As part of this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Cleantech Open hosted its annual Global Forum in San Jose to showcase promising cleantech startups and provide seed funding and support to the winners. The competition began earlier in the year with regional contests for 120 semifinalists and wrapped up with 21 finalists presenting at the Global Forum this past week. Over the course of two days the companies delivered 15 minute pitches to the judges, as well as 3 minute tech demos, 1 minute elevator pitches and expo booths.

Atmosphere Recovery took home the National Grand Prize of $250,000, besting other category winners; Indow Windows, PK Clean, Whole Trees Structure and GridMobility. Atmosphere Recovery impressed the judges with its laser-based gas analyzer system that improves the efficiency of manufacturing processes. The company already has a solid list of customers and boasts impressive savings, with claims to enhance heat treating facilities’ bottom line profits by 25% or more. Indow Windows, a manufacturer of energy saving window inserts, took home the National Sustainability prize and Biofiltro, a Chilean developer of a wastewater treatment process using microorganisms and worms, won the Global Ideas prize.

After hearing all the pitches, …