Wal-Mart invites clean tech product pitches

Wal-Mart yesterday launched a new website inviting innovative clean tech companies to pitch their products to the retail giant.

The new website is the result of Wal-Mart's alliance with analyst firm The Cleantech Group, which was announced last year and aims to help the retailer identify and acquire emerging green technologies before they reach the mainstream.

The company said that through this Cleantech Accelerator Project Wal-Mart will be able to use its purchasing power and financial clout to help accelerate the development of emerging green technologies.

"The Cleantech Accelerator Project is another example of Wal-Mart's commitment to being one of the early adopters of technologies that can improve the environment and our business operations," said Matt Kistler, senior vice president of sustainability at Wal-Mart. "We believe that our partnership with the Cleantech Group will help us tap into a wide source of innovators who can provide us with fresh thinking."

The company said it was initially seeking submissions from firms specialising in alternative batteries for forklifts, wind harvesting technologies, closed-loop water processing systems, sustainable building materials, and technologies for processing and managing organic waste, oil-based waste and household hazardous waste.

Under the programme, the Cleantech Group will assess all ideas submitted to the website and provide Wal-Mart with two to four solutions in each category that can be deployed by the company within the next two years.