Up to $50K to Accelerate Your Climate Startup + More Opportunities
Welcome to For ClimateTalk – For ClimateTech’s monthly newsletter highlighting upcoming opportunities for climate innovators, thought leaders, and community connectors.
Venture For ClimateTech (V4C) is actively seeking its next cohort of innovators! Individuals located anywhere in the world who are committed to identifying and accelerating groundbreaking solutions are encouraged to apply to the non-profit accelerator program.
Entrepreneurs selected for Cohort 6 will receive up to $50,000 in non-dilutive funding, introductions to investors, access to educational programming, and invaluable mentorship—all designed to expedite the journey from climate tech innovation to market.
Still have questions? Sign up for one of our virtual information sessions:
Alumni Spotlight and Q&A
Jan 27 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm EST
Hear directly from past participants of Venture For ClimateTech and how the program benefited them on their founder journey.
Open Q&A with Venture For ClimateTech
Feb 16 from 2:30pm to 3:30pm EST
Applications close February 20, 2026! Ask any last-minute questions with our team so you can confidently hit submit.
Funding Opportunities
$60K Microelectronics Funding Opportunity in New York State
FuzeHub has opened a new Innovation Challenge offering three awards of $60,000 to support microelectronics projects that strengthen New York State’s manufacturing capabilities and supply chain. The opportunity is open to NYS nonprofits partnering with small- to medium-sized manufacturers, with projects focused on either advancing innovative technologies for the defense industry or improving microelectronics supply chain readiness in eligible counties across the state.
Learn more and apply by Feb. 17 here.:
ChargeUp Accelerator’s Application Deadline is Extended!
U.S. based battery and energy-storage startups now have until January 26 to apply to ChargeUp’s third cohort. Participants receive $25,000 in non-equity support, up to $100,000 for technology development, tailored pitch and due-diligence coaching, and direct access to industry mentors and investors.
Learn more and apply here.
Cohort News
WeRadiate's Entrepreneurial Journey
Ammobia Raises $7.5M to Reinvent Ammonia Production
Venture For ClimateTech alum Ammobia has raised a $7.5M seed round, earning attention for its breakthrough approach to lowering the cost and emissions of ammonia production by rethinking the century-old Haber-Bosch process. Backed by major industrial investors, the company is paving the way for cleaner fertilizer and opening new possibilities for ammonia as a decarbonization solution across industries.
Read the full story in TechCrunch here to learn how Ammobia is scaling this critical innovation.
Laureen Merouh Featured in Forbes Reinventing How Steel Is Made
Maggie McGrath sits down with Laureen Meroueh, the PhD engineer and founder of Hertha Metals who is trying to disrupt the $1 trillion steel industry. Laureen was in cohort 1 of Venture For ClimateTech and transitioned to Hertha Metals after becoming a Breakthrough Energy Fellow. Her story reflects a true entrepreneurial journey, in addition to becoming the first female founder and inventor in steel.
Watch Forbes full video here.
Mars Materials Validates Carbon Fiber Made from CO₂
Mars Materials, V4C cohort 1 alum, has successfully validated a CO₂-derived precursor for carbon fiber manufacturing in collaboration with North Carolina State University, proving its carbon-negative material performs on par with conventional oil and coal-based inputs. The breakthrough clears a path toward cleaner, domestic production of a critical material used in aerospace, defense, and infrastructure. In addition, Mars Materials has been selected into Shell GameChanger and has advanced past the program’s first stage gate, validating a bio-based feedstock for its proprietary production process.
Read the full announcement to see how Mars Materials is turning captured carbon into high-performance manufacturing inputs.
COMMUNITY
Last week, Scale For ClimateTech kicked off the year with its 2026 Manufacturing Bootcamp!
Fifty amazing climate tech hardware companies joined S4C for three days of intensive sessions led by 16 guest speakers who shared insights from the field. Special thanks to all of our advisors, mentors, and partners who shared their expertise with the group.
