Inc. Magazine Incubation Nation: Where Great Ideas Are Born – Sopogy of Hawai

May 26, 2010

Spun out of university research labs or started by local entrepreneurs trying to supercharge their hometowns, business incubators are everywhere. This map puts the spotlight on 20 initiatives.

Hawaii is leveraging its most abundant resources — sun and sea. The 45 tenants at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority are developing applications in aquaculture, renewable energy, and marine biotechnology. Who gets in:Innovative start-ups nationwide.Breakout company: Sopogy has raised nearly $20 million for development of its micro-solar panels.

Incubation Nation: Where Great Ideas Are Born - Kona, Hawaii

Incubation Nation: Where Great Ideas Are Born

Click map to see the original, interactive version

Source: Inc.

Sopogy wins New Product of the Year from National Society of Professional Engineers

July 26, 2008

Sopogy, Inc. wins “New Product of the Year” from the National Society of Professional Engineers

National Society of Professional Engineers New Product Award

July 26, 2008

SOPOGY PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: 7/26/08

Contact: Sopogy Corporate Communications

Email: media@sopogy.com

808-237-2324

Subject: Sopogy wins New Product of the Year award from the National Society of Professional Engineers.

Portland, OR – Sopogy, Inc., wins the National Society of Professional Engineers’ (NSPE) New Product of the Year Award for its MicroCSP Solar Collector “SopoNova 4.0” at the NSPE’s Annual Conference this year held in Portland, Oregon.

The NSPE New Product of the Year Awards look for new and improved products that stimulate the life and growth of our country. These benefits result from research and development to which engineers make their unique contribution. This competition recognizes the results of those efforts and the foresight of the companies whose aggressive policies bring new products to the marketplace.

“SopoNova 4.0 combines the reliable performance of conventional Concentrating Parabolic Trough technologies with several novel concepts that include the World’s first integrated 270 degree MicroCSP tracker, integrated stands and custom controls” said Darren T. Kimura, CEO of Sopogy.  He continued “after 40+ unique prototypes and thousands of engineering hours invested in the SopoNova product line, this award from one of the Nation’s most respected engineering societies is tribute to Sopogy’s spirit of innovation”.

Sopogy is the first renewable energy and solar technology to ever be awarded this honor.  Previous winners of NSPE’s New Product of the Year include Boeing’s 777, Mercedes Benz M-Class All Activity Vehicle and Chrysler’s PT Cruiser.

About the National Society of Professional Engineers
Founded in 1934 NSPE is one of the nations oldest and most respected engineering associations with over 54,000 members and the public through more than 500 chapters and 53 state and territorial societies.

About Sopogy
Sopogy specializes in MicroCSP solar technologies that bring the economics of large solar energy systems to the industrial, commercial and utility sectors in a smaller, robust and more cost effective package. Sopogy’s goals include to create solar solutions that improve the quality of life for all human kind and to bring order and simplicity to the chaos which is the current solar power business.  Please visit www.sopogy.com for more information.

Sopogy names Van Matsushige Market Manager of the Pacific Region

April 1, 2008

PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: 4/1/08
Subject: Sopogy names Van Matsushige Market Manager of the Pacific Region
Contact: Jane Dore, Communications
Tel: (408) 722-6292
Email: jdore@sopogy.com

Sopogy names Van Matsushige Market Manager of the Pacific Region

Honolulu, HI – Sopogy, Inc. manufacturer of MicroCSP™ solar technologies announced the appointment of Van Matsushige as Market Manager of the Pacific Region. Based in the company’s Honolulu, Hawaii office, Matsushige will oversee the Pacific Region which includes Hawaii, Oceania and Asia. In his role he will be responsible for marketing, policy, sales and strategic planning. He will report directly to Vice President of Business Development Jim Maskrey.

Most recently Matsushige served as General Manager and Director of Operations at national energy services company Energy Industries (www.energy-industries.com). Prior to EI he spent 10 years in Hong Kong working for various corporations including the Executive Center Limited.

Matsushige earned his B.S. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

About Sopogy
Sopogy manufactures the innovative MicroCSP™ solar concentrator technology. MicroCSP™ uses optics and mirrors to focus and intensify the energy of the sun for electricity production, solar air conditioning and process heating. The technology uses traditional economics from large solar energy deployments to the industrial, commercial and utility sectors in a smaller more cost effective and robust package. Please visit www.sopogy.com for more information.