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More government R&D grant folly?

As I type this I'm listening to an interview on National Radio in which another example of government grant R&D stupidity is being highlighted.

Richard Ponting from The Lighting Council, an industry group that represents the lighting industry, has expressed strong concerns that a Christchurch company called Energy Mad has been awarded $200,000 of taxpayers money to "reinvent the wheel".

The money has been gifted to a Energy Mad so that they can develop a product which, Ponting believes, other companies are already working on. He also went to great lengths to point out that what's under development here is not something as hi-tech as a light-source, it's simply another light fitting.

Is this yet another example of how smart players are rorting a system of grants that are stealing (by way of tax) from one company to boost its competitor's coffers and give them an unfair advantage on what ought to be a level playing field?

The Ministry of Science and Innovation, who administer the grant process, would not be interviewed on the matter -- and I'd like to know why. After all, if they're dishing out taxpayers' money then that process should be transparent and they ought to be prepared to defend their decisions in a public forum.

So is this simply sour grapes on the part of the Lighting Council because Energy Mad has received funding that its members haven't?

Or is it a genuine concern that a company which is more than willing to promote itself as already successful should be the recipient of funding that other, perhaps far more innovative startups, could make far better use of?

I thought I'd take a look at Energy Mad and I have to say that this seems to be little more than some clever marketing attached to some Chinese-made CFLs.

Looking at this video it rapidly becomes apparent that despite the lofty claims of Energy Mad, their CFL product is pretty low-tech.

The boards are single-sided with "through hole" components which are hand-placed then dipped by hand in a bath of liquid solder. This is *old* technology!

By comparison, more modern surface-mount technologies with computerised pick and place machines followed by reflow soldering can deliver significantly lower production costs and higher yield rates.

Now I'm all for rewarding innovation and technology but for the life of me, I can't see anything innovative or "breakthrough" regarding Energy Mad's products.

There are many CFL manufacturers around the world and many of them also claim the benefits that Energy Mad are claiming for their bulbs and other products. It seems that Energy Mad has simply been able to leverage a "save the planet" concern into a clever marketing tool and flick off some decidedly old-tech circuitry by slapping a green label on it.

In fact, if you look at "The Energy Mad Team", you'll see that it's comprised of mechanical engineers, beancounters and marketing people. These are not the disciplines you'd expect to find in a company that was allegedly at the cutting edge of CFL R&D. Where are the electrical engineering degrees? Where are the science degrees?

Simple -- you don't need such skills, experience or qualifications if you're simply bundling up some old-tech CFLs in a "green" box do you?

We also know full well about the environmental downsides of CFLs and the Chinese factories that make them.

Obviously however, Energy Mad have worked out that so long as you can fill out the appropriate forms, spin a good yarn and shake the right hands then getting a fist-full of taxpayers' money is a piece of cake -- thanks to the government's lame policy of "picking winners".

The unfortunate thing about this policy is that the government have declared that they will only bet on favourites -- and we all know that what NZ needs to ensure its future prosperity is a long-odds outsider to come through and pay massive dividends for each and every Kiwi.

Until we get some real VC in this country, that's just not going to happen.

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