Highlights included:
- Manufacturing fundamentals with the team from Rochester Institute of Technology, plus a deep-dive workshop with Michael Pica (Hardware Velocity) and Sera E. Evcimen(Pratik Development LLC.)
- Debt financing and leveraging your capital stack workshop with Jessie Lam (Alinea Ventures), and Hannah Friedman (Mark1)
- New York ecosystem resources from Steve Bravo (NYSERDA), Yuki X. Chen, MPH (The City University of New York) ), and Anushree Sreedhar (Partnerships Fund of NYC).
- Alumni Panel and Q&A with Jacob Kumpon (KLAW Industries) and Léopold Dobelle (Mitico) on navigating the S4C program and scaling their companies.
S4C also connected founders with key partners including Columbia Tech Ventures with the ClimateTech Expertise Network (Timothy Hoffman) and NextCorps (Kathleen Martin and Mike Riedlinger), who provide hands-on support throughout our six-month program.
Around 20 of the participating companies in the bootcamp will be selected for Cohort 7 of Scale For ClimateTech. Stay tuned for more!
The Venture For ClimateTech team would like to introduce its two newest board members: Sharon Samjitsingh and David Brown.
Sharon Samjitsingh is a global technology commercialization leader with more than 25 years of experience bringing complex innovations to market across sustainability, advanced manufacturing, and healthcare. Sharon is currently the CEO of Health Care Originals (HCO), where she leads a team committed to transforming chronic respiratory care with proprietary sensing, care, and AI, applying the same commercialization rigor required to scale sustainability innovation in regulated markets.
“I’m honored to join Venture For ClimateTech’s Advisory Board because climate and health are inseparable; sustainability is about protecting human life and reducing harm at scale. Just as in Healthcare innovation, in 2026 the startups that will break through are the ones that think in systems, anticipate externalities, and execute toward real-world adoption, pilots, and measurable impact. I’m honored to help V4C help them.”
Read Sharon Samjitsingh’s full bio here.
David Brown is the Founding Managing Partner of Impellent Ventures, a preseed / seed stage venture capital firm based in Upstate NY that invests nationally. Mr. Brown has been a community builder, startup investor and operator, and mentor for over a decade. He has supported hundreds of companies, held events for over 14,000 tech leaders per year, and has applied venture principles to both for-profit and non-profit entities.
“V4C has a great history of helping top global startups in climate and energy innovation achieve early success. I did research back in 2012 on the first VC investment push on cleantech and a lack of this early support was part of why the movement didn’t succeed, so I’m excited to support this movement. I have worked alongside hundreds of startups across the past 15 years through Impellent Ventures, Upstate Capital, TechStars, MassChallenge, TUGG and many other organizations and know I can help bring countless learnings to help V4C and their companies.”
Read David Brown’s full profile here.
Manufacturing & Supply Chain News
Submit Your Nomination for This Year’s Manufacturers Wall of Fame and Innovator of the Year Award!
MACNY is now accepting nominations for its 2026 Manufacturers Wall of Fame and Innovator of the Year awards, recognizing outstanding leaders and innovators in manufacturing across New York State. Winners will be honored at the 113th Annual Celebration of Manufacturing on May 21, 2026, and nominations must be submitted by February 11th.
Visit MACNY’s website for details and entry options.
Manufacturer & Supply Chain Partner Spotlight: Ontario Plastics
Ontario Plastics of NY is a long-established custom plastic injection molding and manufacturing partner in Rochester serving aerospace, medical, defense, electronics, and more with design, tooling, prototyping, and value-added services. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified and maintains quality systems with UL traceability, underscoring its commitment to high standards and continuous improvement. For more information or to connect, check out their website here.
Check Out New Opportunities—Join the New York SCP Database
If you are a manufacturer or service provider interested in joining the Scale For ClimateTech Supply Chain Partner (SCP) Database, which offers access to projects, the ability to grow your expertise by solving the latest challenges, and revenue potential through connections and matchmaking with new clients, fill out our interest form here.