Entering the Energy Market and Making Money

Now that the economy is slowly regaining its foothold it is time to think about the future and where money is going to be spent. Knowing who is going to spend money on what will enable you to determine which direction your current or future businesses need to go. There are many emerging markets that are top contenders for new businesses, however, the top contender is the energy market.

The Demand for Clean Energy

Environmental destruction and destabilization along with the turmoil that caused gas prices to triple and quadruple in some cases have produced a demand for clean energy sources. This demand stems from the realization that fossil fuels no longer are the logical energy source for the United States. However, the energy source that replaces oil and gasoline will need to meet new criteria for energy sustainability. These criteria include being clean, easy to produce and applicable to communities across the country. This rules out some options but produces niche markets for others.

Energy Competitions

Since there is an undeniable need to find the next big energy source many energy corporations are investing huge sums of money in finding and developing ideas for energy production. This race for a clean and cheap energy source has spawned multiple energy development competitions sponsored by companies like GE. The prize money for these competitions range from $100,000 to multi-million dollar prizes. If you are interested in entering the energy race, then this is a great place to both win some start up money and to find venture capital.

Protecting Your Ideas

Regardless if you plan on entering an energy competition or going directly to venture or corporate investors, you need to be smart about your approach. First of all you need to completely develop the basis for your idea, and be able to produce a small scale working model of your concept. Develop a pitch, a schematic and an overview of your idea for presenting to investors and competitions.

Next you need to patent your idea quickly before you start to approach any investor or corporation. Just because a corporation has a good public image does not mean that they will not steal your idea. Patenting can be a complicated and expensive process, especially if you hire a patent attorney to help you. However, to get things rolling for a lower amount of money you can simply file the paperwork for a provisional patent which will placehold your idea until you are ready to complete the full patent process.

Finally, you need to approach the right people with the right insight. Energy competitions are great, but make sure you read the fine print. Some of these competitions are going to claim control of the winning idea, and all you will get is the prize money. If you are not sure how much control the competition's organizers want to claim, then take the rules and entry information to a good patent attorney. This upfront investment in legal council can not only protect your idea from being stolen outright, but it can also help to get you properly set up for approaching a very competitive market.

References

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/aug2010/sb20100825_281270.htm

http://www.uspto.gov/