Cleantech Innovations New England
Read the NECEF press release
Read Partner releases from:
Maine Technology Institute
Connecticut Clean Energy Finance & Investment Authority
Overview & FAQ
On September 29th, the New England Clean Energy Foundation (NECEF), the sister organization of the New England Clean Energy Council, announced an $1,250,000 award led by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (“EDA”) with participatory funding from other U.S. Government agencies to fund the Cleantech Innovations New England innovation consortium aimed at accelerating clean energy startup activity. Cleantech Innovations New England is expected to be a $3.3 million program over 2 years, combining support from EDA and with other federal agencies to NECEF and its partners, as well as matching funds from foundations and the New England states.
This award was one of six i6 Green Challenge grants presented by EDA nationally to proposals aimed at regional economic development through innovative, groundbreaking ideas that accelerate technology commercialization, new venture formation, and job creation across the United States in the cleantech space.
What is the i6 Green Challenge?
In March 2011, EDA announced a new funding opportunity to promote clean energy innovation and economic growth. The i6 Green Challenge was a competitive solicitation with the goal of encouraging regional, technology-led economic development through the support of innovative, groundbreaking ideas that accelerate technology commercialization, new venture formation, and job creation across the United States in the green technology industry. Successful proposals would implement “Proof of Concept Center” techniques to expedite the development of an emerging cleantech cluster, such as facilitation of relationships between industry, academia, investors, and entrepreneurs; provision of mentoring, incubation, and technical services; organization of educational programs to prepare the next generation of “green” technologists and entrepreneurs; and access to seed funding.
EDA selected six proposals, one from each EDA region, to receive funding. NECEF’s proposal was selected as the winner for the Northeast region, which includes New England and many of the mid-Atlantic states. Our proposal featured strong commitments from each of the six New England state governments and over 40 organizations representing the cutting edge of New England’s emerging clean energy cluster, including universities, utilities, investors, and not-for-profits.
What will Cleantech Innovations New England do?
The New England i6 Green proposal was crafted with the understanding that the New England region has a diverse set of focused clean energy commercialization and venture creation capabilities. Existing capabilities, however, are severely limited in a number of key ways and therefore neglect to fully address the needs for new cleantech innovations to become validated and fundable by customers and private capital. Many of these programs and assets cover only a subset of the needs of a spinout or startup. Also, the region’s current capabilities are not part of a network that can apply resources along the commercialization pathway, from ideation to proof of concept to venture creation.
Cleantech Innovations New England aims to address these gaps in the current clean energy innovation ecosystem through a combination of capacity- and network-building. The Program will encompass the entirety of our regional clean energy cluster and will provide direct services to promising cleantech lab projects and startup companies, convene key stakeholders, analyze cleantech sub-sectors on a regional scale, and converge on a coherent strategy to accelerate energy innovation and economic development throughout New England.
Through a series of initiatives explained below, Cleantech Innovations New England will coordinate and streamline the network of assets, programs, and cleantech market segments already present in the region to create a more unified pathway for entrepreneurs to leverage expertise and capital across all six states, to foster a closer connection between market/customer needs and early innovations, and to create a simplified engagement channel for stakeholders and supporters.
First, NECEF will host a series of roundtables with regional energy related businesses, government agencies, research universities and financing sources. The purpose of these events is to identify key technology, policy, and funding gaps that if resolved would accelerate the adoption of cleantech technologies.
Second, NECEF and its partners and supporters will provide funding and services to assist in the commercialization of promising cleantech innovations. This initiative will including funding applied research in university labs, and providing pre-seed startups with demonstration sites, executives-in-residence, subsidized incubator space, R&D and technical assistance, and access to a region-wide network of strategic corporate, angel, and venture capital investors.
Finally, NECEF will work with its partners and supporters to create an online tool to facilitate the exchange of ideas among the region’s cleantech stakeholders. This initiative will link and leverage existing and emerging resources and programs through online forums and real-time events to create a coordinated network across New England.
Who are the partners in Cleantech Innovations New England?
NECEF, as the lead entity, will chair a steering committee made up of a representative from each of our state government supporters: the Connecticut Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority, the Maine Technology Institute, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning, the Rhode Island Renewable Energy Fund, and the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development. The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the Maine Technology Institute, and the Rhode Island Renewable Energy Fund have each committed matching funds to the Program. The partnership includes 40+ supporters in total (see full list below).
Cleantech Innovations New England Partner List
CT - Connecticut Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority
CT - CT Center for Advanced Technology
CT - REEBA
CT - Sustainable Innovations, LLC
CT - Yale University
MA - Advanced Technology Manufacture Center
MA - Boston University
MA - Braemar Energy Ventures
MA – Cambrian Innovation
MA - Center for Innovative Water Technologies
MA - Clean Energy Venture Group
MA - Flagship Ventures
MA - Fraunhofer CSE Techbridge
MA - General Catalyst Partners
MA - Harvard
MA - Mass Clean Energy Center
MA - Mass Technology Transfer Center
MA - Metal Oxygen Separation Technologies, Inc. (MOxST)
MA - MIT Deshpande Center
MA - MIT TLO
MA - Rockport Capital Partners
MA - Scibelli Enterprise Center at STCC
MA - UMass Amherst
MA - UMass Boston
MA - UMass Dartmouth Marine Renewable Energy Ctr
MA - UMass system
MA/CT - NSTAR
MA/RI/NH - National Grid
ME - Brunswick Landing, (former Naval Air station)
ME - Cerahelix
ME - E2Tech
ME - Maine Technology Institute
ME - University of Maine
NE - ACTION Incubator Network
NE - Cleantech Open NE
NE - New England Clean Energy Foundation
NH - NH Office of Energy and Planning
RI - RI Economic Development Corporation
RI - Social Venture Partners RI Incubator (SVPRI)
RI - University of Rhode Island
US - Clean Energy Alliance
US - NREL (OPENEI)
VT - Agency for Commerce and Community Dev
VT - Renewable Energy VT
VT - Seldon Technologies, Inc.
VT - University of Vermont
VT - VT Center for Emerging Technologies
How can I learn more?
For more details on Cleantech Innovations New England, contact Andrew Wilson, Executive Director of NECEF, at: awilson@cleanenergyfoundation.org, (617) 500-9995.