Nanocel, a University of Washington spin out which is developing liquid-cooling technologies for electronics equipment in data centers, has advanced to the final round of the national Cleantech Open. The Seattle company will be one of 17 startups from across the country to compete for the top prize at an event to be held November 17 in San Jose, California.

Nanocel is the only company from Washington state to make the finals, though Beaverton, Oregon-based water purification company Puralytics and Eugene, Oregon-based three-wheel vehicle maker Arcimoto also made the cut. The finalists are competing for a grand prize of $250,000 in cash and services.

Founded by Daniel Rossi and Dustin Miller, Nanocel's patented cooling technology utilizes recycled plastic soda bottles as heat sinks instead of traditional materials such as silicon, aluminum, or copper. The company claims that its technology can reduce the energy cost of data centers by 40 percent. Here's a deeper look at the technology.