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Press Archive

Ampaire Successfully Conducts Hybrid Electric Ground Test Using Dimensional Energy’s Pure Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Both Ampaire and Dimensional Energy received investment from Elemental Excelerator to decarbonize aviation.

PR Newswire

Elemental Excelerator Strengthens Team with Two Key Hires

Mark Chambers joins as VP of Elemental Excelerator’s Partnership Team, while Amir Chireh Mehr takes on Senior Role for Investments.

Elemental Excelerator, 1/25/2024

Amid climate disasters and despite its own tragedy, Hawaii provides a model for community-centered innovation

Elemental CEO Dawn Lippert and Policy Lab Deputy Director Josh Stanbro provide a model for building local climate resilience.

Fortune, 1/16/2024

What happened behind the scenes at COP28, according to a climate tech VC who was there

Elemental Founder and CEO Dawn Lippert was buoyed by what she saw on the ground in Dubai.

Fast Company, 12/14/2023

After COP28, a long road ahead

Elemental Managing Director, Portfolio Danya Hakeem shared reflections on this year’s Conference of the Parties, and where the work goes from here.

Grist, 12/13/2023

Elemental Excelerator: pioneering climate innovations for communities

At COP 28, the nonprofit investor fuses technology solutions with community impact, bridging climate gaps and shaping a sustainable tomorrow.

Reuters, 12/12/2023

Dimensional Energy Secures $20 Million Series A Funding

Global leader in carbon utilization technology will use funds to accelerate sustainable aviation fuel production and the decarbonization of our economy.

Business Wire, 12/12/2023

A tale of two COP28s with Marilyn Waite and Dawn Lippert

On this podcast, Amy Cortese explores the tale of two COPs in conversations with Marilyn Waite of the Climate Finance Fund and Dawn Lippert of Elemental Excelerator, who share their experiences this week in the green and blue zones.

ImpactAlpha, 12/8/2023

Elemental and Technip Energies Announce Recipients of Clean Maritime Innovation Challenge

Technip Energies held its first Innovation Challenge on net-zero maritime shipping solutions, with the support of Elemental Excelerator.

Elemental Excelerator, 11/20/2023

Elemental Excelerator and The Rockefeller Foundation Announce New Collaboration To Bring Climate Technologies to Underserved Communities Across the U.S.

Elemental to catalyze climate solutions in frontline communities with $1M from The Rockefeller Foundation.

The Rockefeller Foundation, 10/25/2023

Elemental Excelerator to Fund 15 Climate Companies in 12th Cohort

Nonprofit investor continues focus on centering communities through investments in traditionally excluded founders and deep commitment to workforce development.

Elemental Excelerator, 10/17/2023

Nitricity Commissions New Pilot System in Fremont, CA

"Today’s unveiling of Nitricity’s pilot system in Fremont, CA, represents a meaningful milestone in our mission to accelerate climate technologies with deep community impact — through local food security and better, cleaner fertilizer for farmers,” Elemental Excelerator Founder & CEO Dawn Lippert said.

Business Wire, 10/12/2023

Elemental and LinkedIn Host the Future of Climate Talent Event at Climate Week NYC

The unique game show format highlights diverse climate talent and explores opportunities that exist in the climate workforce.

Elemental Excelerator, 9/19/23

Elemental and Schmidt Family Foundation back Allume Energy’s rooftop solar for renters

Allume raised $1.5 million to install SolShare, its behind-the-meter device that draws solar energy generated by rooftop solar PV systems and distributes it to tenants, starting with affordable multifamily housing in Florida, Georgia and Mississippi.

ImpactAlpha, 8/30/2023

In Maui, Investing in Future Resilience and Community Stewardship after the Fires

Elemental Founder & CEO Dawn Lippert talks about how climate-friendly solutions — local food, renewable energy, resilient microgrids and clean water systems — can help families thrive in the face of climate disasters.

ImpactAlpha, 8/24/2023

Elemental Celebrates Matching 176 Diverse Aspiring Climate Professionals through EDICT Internship Program

Empowering Diverse Climate Talent (EDICT) internship program marks third year matching hundreds of interns and employers to diversify the climate workforce.

