Software grants assist ‘clean’ technologies

Each recipient receives up to €120.000 of design software, including up to five licenses of: AutoCAD Inventor Professional, Autodesk Showcase Professional, Autodesk Vault Manufacturing, Autodesk Navisworks Manage, Autodesk Revit Architecture and Autodesk Alias Design. "Europe is at the forefront of many exciting alternative energy advances, together with some of the world's most ambitious clean energy policies, so it's a natural evolution for Autodesk to partner with innovative clean tech companies in the region," said Erwin Burth, director, industry development at Autodesk. "Regardless of where they are in their product development lifecycle, Autodesk recognises the imperative that all clean tech companies face to bring their products to market faster and more cost effectively." According to a 2010 survey of 200 venture capitalists, investors, entrepreneurs and bankers, conducted by KPMG LLP and AlwaysOn and published on March 4th 2010, three quarters of the venture capital community believe clean tech investments will increase in 2010 compared with last year. Sums invested are already substantial: a New Energy Finance report, Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2009 states that in 2008, Europe invested an estimated $49.7billion in renewable energy. "Technology has a vital role to play in driving down the cost of clean energy," said Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance. "So it is very positive to see a software leader such as Autodesk stepping up with its expertise in sustainable design to help Europe's emerging clean energy firms realize their R&D vision. Making clean energy technology more competitive with fossil fuels - with no subsidies on either side - would be the single best way to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions."