For ClimateTalk – Spring Funding is in the Air
For ClimateTech’s monthly newsletter highlighting emerging innovations, company spotlights, and commentary from experts in the climate tech community.
Community
Summer Funding Opportunities are Heating Up!
Future Grid Challenge
NYSERDA, NYSEG and RG&E announced $3 million is available in the first round of the $6.3 million Future Grid Challenge to help solve technical challenges utilities face with energy transmission and distribution when integrating renewable energy resources into New York’s electric grid.
Submission deadline: 3:00 p.m. on July 14, 2021
GS Beyond Energy Innovation Challenge Presented by Cleantech.org
Calling all energy transition and e-mobility startups! Apply for the GS Beyond Energy Innovation Challenge! The pitch competition winner will win a cash award of $100,000 with no strings, deliverables, or equity dilution. The top three startups will also be considered for pilot projects with GS Group.
NYSERDA’s Carbon Neutral Community Economic Development Program
$15 million is available for the Carbon Neutral Community Economic Development program. The funding will accelerate the design, planning, and construction of regionally significant, community-scale carbon neutral economic development projects for buildings, campuses and communities, and large portfolio owners.
Application Deadline: July 30, 2021 at 4:00 p.m
NYSERDA New York Clean Transportation Prizes
The Clean Transportation Prizes program is part of an $85 million commitment to accelerate the transition to a clean transportation future in New York State’s disadvantaged communities. The three challenge areas are.
- Clean Neighborhoods Challenge – up to three $10 million grand prizes will be awarded.
Submission deadline: August 24, 2021. - Electric Mobility Challenge – up to three $7 million grand prizes will be awarded.
Submission deadline: August 25, 2021. - Electric Truck & Bus Challenge – up to three $8 million grand prizes will be awarded.
Submission deadline: August 26, 2021
NYSERDA’s Third Annual Commercial and Industrial Carbon Challenge
NYSERDA has made $15 Million available for the third annual Commercial and Industrial (C&I) Carbon Challenge. The C&I Challenge will help to reduce carbon emissions at commercial and industrial businesses and institutions, combat climate change, and drive economic growth across the state. Applications are now open.
Careers in Climate Tech
Alchemr, who produces water electrolyzers that generate hydrogen at cost parity with fossil fuel-derived hydrogen, are seeking a Lead Electrolyzer Design Engineer.
Opus 12, makers of a device that converts CO2 into valuable chemicals and fuels that are cost-competitive with conventional products, are seeking:
- Senior Characterization Engineer – Electron Microscope
- Senior Chemist – Catalyst
- Senior Engineer – Electrochemistry
- Testing Engineer – Electrochemistry
- Senior Stack Engineer – Electrochemistry
- Senior Quality Control Engineer
- Senior Formulation Engineer
- Senior Analytical Chemist
- MEA Fabrication Associate
- Prototyping Engineer
- Senior Prototyping Engineer – Stacks
- Python Automation Engineer
- Lab Equipment Technician
- Lab Services Technician
- Technical Team Administrative Assistant
- Senior Applications Engineer
- Controller
Visit Opus 12’s career page for more info and how to apply.
Urban Energy, an urban rooftop solar solution company, is seeking a Construction Manager. Learn more and apply here.
WexEnergy, developers of easy and affordable window insulation, is seeking a Senior Product Engineer. Find the full job description and how to apply here.
Calling Black and Latinx Female Founders – Apply by June 4!
Davis Wright Tremaine’s (DWT) Project W is launching its inaugural Tech Equity Hub, a 12-week accelerator for Black and Latinx female founders of tech companies. The program offers a series of workshops covering the spectrum of challenges a tech founder faces, as well as a series of 1:1 sessions with an executive coach, a technologist, and a financial expert. Each founder will be assigned a team of mentors with the domain expertise that the founder identifies she needs to meet her goals. Black and Latinx female founders of tech companies are encouraged to learn more and apply here by June 4!
