SkyFuel - The Innovation Paradox

If you’re in the technology innovation business, you know about the “Valley of Death”, wherein you have brought your technology to commercial readiness on venture capital or public funding, but lack sufficient investment capital to take the product to market.
The Innovation Paradox is a companion phenomenon that occurs with highly capital intensive products... [read more]

SkyFuel - The Innovation Paradox

If you’re in the technology innovation business, you know about the “Valley of Death”, wherein you have brought your technology to commercial readiness on venture capital or public funding, but lack sufficient investment capital to take the product to market.
The Innovation Paradox is a companion phenomenon that occurs with highly capital intensive products when a proven, bankable technology is evolved (in an effort to reduce costs) to such an extent that it is no longer considered risk-free.
This talk addresses the specific case of SkyFuel, and how we are methodically validating our way out of the Innovation Paradox.
Speaker
Alison Mason, Director of Marketing Communications, SkyFuel, Inc.
Alison earned her Master’s degree in Solar Thermal Engineering at Colorado State University. She has worked in passive solar, solar thermal, and photovoltaics as researcher, advocate, educator, designer, and installer.
Alison was recognized in 2004 by the American Solar Energy Society with the first ever “Women in Solar Energy” (WISE) award and her work has been featured by the Worldwatch InstituteJournal and CNN International.
About SkyFuel
SkyFuel is a venture capital funded startup in early stage commercial deployment in Jefferson County. SkyFuel has three commercialized products – the SkyTrough® parabolic trough solar collector, the OnSun™ tracking system, and ReflecTech® high reflectance silverized polymer film. The SkyTrough® is the first utility scale solar concentrator to use lightweight ReflecTech® mirror film in place of fragile glass mirrors. SkyFuel’s OnSun™ Integrated Control and Drive System provides highly accurate positioning for parabolic trough solar collectors using a helical, hydraulic rotary actuator and the SkyTrakker™ control board for precision tracking. CSP Today named SkyTrough® “Commercialized Technology Innovation of 2010” for its breakthroughs in cost reduction and constructability. SkyFuel is also developing next-generation, high-temperature parabolic trough and linear Fresnel systems.