Commonwealth and Nissan commit to zero-emission vehicle

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Nissan entered into an agreement this afternoon to advance zero-emission mobility throughout Mass. by promoting the development of an electric-vehicle charging network, as well as the necessary legislation to allow for adoption of such a network. The agreement was signed today at the Museum of Science, which hosted the event and featured the Nissan Leaf, the all-electric vehicle that hits the road this December. It was a promising sign for Massachusetts which, as Energy and Environment Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles mentioned, is competing hard for the top spot among environmentally responsible states in the country.

On top of the cool t-shirts Nissan was handing out, it was great to see some local companies get props for the work they're doing to advance electric transportation - including CHEN PR client and lithium-ion battery maker Boston-Power, who got a nice shout out from Secretary Bowles.

The car, as you can see, looks pretty sharp and I wouldn't be surprised to see them zigging and zagging across the state's highways by early next year.

Energy Powering Innovation

The morning session on power during Thursday’s MITEF Innovation Summit kept attendees tuned in as speakers discussed alternative energy topics from wind dams to waste gasification. After a thought-provoking keynote by Dr. John Kao, the conference divided into its three sectors for the remainder of the day.

Stephen Connors, director of the Analysis Group for Regional Energy Alternatives at the MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment, kicked off the power sector and didn’t disappoint, discussing some of the most innovative, albeit sometimes far-off, energy technologies out there. Particularly interesting was Connors’ analysis of some of the more far-reaching energy technologies that haven’t yet become, as Connors put it, “the next killer amp.” He pointed out that an overemphasis on technology can lead to serious reliability issues when it comes to saving energy in today’s marketplace. While full of innovation, ideas like Chetwood Associates’ wind dam or the US Department of Energy’s FutureGen clean coal projects raise serious questions about necessity, convenience, reliability and even style – all concerns Connors listed for consumers and investors alike in the world of alternative energy.

Following up on Connors’ talk, the breakout session in the power track featured a panel made up of William Davis, president and CEO of Ze-gen, Jim Gordon, president of Cape Wind, and Dr. Christina Lampe-Onnerud, Founder and CEO of Boston-Power. The panel was moderated by Peter Rothstein, entrepreneur-in-residence at Flagship Ventures. All three of the panelists represented energy companies in fairly early stages and all three came from different areas of the energy marketplace, providing for interesting conversation.

Each speaker talked about the different hurdles they overcame as their companies took shape in the always-changing energy market. Davis, CEO of Ze-gen, a developer of waste gasification technology which converts waste into electrical energy, talked about trying not to upset the large waste management companies and also choosing to use only specific forms of waste in order to make permitting as smooth a process as possible.

For Jim Gordon and Cape Wind, the challenge has always been a NIMBY problem. NIMBY is energy jargon for “not in my backyard,” and for Cape Wind, it represents one of the biggest problems with putting offshore wind turbines on Nantucket Sound. Gordon shared some convincing stats, pointing out that the complete project will produce up to 420 megawatts of energy and will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 734,000 tons per year. That seems to me at least as good a reason as any to let Cape Wind do its thing.

Boston-Power Founder and CEO Dr. Christina Lampe-Onnerud (and CHEN PR client) hasn’t faced the ordinary challenges of a start-up due to the intense demand for the company’s next-generation Lithium-ion batteries. Coming off a $45 million round of venture capital funding - the largest round of funding of any New England company in the last quarter of ’07 - Dr. Lampe-Onnerud talked about market opportunities – in particular the opportunity to develop a safe, effective and environmentally friendly product. Dr. Lampe-Onnerud further relayed that the company chose China for its manufacturing facilities because the Chinese have the capability to produce quickly and efficiently, something that will enable Boston-Power to bring its product to market soon - the company is already in mass production.

More Innovation Summit coverage to come…

An Inspiring Evening

By Veep Randy Wambold...
CHEN PR Founding Partner Chris Carleton and I recently had the chance to attend the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year dinner. We were invited by our client Boston-Power, whose founder Dr. Christina Lampe-Onnerud, was a finalist. Calling as it did for me to wear a tux for the first time since my wedding ten years ago, I suppose the evening was destined to be memorable from the start – and it did not disappoint.

Having not attended this event before, I was not really sure what to expect heading into it. Of course all of the obvious jokes came to mind about a party planned by accountants. But on this occasion the accountants played stereotype-buster. More than a rote awards ceremony, the evening felt like a sincere celebration of what these entrepreneurs have achieved – and why they have achieved it.

