Europe Loves Cleantech and Maxwell

I went to Europe last month to have some on one-on-one meetings with managers of different SRI funds (Sustainable Renewable Investments) in Geneva and Zurich, so obviously they were interested in cleantech.  I came away impressed with the extensive amount of homework these managers had done to really understand Maxwell’s ultracapacitor technology and business. 

Face-to-face meetings with investors are critical because they want to know who the management is that’s running the company.  To read stories about the company is one thing, but investors want to see if the passion comes through.  They want to get the sense that you’re really going to make this technology work.

After answering their questions, we had a little brainstorm about other markets Maxwell probably ought to look at.  I had a couple of investors actually give me the names of some companies I was not aware of that could use our product in similar applications to the ones we’re already in.

During our discussions, we tried to break Maxwell’s ultracapacitor applications down into easily identifiable categories. We came up with four buckets to place our BOOSTCAP^© products: regeneration, which is green because you’re saving wasted energy; burst power which you need for reliability; back-up power, which can hopefully serve as low-cost insurance; and then quick charge for convenience. 

The best part of talking to European investors is that the Europeans are significantly greener in their thinking then we are here in the U.S.  Using ultracapacitors to recapture regenerative braking on trolleys, buses and trains was something that was very intriguing to them.  So was incorporating ultracapacitors in the start-stop systems on cars.

Of course, the Europeans have aggressive legislation that aims to reduce the average emissions of CO2 from new passenger cars in the EU from around 160 grams per kilometer to 130 grams per kilometer by 2012. If I did the math right, 130 grams of CO2 per kilometer gets you about 57 miles per gallon.  And the U.S. is trying to get to 35 mpg by 2016. With large fines for lack of compliance, the EU will have, from what I see today, the most fuel-efficient cars in the world.   

With the solutions Maxwell provides, it’s the right place to be.