Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator Announces Partner Awards to Support Network of Cleantech Startup Champions
March 31 2020 - 8:15AM
Business Wire
$950,000 in funds will strengthen emerging sustainable
technology markets, student-led startups and impact investing
initiatives
The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2), a technology
incubator and platform funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and
co-administered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), today announced eight new
Channel Partner Award winners. The award program strengthens
sustainable technology initiatives and fosters a creative and
collaborative network of cross-industry stakeholders in order to
address barriers that startups face on the path to
commercialization. Each winner will receive between
$75,000-$150,000 and projects will fulfill a wide range of
goals—serving emerging Midwest and Mid-Atlantic cleantech markets;
supporting educational programs for student entrepreneurs;
providing pathways, networks and guidance for high-wealth
individuals considering cleantech investing; and more.
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Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator
Announces Partner Awards to Support Network of Cleantech Startup
Champions (Photo: Business Wire)
This year’s submissions were selected on a competitive basis by
evaluating their potential for STEM job creation, impact on
cleantech and agtech sectors, ability to leverage the IN2 network,
and funding sustainability.
“The Channel Partner Awards establish a continuum of innovation
within the IN2 program––from early-stage concept to
commercialization,” said Trish Cozart, IN2 program manager at NREL.
“By allocating resources to Channel Partner initiatives, in
addition to selecting companies for our tech incubator, we’re
reaching startups at multiple points along their journey and will
get more transformative resources to market.”
Award winners include:
- AgLaunch (Memphis, Tenn.)--Aggregate agricultural data
from members of the AgLaunch Farmer Network (AFM) for startups and
to establish and report on long-term sustainability metrics.
- BRITE (Warren, Ohio)--Strengthen the Energy Storage
Cluster––a coalition of energy storage and cleantech startups in
Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia––by increasing awareness
through outreach and events, and by leveraging investor
relationships.
- Clean Energy Trust (Chicago, Ill.)--Develop
entrepreneurial tools, resources and training for students focused
on sustainability to improve collaboration across top tier
universities.
- Cleantech Group (San Francisco, Calif.)--Host a series
of events focused on value chains, business activities and trends
in commercial buildings, residential technologies and sustainable
agriculture for program stakeholders and portfolio companies.
- Powerhouse (Oakland, Calif.)--Launch Powerhouse
Angels––a vetted group of accredited investors––to provide a
reputable and well-orchestrated investor network of high net worth
individuals, family offices and philanthropic organizations
interested in backing early stage cleantech entrepreneurs.
- Texas State University (San Marcos, Texas)--Support
entrepreneurial education and product commercialization for
minority undergraduate students focused on agricultural
research.
- The Yield Lab Institute (Saint Louis, Mo.)--Mentor 2-4
selected agtech startups to support their journey to investment and
accelerate their paths to market.
- The University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado State
University (Boulder, Fort Collins, Colo.)--Strengthen strategic
programs and develop new resources to address cleantech and agtech
opportunities in the front range through joint workshops.
“The Channel Partner Awards help IN2’s cross-country ecosystem
of supporters connect and thrive,” said Wells Fargo’s Clean
Technology and Innovation Philanthropy Program Officer Ramsay
Huntley. “The awards and the initiatives they fund help foster
meaningful partnerships, create jobs and improve capital flow for
our partner network and beyond.”
The nationwide network of IN2 Channel Partners includes 63
cleantech and agtech business incubators, accelerators,
universities and industry experts. The IN2 Channel Partner Awards
program was established in 2017 with $5 million of committed
funding from Wells Fargo to be distributed over four years. Since
inception, the program has supported more than 115 events,
strategic meetings and trainings, and 29 larger strategic
initiatives between 31 organizations. Funded projects have engaged
more than 2,369 participants (entrepreneurs, industry and academic
representatives and others), created nearly 200 jobs, led to more
than $18.2 million in follow-on funding for startups involved and
earned $1.8 million in matching funds from outside
organizations.
About the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2)
The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) is a $30 million
technology incubator and platform funded by the Wells Fargo
Foundation. Co-administered by and housed at the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, IN2’s mission is to
speed the path to market for early-stage, clean-technology
entrepreneurs. Launched in 2014 with an initial focus on supporting
scalable solutions to reduce the energy impact of commercial
buildings, IN2 has since expanded its focus to advance technologies
that address the sustainable production of agriculture and housing
affordability. Companies selected for participation in the program
receive up to $250,000 in non-dilutive funding from Wells Fargo,
technical support and validation from experts at NREL and the
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and ongoing connections to
organizations across value chains. For more information, visit
in2ecosystem.com.
About Wells Fargo
Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo
& Company (NYSE:WFC) provides banking, investment and mortgage
products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance,
through 7,500 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, and the internet
(wellsfargo.com). With approximately 261,000 team members, Wells
Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. With its
corporate philanthropy, Wells Fargo aims to pave a path to
stability and financial success for underserved communities by
focusing on housing affordability, small business growth, and
financial health, among other local community needs. In 2018, Wells
Fargo donated $444 million to nearly 11,000 nonprofits. For 10
consecutive years, Wells Fargo has held the honor of No. 1 in
workplace giving by United Way Worldwide. Wells Fargo team members
also actively support communities by donating more than 2 million
hours of volunteer time in the last year. News, insights and more
information on the company’s overall corporate responsibility are
available at Wells Fargo Stories and www.wellsfargo.com/impact.
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Wells Fargo Media E.J. Bernacki ejbernacki@wellsfargo.com
415-840-4469
IN2 Media Liz Crumpacker liz.crumpacker@antennagroup.com
(646) 494-7482
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