We thought it would be fitting to wrap up our cleantech Q&A series by catching up with Jeff Anderson, managing director of California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF), a groundbreaking public-private partnership that aspires to quicken the deployment of clean energy technologies. He’s also the president of CalCharge, which he refers to as the “center of gravity” for California’s energy storage cluster. To find out more about CalCharge, be sure to check out Jeff’s latest post here.

While we’re not sure when Jeff manages to find time to sleep, we sincerely appreciate the important role he plays in the acceleration of cleantech innovation. Read on to learn more!

City of Fremont: Can you tell us more about the relationship between CalCEF and CalCharge? What are some of the things that CalCEF and CalCharge are aiming to accomplish?

Jeff Anderson: CalCEF is a family of nonprofits that are focused on creating institutions and investment vehicles for the clean energy economy. Back in 2012, CalCEF teamed up with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) to launch CalCharge, which helps to connect California’s battery technology companies to the world class research and academic facilities located here.

California has one of the largest concentrations of energy storage companies in the country. Our ultimate goal is to create a regional ecosystem for innovation in energy storage and help companies get the resources they need to succeed in this competitive environment.

Fremont: Very inspiring! How does the City of Fremont fit into all of this?

JA: We view the City of Fremont as a strategic partner. What I love about Fremont’s economic development team is that they see cleantech as a regional opportunity, and their willingness to collaborate is unparalled.

Fremont is a natural place for energy storage companies to go, and thrive, especially as the Warm Springs Innovation District develops into a major regional employment center.

Fremont: Would you say the future of cleantech looks promising for Bay Area companies?

JA: Overall, yes. We’re seeing several trends emerge — demand for energy storage is growing; solar prices have declined; wind energy is also growing more competitive. People are much more willing to shift towards cleantech — it just makes more economic sense.

For the Bay Area specifically, one of the questions that we’re trying to answer is this: How do you accelerate the movement of an idea from innovation to installation?

First, you needto have a center of innovation. The second piece is the market. California is home to one of the largest cleantech markets in the world, so we’ve got that covered. The third piece is manufacturing. What people have realized in the last decade is that setting up your R&D in China is a bad idea. Having to work through language barriers and the time difference can slow down the innovation cycle significantly. Most cleantech companies now understand the importance of consolidating R&D and manufacturing in one location. Fremont’s cleantech innovation ecosystem is uniquely tuned to support all these prerequisites.

Fremont: Typically, what are the biggest challenges that cleantech companies have to overcome?

JA: CalCEF recently interviewed around 100 different cleantech CEOs from around the globe, and the top-line answer that we got was money. Cleantech doesn’t fit into the traditional VC cycle — especially in the Bay Area. The traditional VC cycle involves a three- to five-year pay back. When you’re building an app, there are no regulatory, scientific, or manufacturing constraints. However, when you’re dealing with cleantech, you’re dealing with a slower innovation/demonstration/commercialization cycle.

The second challenge is that it can be very difficult to find the right kind of co-working space. Traditional co-working spaces cater more to the app developer crowd and don’t have the scalability and flexibility that a cleantech startup needs. We need a new model for co-working spaces that allows for future growth — beyond just a five-person office.

Third, once you have your prototype, finding a place to pilot and demo in a real world environment can be very difficult. It’s all about encouraging building owners, land owners, and city governments to allow for early deployment and testing opportunities.

Fremont: It’s pretty evident that you love what you do. Where does your passion for the cleantech industry stem from?

JA: I waited about 15 years for cleantech to actually become a “real thing.” And when it finally did become a viable industry, I wanted to figure out how to be a part of it. Over the years, I’ve discovered what keeps me going is this drive to create connective tissue within the cleantech innovation system. There are so many bright, talented individuals out there. I want to find a way to bring them all together, identify where the resource gaps are, and figure out how to fill them. It’s similar to the satisfaction you get when completing a giant jigsaw puzzle.