Listening to award winners in the various categories, it became clear that entrepreneurs are by definition passionate and committed, as well of course as driven and ambitious. I was struck by how many of the finalists talked in their acceptance speeches about “changing the world.”

I was also struck and moved by the award winners from outside the U.S. who talked about the opportunities this country had offered them. One gentleman, from Hong Kong I believe, simply stated “America really is the land of opportunity.” I would be remiss if I did not mention Dr. Lampe-Onnerud here as well. A native of Sweden, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud herself frequently comments on the unique opportunities she believes the U.S. offers entrepreneurs.

In a time when it seems like there’s a lot going on in this country that’s cause for grave concern, it was for me a refreshing reminder of what this country does offer. I feel proud to live in a place that attracts entrepreneurs of this caliber, who come here to implement their dreams.

Finally, I would like to offer, on behalf of all of CHEN PR, sincere congratulations to Dr. Lampe-Onnerud and all of our friends at Boston-Power for being named a finalist. Thank you for making us part of such an enjoyable evening.

Power to Portfolio

Conde Nast’s highly anticipated business magazine Portfolio made its hard copy debut in New York City today. Those of us not living in the Big Apple will see this May issue at our local newsstands on April 24. Born in the image of sister pubs Vanity Fair and Vogue, Portfolio boasts an all-star publishing and editorial team with too many acclaimed journalists to mention. A snapshot: E-in-C Joanne Lipman, formerly of WSJ; Kevin Maney, whose name became synonymous with USA Today’s tech coverage; and Blaise Zerega, of Wired and Red Herring fame.

We at CHEN PR send our best mojo to the mag for much success. It’s great to see a new, well-funded, well-marketed magazine/web site coming to life in what are fairly characterized as trying times for the publishing biz.

And special thanks to Portfolio’s S.E. Kramer for including Boston-Power Founder & CEO Dr. Christina Lampe-Onnerud in today’s online article, Charging Ahead. The piece highlights the insatiable need we all have for better portable power solutions. Christina shares her thoughts on Boston-Power’s Sonata product – a next-gen lithium-ion-based battery initially targeting notebook computers – is presented, picture and all, as an example of what’s coming…

From Consultant to Father

From CHEN PR Veep Randy Wambold...

Several of my colleagues and I were invited by our client Boston-Power to attend last night's Mass High Tech Women to Watch event. Boston-Power's CEO and founder Dr. Christina Lampe-Onnerud (at left) was there to be honored, along with nine other women, for her accomplishments in high tech. (The timing of the event was no coincidence; yesterday was International Women's Day.)

I went to the event thinking I was attending in my role as consultant to a client for whom our agency has much professional respect and personal affection. However, shortly after each of the ten honorees began speaking, I forgot I was there for a client and began listening as a father.

I have a 3 ½-year-old daughter. When she’s old enough to start concerning herself with them, I want her professional ambitions to be about what she loves to do, where her skills her, where she wants to focus her hard work. Not about her gender.

Clearly we’ve come a very long way in terms of women’s integration into the work force. The gentleman I sat next to last night, an MIT grad, pointed out to me that today’s MIT classes are 48% female. When he graduated only 25 years ago the percentage was 20%.

Yet in the world of science and technology in particular, and the larger business world in general, being a woman still presents special challenges. Dr. Lampe-Onnerud pointed out in her own acceptance speech, for example, that women occupy fewer board seats now than they did ten years ago.

I imagine each of the ten women who spoke at the event faced challenges in accomplishing their goals because they are female. Some of the honorees spoke explicitly and eloquently on the topic. One was told by an elementary school teacher, for example, “You’re pretty good at math – for a girl.”

But in their accomplishments these women aren’t just showing their own ability to overcome challenges. They’re improving the chances for today’s girls to be thought of as good at math. Period.

At 3 ½, my daughter is too young of course to understand any of this. And she’ll probably never meet any of last night’s honorees. But it struck me as I sat there listening to the honorees’ acceptance speeches that they are playing a role in making anything possible for her.
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On a lighter note, based on the acceptance speeches, it appears that a good sense of humor is a requirement to be a Woman to Watch. Here are a few of the funnier remarks from the evening, captured as best we could. Sorry we can't attribute these:

• Regarding the ratio of women to men (1 female for every 7 males) at WPI when one of the recipients was attending -- and its effect on dating, the recipient and her friend...the only other female in her class -- joked: "The odds were good, but the goods were odd."

• On the trials of balancing work and family: "You know it's something when your 7-year-old daughter gives up Indian take-out for lent."

• And an especially endearing one: "I'd like to thank my husband, who thought I was a woman to watch long before anyone else was watching."