Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program Gains Momentum in Europe

The Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program provides Digital Prototyping software, including Autodesk Inventor 2011, to clean technology start-ups to design, visualise and simulate products before they are built, to accelerate time to market and to innovate more rapidly.

“Europe is at the forefront of many exciting alternative energy advances, together with some of the world’s most ambitious clean energy policies, so it’s a natural evolution for Autodesk to partner with pioneering clean tech companies in the region,” said Erwin Burth, business development manager for Clean Tech at Autodesk. “Our rapidly expanding partner base is testament to the appeal of our offering to companies tackling the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.”

Partners already benefiting from the use of free Autodesk digital prototyping software to drive faster time-to-market and achieve competitive advantage include Pyrum Innovations, a German/French start-up working on a newly invented recycling process for used tyres and Cleaner Air Solutions, a UK specialist in solar electricity generation that supplies renewable energy systems to the domestic and commercial market.

As part of the programme, Pyrum will benefit from using a range of Autodesk software to upscale its existing pilot plant to a large industrial facility. “Being part of the Clean Tech Program is key to our future success,” said Pascal Klein, president of Pyrum. “Having access to Autodesk Showcase, for example, will enable us to show investors what the upscaled plant will look like when built, which will both inform and accelerate the decision-making process. In addition, the Autodesk software will allow us to simulate how the plant will react to certain scenarios, thus enabling us to optimise operations while reducing risk.”

Cleaner Air Solutions decided to join the programme because it was increasingly working on custom designs - primarily for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations - and it needed high-quality 3D design and engineering software to do this efficiently and cost-effectively.

According to Andy Craddock, Operations Manager at Cleaner Air Solutions, “having access to 3D software like Autodesk Inventor and Showcase, for example, allows us to develop innovative products, dramatically reduce project risk and overall project lifecycles, and drive rapid but well-informed decisions on design projects by developing high-quality visualisations.

“Over time, the need to work in 3D has become increasingly important to us,” added Andy Craddock. “Joining the Autodesk Clean Tech Program has given us access to high-quality 3D design tools, in turn enabling us to achieve efficiencies and drive business growth.”

Dietmar Schug from Man and Machine, an Autodesk value added reseller, said, “we are seeing a high level of interest from the companies we are dealing with in joining the new programme and experiencing the benefits of using digital prototyping software to help them to achieve their goals.

“We are excited to be involved in a pioneering initiative which is helping clean energy firms across Europe to realise their vision and contribute to solving many of the key environmental challenges facing the region today,” he added.