At Evergreen Climate Innovations, our mission is to close the funding gap for cleantech startups. This funding gap, at the government and corporate R&D level – as well as at the private VC level – restricts the opportunity and ability for new energy technologies to be implemented and scaled.
As a non-profit 501(c)3, we rely on generous sponsorship from foundations and corporations to support our work to find and provide seed investment to the most promising and deserving cleantech startups. Additionally, Evergreen Climate Innovations is focused on deploying our capital to startups based in the Midwest, so that our region reaps not only the environmental benefits, but also the job creation and wage growth that comes from the clean energy economy.
We are thrilled to welcome BP and BP Ventures into our family of valued sponsors.
BP recently announced that, through its global venturing arm BP Ventures, they will invest $500,000 and form a strategic relationship with several members of Incubatenergy, a US-based consortium of clean energy incubators and accelerators that supports start-ups and entrepreneurs across the global energy sector.
In addition to Evergreen Climate Innovations, this new investment will support our sister-organizations throughout the country, including:
- ACRE, New York, NY
- Austin Technology Incubator, Austin, TX
- Elemental Excelerator, Honolulu, HI, and Palo Alto, CA
- Greentown Labs, Boston, MA
- NextEnergy, Detroit, MI
- Oregon BEST, Portland, OR
- Prospect Silicon Valley, San Jose, CA
The strategic relationship will provide BP Ventures the opportunity to collaborate with Incubatenergy’s senior industry leadership and cleantech start-up companies. It also will support BP Ventures’ mission of growing, developing and investing in new energy solutions for a lower-carbon future, specifically with a focus on power and storage, advanced mobility and digitization of the energy sector.
“BP intends to play our part in meeting the dual challenge of delivering the energy the world needs and transitioning to a lower-carbon future. We’re building low carbon into what we do, across our businesses – and in ways that will generate value over the long-term. This strategic relationship will enable BP Ventures to engage with entrepreneurs across the energy spectrum who are developing new businesses that have the potential to support this,” said Meghan Sharp, managing director Americas, BP Ventures.
Established by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Incubatenergy network supports incubators with access to new and emerging power and energy sector leaders. Collectively, members of the network have advanced the development of approximately 500 venture-backed start-ups, across various aspects of cleantech, from renewable energy and storage to mobility and transportation.
For Evergreen Climate Innovations, and the entrepreneurs we support, this investment from BP Ventures is exceedingly meaningful.
Samir Mayekar, CEO of SiNode Systems, a Evergreen Climate Innovations portfolio company puts it this way, “I view a contribution to Evergreen Climate Innovations as a ripple effect, like throwing a pebble into a pond. By funding Evergreen Climate Innovations, sponsors are funding entrepreneurs and the people who work at the companies, and it goes on to impact their families, customers, and partners. We now have a contract with Ford, GM, and Chrysler on their EV program. That is a huge ripple effect, and it might be four ripples out from the pebble, but it wouldn’t have happened without the pebble.”
Erik Birkerts, CEO of Evergreen Climate Innovations, expresses his gratitude, “Thank you BP America for your leadership in supporting the important work of clean energy accelerators. We hope that more corporations take note and follow your lead.”