Innovator Spotlights
Accelerate Wind Awarded $1M in Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Funding
Accelerate Wind, a Scale For ClimateTech Cohort 2 member, was awarded $1M through the National Science Foundation’s Phase II SBIR funding. Accelerate Wind enables affordable rooftop wind energy to be generated alongside rooftop solar, helping commercial building owners to get closer to net zero energy. The wind turbine uses modern airfoil technology to capture naturally faster wind speeds at the edge of the roof and an energy-storage-based powertrain to reduce power electronics costs.
The project funding has four goals:
- Prove the feasibility of integrating a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine into the system.
- Design for additional stakeholders, with respect to aesthetics, structural integration, ease of installation, and code compliance, while maintaining cost targets needed for scaleup.
- Design and test full powertrain architecture using components intended for commercial scaleup.
- Build and test the full turbine for reliability and certification testing.
See the full award abstract here.
Teri Dankovich, Co-Founder of Folia Materials, and Bertha Jimenez, Co-Founder of Rise Products not only started new businesses and participated in Cohort 2 of the Scale For ClimateTech program, but also gave birth mid program and mid pandemic!
Teri and Bertha joined Shelby Thompson, Sr. Community Manager at SecondMuse, on Forward Faster’s Podcast (or better yet Momcast) to discuss their lessons learned as new founders and new moms.
Watch the full episode here.
Folia Materials Launches the Folia Silver Mask
Folia Materials launches the Folia Silver Masks. While Folia Materials is a (business to business) B2B materials company, they’re making their face masks available directly to consumers. Even at this stage of the pandemic, masks are an effective tool in our arsenal for mitigating transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
Please send commercial buyers to sales@foliamaterials.com for wholesale volumes of masks or material to make masks.
Learn more here: www.foliamaterials.com
NEWS
Electro-Active Technologies Featured on Waste 360
Co-Founders Alex Lewis and Abhijeet Borole of Electro-Active Technologies we’re featured for their innovative work producing hydrogen from food waste.
“‘In simplest terms, we use electrons and protons from food, which have electric charges, to make hydrogen,’ says Electro-Active Co-founder Alex Lewis, of the technology he developed with partner Abhijeet Borole at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.”
Electro-Active is Scale For ClimateTech Cohort 3 member.
Read the full article here.
NREL Industry Growth Forum Recap
Last month, climate tech industry experts, innovators, and investors virtually convened at the National Renewable Energy Lab’s Industry Growth forum to see the latest innovations addressing the climate crisis.
Kate Moore, who manages strategic partnerships for NREL, sat down with Jacqueline Ros Amable, managing director of Venture For ClimateTech, to reflect on this year’s innovators and what attendees can expect at next year’s industry growth forum!
Watch the full Forward Faster episode here.
Program Updates
Community Wide Ecosystem Event
Tuesday, June 15, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Learn to identify and navigate funding opportunities from banks catering to founders and from the Small Business Administration.
This session is for hardware startups that are beginning to make and sell their products in the United States. Learn about what a bank that works with startups offers that can help with financing for materials inventory, accounts receivable, capital equipment purchases and more. Also learn what support for startups is available through the Small Business Administration and how they work along with banking institutions to provide capital that small businesses need for growth.
Program Updates
Cohort Kick-Off
The 2021 Cohort has kicked off and the program is humming along. Kick-off week closed with the teams getting the opportunity to hear and meet with Doreen Harris, CEO and President of NYSERDA, in a fireside chat.
“As entrepreneurs all of you are at the forefront of our fight against climate change and you are specifically creating the technologies that we need to realize the goals that we set forth.”
– Doreen Harris, President & CEO of NYSERDA
Mentor Madness
As of June 1st, the cohorts are wrapping up a two and a half week intensive Mentor Madness process where each team meets with over a dozen industry experts, investors, and serial entrepreneurs for rapid feedback. This thorough and compelling process will culminate in each team being matched with lead mentors who will guide and consult them in their journey throughout the next phases of the program. Interested in being a future mentor? Contact us with the subject “Future Mentor” to learn more about joining our mentor community.