Elemental Excelerator, 8/18/2023

Nth Cycle Opens First Domestic Nickel and Cobalt Production Facility Ahead of Inflation Reduction Act Requirements

The new facility will feature Nth Cycle’s electro-extraction technology which will recover the outputs of metal scrap, electronics waste, untapped mining resources and refinery waste into critical metal products including nickel and cobalt

Nth Cycle, 6/27/2023

Elemental Announces First Scale-Up Project Award to Transportation Startup Serving Transit Deserts

Nonprofit investor taps Dollaride for first scale-up investment out of its new $30M initiative.

Elemental Excelerator, 4/25/2023

Elemental Excelerator Announces 2023 Cohort of Policy Lab Fellows

New policy fellows will focus on designing and implementing equitable climate technology policies.

Elemental Excelerator, 4/21/2023

Elemental Bolsters Team of Entrepreneurial Climate Coaches to Drive Policy, Equity & Access and Financial Success for Portfolio Companies

Nonprofit advances its funding commitment and expands bench of experts to propel portfolio companies forward.

Elemental Excelerator, 4/21/2023

Elemental aims to pump $43M into climate startups with ‘deep community impact’

Elemental, a nonprofit investor in startups such as BlocPower and ChargerHelp, aims to invest $43 million more into climate tech.

TechCrunch, 3/17/2023

The future of climate tech after the fall of SVB

Elemental's CEO Dawn Lippert discusses the near- and long-term impacts on the climate tech sector.

San Francisco Examiner, 3/22/2023

Three learnings from a tough week

Elemental's CEO Dawn Lippert explores what the Silicon Valley Bank failure means for the climate tech ecosystem.

Cipher News, 3/22/2023

Full throttle: Nonprofit investor Elemental Excelerator accelerates $43 million into funding gaps

To scale equitable climate solutions more quickly, Elemental will increase its funding to $43 million across two initiatives.

Elemental Excelerator, 3/15/2023

How SVB’s collapse hurts the energy transition

Elemental's COO Avra van der Zee says the Silicon Valley Bank failure is not just a Silicon Valley problem.

Semafor, 3/15/2023

‘We can’t find people to work’: The newest threat to Biden’s climate policies

Companies in the clean energy sector have raised alarms about labor shortages, said Elemental's CEO Dawn Lippert.

Politico, 2/27/2023

Big oil, clean tech startups battle over the clean energy future

As big oil weighs in on climate tech, Elemental's CEO Dawn Lippert reminds us why startups are key to the energy transition.

Axios, 2/7/2023

Your company may be diverse, but is it really inclusive?

Two leaders at Elemental Excelerator explain their DEI practices, and why they benefit everyone.

Hawaii Business Magazine, 12/19/2022

FREDsense water quality test kit finds infection in wastewater to guide communities in fighting disease

The pilot — which was born after Elemental awarded FREDsense an ‘Ohana Award prize — is a giant leap forward in community monitoring for infectious diseases in wastewater and in the field of wastewater epidemiology.

EIN Presswire, 12/16/2022

Microvi Awarded Over $1.1 Million to Scale its New Technology that Eliminates a Cancer-causing Chemical in Water

Microvi announced today that it has been awarded over $1.1M in funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to scale-up its newly developed technology to eliminate chromium, a cancer-causing chemical, in drinking water.

Cision PR Newswire, 11/15/2022

WeaveGrid gets $35M Series B to help electrical grid cope with coming wave of EVs

Utilities may know how many solar panels and wind turbines are hooked up, but what about how many EVs get plugged in every night? They might have a rough estimate at best. That’s where WeaveGrid comes in. The company’s enterprise SaaS serves as a platform integrating data from utilities, automakers, and drivers to help utilities manage the load that EVs place on the grid. This data will be increasingly important in the coming decade, when up to half of the U.S.’ 280 million vehicle fleet is predicted to become electrified.

TechCrunch, 11/15/2022

The Best Inventions of 2022

200 innovations changing how we live. Featuring Elemental Portfolio companies, Evrnu and Twelve.

Time, 11/10/2022

Elemental Excelerator Doubles Down on Climate Tech Investments In Hard-To-Decarbonize Industries

Elemental Excelerator, a climate tech investor for more than a decade, today announced its 11th cohort of investments. These 17 industry-leading technology companies enable system-wide decarbonization, support communities to become more climate resilient and redesign built environments, bringing Elemental’s portfolio – one of the most robust climate tech portfolios in industry – to a total of 151 startups.

