Fueling commercialization leads to new green jobs

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Kenney

Jobs, jobs, and jobs. They’re a hot topic these days — from the gubernatorial race here in Oregon all across the country to inside the Beltway of Washington, D.C. And the color of the new jobs is green.

The Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center (Oregon BEST) was charged by the Oregon Legislature to help Oregonians create good, green jobs by catalyzing the commercialization of technologies being developed in the labs of Oregon’s universities.

Recognizing that Oregon is predominantly a small business state, Oregon BEST is prioritizing the use of our resources to support the efforts of entrepreneurs, existing small businesses, and university researchers in launching new collaborative ventures that capitalize on Oregon’s internationally renowned leadership position in renewable energy and the sustainable built environment.

Oregon has an impressive track record of launching innovative startups: from the high-tech firms Tektronix and Mentor Graphics to the high-performance sportswear giants Columbia and Nike. Not to mention the natural resource companies which have called Oregon home for decades.

In recent years, Oregon is seeing success among a new generation of clean-tech startups like PV Powered, CleanEdge Power, Powermand, HM3 Energy, and dozens of other clean-tech startups working to make Oregon — and the world — a cleaner, greener place. And employing Oregonians in the process.

Oregon’s international reputation as a sustainability innovator with a well-educated workforce that’s clean-tech savvy and a livability ranking that tops the charts has also helped our state attract green companies such as Vestas, SolarWorld, and Iberdrola Renewables, as well as a rapidly growing list of solar energy firms that include Sanyo, Solexant, Solaicx and Peak Sun Silicon.

Oregon’s economic development strategy is focused not only on attracting big businesses to locate within our borders, but also on commercializing Oregon-based technologies that entrepreneurs can move from the research lab bench to the green-tech marketplace. Oregon BEST’s mission is to help fuel this commercialization process in a number of different ways.

First, our Commercialization Grant Program offers funding to entrepreneurial teams made up of university researchers and small business owners who are collaborating to transform research into new products, companies, and jobs. This program helps accelerate opportunities for these small businesses to attract additional private investment as well as customer revenue.

Private sector jobs are created only when businesses are successful, so one of our primary goals is helping businesses connect with the right people and tools needed to prosper. Oregon BEST has developed a network of shared-user research facilities that are available to both Oregon companies and academic researchers.

This statewide network consists not only of advanced testing and development equipment that small companies often can’t afford to own, but also the deep expertise of Oregon’s university research faculty. By tapping this shared network of facilities and faculty experts, Oregon businesses are better prepared to thrive in the clean-tech economy.

Oregon BEST also speeds commercialization that creates jobs by hosting our annual Oregon BEST FEST, a gathering of university researchers, businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and others who come together to explore collaborative opportunities to turn clean-tech research into marketable green products and technologies.

Which takes us back to jobs, jobs, and jobs. No single investment or policy will address the job creation challenges facing Oregon and America, but a mix of innovative strategies, resources, and collaborative teams of smart people will. Oregon BEST is pleased to be participating in this effort by providing programs and connecting businesses to researchers to help our state’s clean-tech entrepreneurs and existing businesses succeed in the new, growing green innovation sector.

David Kenney is president and executive director of Oregon BEST. BEST FEST ’10 takes place in Portland on September 13th and will feature more than 40 new, green technologies, products, and ideas under development at Oregon universities.