New York rolls out $16M clean energy fund

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has launched two new Statewide cleantech accelerators offering a variety of support services for clean energy companies including seed money to build or grow a clean energy business.

The announcement advances the State’s goal for an 85 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Green New Deal, the nation-leading clean energy and climate agenda that has set the State on a path to economy-wide carbon-neutrality.

Alicia Barton, president and CEO of NYSERDA, said: “Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, innovation will continue to play a crucial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change. The accelerators send a strong signal to entrepreneurs and companies that think outside the box — New York State is here to help energy innovators grow and thrive as we build stronger, cleaner communities to benefit all New Yorkers, especially now, as we look ahead to jump-starting the economy following the Covid-19 pause.”

The accelerators, built upon NYSERDA’s previous proof-of-concept centers, will be administered by NextCorps in Rochester and NEX-NY in Brooklyn to expand the number of companies supported, enabling NYSERDA to catalyze its climate impact solutions even faster.

Together, the new accelerators will have diverse focus areas across all clean energy technologies and markets – such as advanced buildings, energy storage and fuel cells, smart grid, industrial energy efficiency, renewable electricity and fuels, and clean transportation – to help with the specific needs of participating companies. The goal of the accelerators is to ultimately broaden the number of clean energy startup companies operating in New York State as the state grows a clean energy economy.

The NextCorpsLink supported accelerator will receive $10 million over five years, and provide seed money for early stage entrepreneurs building clean energy companies.

As significant numbers of clean energy technologies evolve from colleges and universities, the NextCorps accelerator will partner with campuses to advance and facilitate company launches. The accelerator will also build a statewide mentor and advisory network that specializes in supporting new startups get their products to market successfully for greater scale and deployment into our energy systems and infrastructure.

The NEX-NYLink Accelerator will be funded at $6 million over thirty months and support existing high potential clean tech companies with commercialized products. NEX-NY will support these cleantech companies to rapidly scale their corporate capacities, grow their businesses and expand their customer base. The NEX-NY Accelerator will recruit cleantech companies from across the globe to facilitate relationships with potential corporate partners and investors, and enable their impact on New York State’s clean energy economy.

The accelerators are part of a comprehensive suite of services available for clean energy companies in New York State.

NYSERDA offers entrepreneurs and innovators a complete roadmap starting from the idea-stage and leading to full scale market adoption that makes New York State one of the best places in the world to start and scale a clean energy company.

NYSERDA’s Innovation programs support technological and other innovative initiatives to meet New York State’s climate and decarbonization goals. Its Tech to Market program currently supports six clean energy incubators in New York State which offer commercialization resources, technical assistance and business development support to early-stage companies.