ROCHESTER, N.Y., June 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Venture For ClimateTech has selected 20 early-stage companies to participate in its third cohort and advance innovations to reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change. The companies were selected based on their high-potential solutions and ability to bring innovations to scale. They will receive up to $100,000 in funding and hands-on support to ready their technologies for customers, pilot runs, and investment towards commercialization.
Venture For ClimateTech is a global non-profit venture studio + accelerator that removes obstacles that new innovators face when trying to bring ideas to market. One area to overcome is the ability to attract funding from investors who are ready work with early-stage companies or technologies.
This successful program has already helped 23 companies combined under its first two cohorts, with participants securing $19.2 million in grant funding and $6.2 million in private investment.
Additionally, participants have met several milestones:
- Five companies have been supported by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures—an investment firm that helps fund and scale companies.
- Two companies were selected for Department of Energy-funded fellowships at national labs (Innovation Crossroads at Oak Ridge National Lab, and Chain Reactions at Argonne National Lab).
- One company was awarded an ARPA-E grant, which is only available to high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are developing entirely new ways to generate, store, and use energy.
- Three companies were selected to present at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Industry Growth Forum.
Venture For ClimateTech’s ability to help the trajectory of participant companies is also growing. This year, the program is doubling the size of its cohort from an average of 10 companies to 20. Like previous cohorts, companies selected to participate will help reduce the impact of climate change by advancing technologies that lower carbon emissions and enhance clean energy across four key sectors: buildings, transportation, the electric grid, and industry.
"Our mission is to bring high-impact, climate, and energy startups, along with new jobs to New York State. With this track record of Venture For ClimateTech, we’re confident in scaling our program to serve even more early-stage companies,” said Jack Baron, Venture For ClimateTech’s managing director. “Over 1,000 teams have applied to get into the studio + accelerator to date. Each team in Cohort 3 was meticulously selected to target one of the four key sectors New York State has identified to best hit its aggressive emission reduction targets, and collectively offer a broad range of new options, including advances in EV batteries, autonomous cargo drones, and direct laser fusion.”
Venture For ClimateTech is supported by New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) and advances technologies that will help meet New York State’s climate and clean energy goals under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
“We are proud to work with this cohort of entrepreneurs and the Venture For ClimateTech program to bring transformative solutions to market and lower emissions in the fight against climate change,” said Jake Berlin, Technology to Market Program Manager at NYSERDA. “Commercialization of technologies will increase adoption, bring down costs, and remove barriers to product development while making sure more New Yorkers benefit from clean energy and cleaner air.”
The three-phase program for Cohort 3 kicked off in mid-May with support and mentorship for participating companies on customer discovery, investor pitching, business validation, building a team, and a pathway to scale. The following companies are participating:
Active Surfaces – Ultra-light, flexible thin-film modules that will enable solar to be installed on previously inaccessible surfaces, such as weight-limited commercial properties. The MIT spinout’s technology offers a 100X lighter solution with comparable efficiency and significantly lower installation costs compared to existing options on the market (Boston, Massachusetts, USA).
Acuicy –Developing a business intelligence tool that uses AI to provide suppliers with tailored recommendations for a variety of industry-specific supply chain and emission reduction strategies. This includes data that aids the decision-making process, such as what the upfront investment, return on investment, payback period, and the emissions reduction potential will be (Halifax, CAN).
Amatec – Advanced building material called High-Density Gypsum that offers a stronger and less carbon-intensive alternative to concrete to support the low-cost, automated, and rapid construction of panelized and modular houses (Toronto, Ontario, CAN).
Ammobia – Adaptation to the Haber-Bosch process that enables distributed green ammonia production. Haber-Bosch fixes nitrogen with hydrogen to produce ammonia, resulting in a process that runs at 10X lower pressure than the standard process, and drastically reduces capital expenditures (CapEx) and production costs (San Francisco, California, USA).
Avol Aerospace – Hyper-efficient, autonomous electric cargo aircraft that features a novel blended-wing design. By delivering 60% larger internal volumes and 50% lower costs, carriers will be able to increase profit-per-flight by up to 10X (New York, New York, USA).
Banyon Power – Affordable, smart electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure technologies that catalyze grid integration and energy management, which will make EV ownership more attainable and accelerate the transition to electric mobility (Schaumburg, Illinois, USA).
Cascade Biocatalysts – Biochemical machinal “body armor” and natural enzymes that create a more sustainable manufacturing process for commercial chemicals by replacing fossil-fuel-based and intensive energy practices (Denver, Colorado, USA).
Cobalt Water Global –AI and machine learning platform that enhances wastewater and water utility management by accounting for and monitoring nitrous oxide, which is approximately 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide (Brooklyn, New York, USA).
EVA Greentech – Patent-pending technology that activates waste material so that it can be used as a supplemental cementitious material instead of the industry standard, carbon-intensive materials that are used today (Tel Aviv, ISR).
FarField Infrastructure WPS – Efficient, long-distance wireless power transfer system for charging and electrification that uses millimeter-wave-packetized energy to safely transmit power wirelessly over several kilometers (Boston, Massachusetts, USA).
Fluix Inc. – Automation of HVAC and cooling systems through AI to better manage data centers, raw material storage facilities, greenhouses, and other critical infrastructure to save up to 35 percent in energy costs, reduce operational CO2 by 45 percent, and preserve time and water resources (Tampa, Florida, USA).
HelioTrope – Lead-free glass coating technology that optimizes the sunlight reaching the panels instead of the underlying solar cell technology to increase efficiency of silicon solar panels by 8 to 15 percent (New York, New York, USA).
Hydronic Shell Technologies – Patented HVAC technology for multi-family buildings that pairs a cost-effective solution with a non-invasive installation process to overcome the management and tenant barriers to reducing the carbon footprint of multi-family housing (New York, New York, USA).
Janta Power – 3D solar design that replicates plant life and trees to more effectively harness solar energy and improve energy retention per square foot (Dallas, Texas, USA).
Metasorbex Corporation – Advanced materials enterprise that uses sorbents for carbon capture to transition cost centers for hard-to-abate industry sectors into a profit centers (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA).
Nanode Battery Technologies – Battery anode and manufacturing process that allows for the capability to fully charge batteries in minutes, transforming how portable electronics and electric vehicles are charged (Raleigh, North Carolina, USA).
PolyKrōm Energy Inc. – Commercializing fusion technologies that are being developed by the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics to further the realization of nuclear fusion power plants (Rochester, New York, USA).
Torev Motors – Patented next-generation electric motor design to significantly reduce the amount of rare earth metals traditionally required by electric motors used in the transportation sector, without sacrificing motor efficiency (Arlington, Virginia, USA).
UCharge - Localized network of high-speed EV chargers designed to address the challenges of owning and conveniently charging an electric vehicle in dense urban environments (New York, New York, USA).
Uuvipak – Patent-pending home-compostable and edible packaging solution designed to replace single-use plastics with clean organic food waste (Brisbane, AUS).
About Venture For ClimateTech
Venture For ClimateTech is a non-profit global venture studio + accelerator program. It sources the most promising climate tech innovators from around the world and offers them hands-on support until they are ready for first customers, pilot runs, and investment. Venture For ClimateTech is supported by NYSERDA and administered by NextCorps and SecondMuse.
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