Inaugural cohort is announced for Venture for ClimateTech
Out of 590 applications from 64 countries, 11 companies were chosen to participate in the first cohort offered by Venture for ClimateTech. Funding, tools and training will be provided. The chosen companies will each receive up to $125,000 through the virtual accelerator.
Throughout the seven-month program, each company will utilize the support provided and learn about customer discovery, investor pitching, business validation, building a team and more.
Three of the selected companies were previously recognized through the ClimateTech Global Innovation Challenge. Winners of that competition included Alchemr, Clean Ocean Coatings and Mars Materials.
Selected entrepreneurs were chosen due to a number of factors, including the ability of the proposed solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Other factors included the team’s passion and ability to communicate; market timing and demand for the idea; team scalability and its potential impact on underserved populations.
Venture For ClimateTech is a global non-profit accelerator that was launched in December 2020. It identifies promising innovators and provides them with support until they are ready for investment and customers.
“We are investing today in the climate technologies we believe will help address the climate crisis in the next 10 years. These founders and innovators are key and we look forward to working with them to help to accelerate their entrance into the market, and their potential impact on our world,” said Jacqueline Ros Amable, Managing Director of Venture For ClimateTech. “With the nearly 600 applications received, it’s clear that there isn’t a lack of creative solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, only a shortage of supportive programming that can help tap this potential.”
Selected companies include:
Alchemr – Offers validated, stable and scalable water electrolyzers that generate hydrogen at cost parity with fossil fuel-derived hydrogen (Boca Raton, FL).
Atrevida Science – Created Active Morphing Blades™, which increases wind turbine energy output with flexible, aerodynamic shells that morph through actuation to achieve optimal shape as wind speeds change (Amherst, NY).
Clean Ocean Coatings – Created a biocide-free antifouling coating for the commercial shipping industry to improve ship fuel consumption and replace current antifoulings that leach toxins, heavy metals, and microplastic into the ocean and waterways (Berlin, Germany).
Dynamic Air Cooling – Developed an emission and synthetic coolant free technology for air conditioners and refrigerator systems (Elblag, Poland).
Flow Labs – Improves traffic flows, patterns, and traffic light signal management with AI Software that fully automates the signal timing process (Oakland, CA).
Mars Materials – Places captured CO2 into plastics and carbon fibers by converting waste CO2 into acrylonitrile and drastically improving the resource intensive acrylonitrile production process used to create electronics, clothes, and carpets (Oakland, CA).
New Frontier Aerospace – Is building a new vertical take-off-landing (VTOL ) hypersonic aircraft using cleaner fuels to forge a greener future (Danville, CA).
Olokun Minerals – Seeks to provide sustainably-sourced minerals for solar energy storage, applied road surface treatments, and a reliable source of power through captured brine waste from desalination plants (Laguna Beach, CA).
Polaris Renewables – Is developing fully renewable non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) to replace current commercial polyurethanes used in foams, coatings, and adhesives in footwear, fabrics, and outdoor gear (Potsdam, NY).
Seeds Renewables – Created an inclusive investment platform and marketplace by lowering the minimum investment in renewable energy projects where investors have full control of which projects their investments build while providing a competitive return on investment (Barcelona, Spain).
Voltpost – Transforms lamp posts into smart electric vehicle charging stations. The posts are managed by a mobile application that accelerates electric vehicle adoption and decarbonization by providing cities scalable curbside charging for drivers (New York, NY).
Venture For ClimateTech is sponsored by NYSERDA and administered by NextCorps and SecondMuse.