What do early stage clean technology startups need to speed their technologies to market? Curriculum, mentorship, and business connections, right? Well, an alliance is offering these and other innovation and entrepreneurship approaches to 10 different cleantech startups. The cleantech accelerator awards have the goal to solve environmental challenges and catalyze shared economic prosperity.
Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator is a business accelerator program powered by the CleanTech Alliance and VertueLab. The mostly virtual 15-week cleantech accelerator program is available only to companies that are incorporated, have a cleantech product or service, and have raised no more than $1 million in funding.
Technologies that were recognized this year include modular insect farms that transform agricultural waste into food and fertilizer while reducing water usage, a greywater system that employs plants to recycle water, software that helps employees track their environmental impact, shipping-container-sized textile waste recycling machines, and a catalyst that removes oxygen from biofuels.
The Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator curriculum includes business model canvas, sustainability, intellectual property and incorporation, introduction to manufacturing, financial projections and exit strategy, go-to-market strategy, human resources legal compliance and team building, and 3 weeks of pitch coaching.
The Who’s Who of Future CleanTech
The 10 startups of the 2020 cohort are:
— Aquagga, Inc. (Seattle, Wash., and Fairbanks, Alaska) Developer of energy-efficient system that destroys contaminants and converts aqueous mixtures containing PFAS, pharmaceuticals, microplastics, pesticides, or other toxins into clean water.
— Chapul (Salt Lake City, Utah, and McMinnville, Ore.) Developer of modular insect farms that process diverted agricultural waste streams into dried insect larvae for food and fertilizer and also reduces agriculture water usage.
— EarthUp (Kenmore, Wash.) Developer of a software platform that allows employers to baseline the environmental impact of employees and engage them to reduce carbon footprints and track reduction over time.
— FlexCharging, Inc. (Redmond, Wash.) Provider of an EV charging app that helps drivers and utility partners understand charge sessions, utility rates and schedules, keeping energy costs low and the electric grid balanced.
— Industria (Portland, Ore.) Developer of SaaS tools designed to help environmental professionals collect and communicate findings in a thoughtful, elegant and expeditious way to better serve clients and the environment.
— Matidor Technologies, Inc. (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) Developer of an intuitive collaboration platform that helps the field service industry organize location-based projects on a live-updating map with easy visualization, team collaboration and management.
— NULIFE GreenTech, Inc. (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada) Developer of a catalyst that removes oxygen from biofuels so they can be refined, allowing governments around the world to meet their clean fuel mandates.
— Regenerated Textiles (Seattle, Wash.) Maker of shipping-container sized textile waste recycling machines that convert end-of-life clothing and textiles into brand new market grade fiber.
— LeapFrog Design (Bend, Ore.) Developer of a sustainable, scalable system for treating and recycling household greywater using plants and natural materials.
— Voltaic Marine (Beaverton, Ore.) Developer of a technology to bring electric vehicle mass adoption to the marine Industry.
CleanTech Accelerator Awards Recognize A Diverse Cohort
The cleantech accelerator awards are hosted by VertueLab in Portland and CleanTech Alliance in Seattle, the Cascadia CleanTech Accelerator.
“VertueLab is working hard to stop the climate crisis and solve other environmental challenges by funding and supporting the advancement of new clean technologies,” said David Kenney, president and executive director of VertueLab. “So we’re excited to be helping these entrepreneurs selected for the accelerator unleash the power of their cleantech solutions sooner.”
The startups from the 2020 cohort will be part of the CleanTech Innovation Showcase on July 15, and the accelerator program will culminate at Fuel 2020 (formerly the VertueLab Impact Summit) in September, when the teams will highlight their technologies.
“We welcome this diverse cohort of innovators who are working hard to develop new new clean technologies that will have a positive impact on our planet,” said Mel Clark, president and CEO of CleanTech Alliance. “Previous accelerator alumni have gone on to do great things, which clearly shows that early mentoring and support in a startup’s development is critical to success.”
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