Venture Capital: Clean tech industry says the future could be now

More money. More government assistance. And real changes in consumer behavior.

Those were among the thoughts of four leaders from the state's clean tech industry who spoke last week at a CityClub luncheon in downtown Seattle.

Propel Biofuels founder Rob Elam, whose Seattle company is establishing biofuel stations in Washington, Oregon and California, said it is difficult to predict when new energy technologies will catch on. Part of the issue is that companies such as Propel are trying to figure out if a market even exists. Another road block is that some technologies, such as algae-based biofuels, are still very much in development.

"Some of the barriers are so large that I don't think anyone can make a clear estimate on a timeline to surmount them, but hopefully with market participation, policy incentives and a lot of private money backing these groups, the solutions will come to market sooner rather than later," Elam said. "Three to five years is what I've been hearing since 2004."