spectrum.”

A few of those companies took their wares to the world earlier this year, visiting the US and Chile as part of the Australia-New Zealand Clean Technology Business Mission – the first time businesses from both countries have worked together to present their capabilities in this field. Representatives attended the Cleantech Investment Forum in San Francisco and the renewable energy trade event RETECH in Las Vegas, followed by a mission to Chile.

New Zealand’s consul general in Vancouver, Claire Eeles, is delighted with the response.

“This was a first for New Zealand in terms of clean technology, and was a great learning opportunity for the companies and for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. This is definitely a growth sector in the US, with around $80 billion available in stimulus money at both Federal and state level.

"They are looking for ‘shovel-ready’ projects. For New Zealand companies willing to work or who already have a presence in the US, it’s a great opportunity.”

Interest from venture capitalists, government funding and a sense of urgency on the part of the new US administration to speed up technology and get things done offers New Zealand companies some real opportunities.

For one company, Energy Mad, the visit was a chance to build on its existing presence in the US market and to make new contacts. The company behind New Zealand’s push into compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs, Energy Mad already has a general manager in North America, Steven Miller, who travelled from Boston to Las Vegas for RETECH.

Director Tom Mackenzie says the visit benefited the company. “Steven met with senior utility owners and managers and has followed up leads. It would have been very hard to get the contacts without NZTE. The New Zealand-themed stand at RETECH was a bit different and it was good to be involved in that. The New Zealand factor helps – people would stop to talk.”

The impetus for developing Energy Mad came from a book Tom Mackenzie received from his friend Chris Martin. “I read something about energy-saving light bulbs in that book,” he says.

“We’re both engineers and did some calculations and worked out that if we replaced all the light bulbs in New Zealand with energy saving ones, it would save an amount of power equivalent to what was at that time going to be delivered by Project Aqua.”
Light bulb partnership

Their business model is based on a partnership approach, with local utility companies promoting the energy-efficient light bulbs. The first project in South Canterbury was so successful – 60,000 bulbs in four weeks – that the pair quit their day jobs and went into business together.