BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Global megatrends like energy and infrastructure, health and wellness, and materials revolutions create pressing social and economic needs – and the right emerging technologies to address them can create major business opportunities. Emerging technology research firm Lux Research scouts for technology developers that address these megatrends, profiling 1,380 companies across 15 different emerging technology domains in 2012.
To conclude the year, Lux Research selected the 10 most compelling companies profiled in 2012 across all its coverage areas (released today) and the 10 “companies to watch” for 2013 (to be released Thursday, December 20th).
Lux Research analysts base company profiles on primary and secondary research, rating each firm on a 10-metric scorecard, while providing critical analysis of their prospects. Each firm gets a “Lux Take” that ranges from “Strong Caution” to “Strong Positive,” to provide a bottom-line assessment of its prospects, with a “Wait and see” rating for companies that still face too much uncertainty for a definitive call. Its top choices from 2012 include:
1. Solazyme
– Positive – Alternative Fuels; Bio-based Materials and Chemicals
One
of the few advanced fermentation companies generating revenue today,
Solazyme is aligning partners and scaling production facilities to sell
into high value markets before bringing down costs to compete in
commodity fuels and chemicals.
2. EOS
– Positive – Advanced Materials
A leader in the burgeoning 3D
printing space, EOS boasts a long list of development partners and
employs a savvy business model that includes selling “optimized” raw
material input powders at very high margins to go along with laser
sintering tools.
3. Vigilent
– Positive – Grid Storage; Efficient Building Systems
Vigilent’s
artificial intelligence-based energy management software learns
operational habits and optimizes building energy efficiency and
consumption, offering payback periods to customers of less than two
years.
4. Cambrios
Technologies – Positive – Printed, Flexible, and Organic
Electronics; Solar Components; Advanced Materials
Cambrios develops
silver nanowire-based transparent conductive films to replace indium tin
oxide, particularly for touchscreen applications. Along with partners
Nissha Printing and Synaptics, it released its first commercial product
in the Huawei Ascend.
5. Oxford
Pharmascience – Positive – Formulation and Delivery
The ability
to manipulate properties such as taste and viscosity to improve oral
delivery of medicine makes Oxford Pharmascience appealing. Calcium
supplements gained the company entry into emerging markets and doubled
its revenue in one year.
6. SunPower
– Positive – Solar Components; Solar Systems
As the manufacturer of
the highest efficiency crystalline silicon modules on the market at 21%
efficiency, SunPower has strong strategic partners and a multi-gigawatt
project pipeline in the high profit margin regions of the Americas and
Asia.
7. Efficient
Power Conversion – Positive – Energy Electronics
This fab-less
manufacturer of gallium nitride (GaN) power electronics devices is
already offering products in the 40 V to 200 V range, and is well
positioned to expand its offering to 600 V applications, taking
advantage of GaN’s improved efficiency over today’s silicon-based
devices.
8. Enviro
Voraxial – Positive – Water
The company sells high efficiency,
low footprint oil-water separators especially suitable for the offshore
market, and quadrupled its revenues in 2012.
9. Itaconix
– Positive – Bio-based Materials and Chemicals
With a low-capex,
low-opex process expanding to 5,000 MT/year to produce itaconic acid
polymers for chemical intermediates, binders, and super-absorbents,
Itaconix is one of the few bio-based chemical companies we expect to run
in the black in 2013.
10. Desso
– Positive – Sustainable Building Materials
This developer of
carpet for residential, office, and hospitality sectors and artificial
grass for sports stadiums uses "cradle-to-cradle" principles, making its
products biodegradable and recyclable, while offering functionality like
capture and retention of allergens and enhanced sound insulation.
About Lux Research
Lux Research provides strategic advice and on‐going intelligence for emerging technologies. Leaders in business, finance and government rely on us to help them make informed strategic decisions. Through our unique research approach focused on primary research and our extensive global network, we deliver insight, connections and competitive advantage to our clients. Visit www.luxresearchinc.com for more information.