The California Clean Tech Open (CCTO) has a history of launching some of the most innovative startups in the cleantech industry. It has announced 44 finalists for the 2008 competition. The winners will receive early-stage capital, as well as advice and expertise not easily obtainable by a startup. The CCTO's goal is to create new and innovative businesses in California, focused on the cleantech industry.

Previously, the organizers of the Clean Tech Open had estimated that there would be a total of 50 finalists, in six categories: "Transportation," "Smart Power," "Renewables," "Green Building," "Energy Efficiency," and "Air, Water & Waste."

Reaching the level of finalist can be enough to boost a startup's fortunes. While the CCTO offers impressive prizes, past finalists often find venture capital after the competition. In the last two years, finalists have raised more than $70 million in funding, as well as landing a significant number of customer contracts. Furthermore, of the 95 former finalists, more than 84 percent are still viable companies — a number far and beyond better than the average cleantech startup's odds.

There are plenty of new ideas among the winners, but Solar Ice especially caught my eye; the company is working on a solar-powered icemaker.  How wonderfully ironic.

Air, Water & Waste:

• Clean Coal Inc. — Coal containments removal
• Over the Moon Diapers — High performance reusable diapers and service network
• Porifera — Carbon nanotube membrane for reverse osmosis desalination
• PURE-T — Salt free water softener using nanobeads
• Purite — Zero-energy chemical-free whole house water filtration
• SequesCO —Microbial CO2 capture and conversion to biofuel
• Waste Water Works (WWW) — Microbial wastewater treatment which generates electricity

Energy Efficiency:

• Atomic Precision Systems Inc. — New semiconductor process for ultra-cheap LED lighting
• Enovative Group — Smart pump for hot water circulation
• NexChem — Energy-saving process improvement for zinc galvanizing
• Transoptic — Solar energy assistance for conventional water heaters
• Viridis Earth — Domestic HVAC retrofit to improve efficiency
• WicKool — Energy efficient water recovery for existing rooftop air conditioning

Green Building:

• BottleStone — Ceramic stone countertops include 80% recycled glass
• en-vis-age — Green, modular and customizable buildings
• Green Design Systems — Straw wall building panels
• GreenHomeAnswers.com — Home improvement website for green products and services
• GroundSource — Residential geothermal system with installation services
• ISTN — Eco-friendly building insulation
• Parco Homes — Manufactured green (zero net energy) home kits
• Solar Red — Low-cost rooftop photovoltaic installation system and components
• Team Wawa — Water-conserving shower system

Renewables:

• Covalent Solar — Organic thin film solar concentrators
• Focal Point Energy — Solar thermal water heater for industrial processes
• IEM Applications — Landfill methane accelerated recovery
• Renewable Fuel Technologies — Agricultural waste biomass converted to Green Coal
• Solar Ice — Solar powered ice maker
• Solindis — Optical solar concentrator for thin film photovoltaics

Smart Power:

• 1ARC Energy — Higher capacity lithium-ion batteries
• Cooler — Carbon calculator to allow B2B targeted advertising in LOHAS
• Energy Empowered — Home display and control to reduce standby power usage
• Enverity Corporation — Greenhouse gas tracking and compliance
• Power Assure — Data center energy management software service
• Renewable Voltage — Treats organic waste to provide hydrogen and energy storage
• Tangerine Network Devices — Home energy display and control

Transportation:

• AAA Fleets — Turnkey electric vehicles and solar charging systems for fleets
• E-Chargers — Plug-in hybrid charging station
• ElectraDrive — Gas to electric drivetrain auto conversion
• Electric Drive Research — Plug-in/gas hybrid 2 person, 3 wheel sports car
• ElectronVault, Inc. — More efficient traction battery for hybrids
• Enhanced Vehicle Acoustics — Flexible engine sound generator for quiet cars
• FuelMotion — Series hybrid conversions for the developing world
• Goose Networks — Hosted dynamic scheduler for carpools
• Philo Fuel — GPS-based audiovisual cues to help drivers optimize fuel efficiency

Image — California Clean Tech Open