Elemental Excelerator, 11/02/2022

Introducing PBN’s Power Leaders for our 2023 Book of Lists

Hawaii is pursuing two top goals at the start of the 21st century - economic diversification and alternative energy. Dawn Lippert, through the nonprofit Elemental Excelerator, is advancing both.

Pacific Business News, 11/01/2022

Solstice’s Next Chapter: Expanding Clean Energy Access as a MyPower Company

As co-founders of Solstice, we write with big news. Today, Solstice begins a new chapter as part of MyPower, an affiliate of Mitsui, a global investment leader with a vision to invest in the future of energy. Reflecting on this announcement, it feels right to include you, our community, in a moment of awe and gratitude.

Solstice, 12/10/2022

The Women Training a Workforce of EV Charging Station Technicians

Kameale Terry and Evette Ellis are co-founders of ChargerHelp!, a startup that is dedicated to fixing these broken EV charging stations. In the third episode of a new documentary series by Motherboard called “Silicon Ceiling,” we spoke with Terry and Ellis about ChargerHelp! and how they’re not only solving charger problems but building an entire workforce of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) technicians.

Vice, 10/12/2022

2022 WE Empower Awards

The 2022 WE Empower UN SDG Challenge is in the books, with the top award on ‘’Pitch Night’’ going to a business leader in Nigeria working to make healthcare more accessible to all. Oyalowo will receive a $25,000 grant to further her goals, while each of the other women will receive $5,000 for their organizations. They are: Bharti Singh Chauhan – Founder & CEO, Praveenlata Sansthan & Carvers India LLP, Danielle J. Harris – Managing Director of Engagement & Innovation, Elemental Excelerator, Dina Abdul Majeed – Founder & CEO, 360Moms, and Priyanka Srinivas – Founder, The Live Green Co.

Vital Voices, 09/23/2022

Materials startup Novoloop brings its upcycled outsole to On’s new running shoe

Making sneakers is a dirty business; one that’s heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Shoe companies have experimented with various ways to reduce their footprints, from uppers made of recycled plastic to midsoles made of foam derived from sugarcane. Now, there’s a new approach — upcycling. Materials startup Novoloop and running-shoe manufacturer On will announce a partnership later today to produce an outsole made with upcycled thermoplastic polyurethane. It’s one of a host of materials that are debuting with On’s new climate-friendly sneaker, the Cloudprime.

TechCrunch, 09/21/2022

Elemental Excelerator Launches Toolkit for Local Climate Action for Mayors At Climate Week 2022

Elemental Excelerator, a leading non-profit climate investor, launched its Toolkit for Local Climate Action to empower mayors to take climate action at a time when unprecedented public funding is available for local leaders. The toolkit was created by Elemental Policy Lab fellow Heather McTeer Toney, in partnership with the African American Mayors Association (AAMA) and with additional support from Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), where Toney also serves as Vice President for Community Engagement.

Cision PR Newswire, 09/20/2022

Let’s write RatedPower’s next chapter: We’ve been acquired by Enverus

Today’s a big proud day here at RatedPower. We’re ecstatic to share a major milestone with you: We’ve been acquired by Enverus, the largest energy SaaS company in the world.

RatedPower, 09/14/2022

Elemental Excelerator offers up to $2.5M in funding for startups

Hawaii-based nonprofit Elemental Excelerator is offering up to $2.5M in funding for startups that can help organizations achieve their energy goals. The company has set up three innovation challenges which include helping Amazon achieve “Shipment Zero” by 2030, enabling NextEra Energy to become the first company in the world to completely eliminate carbon from its operations, or transitioning New Zealand to a clean and equitable energy future with a company called Ara Ake, according to Elemental Excelerator.

Pacific Business News, 09/15/2022

Vibrant Planet Rakes in $17 Million Seed Round

Vibrant Planet, the creator of the OS for forest restoration, has launched with a $17 million seed round led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund, The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust, with participation from Valia Ventures, Earthshot Ventures (a venture fund backed by Emerson Collective, John Doerr, Tom Steyer, Microsoft and others), Elemental Excelerator, Cisco, Day One Ventures and Halogen Ventures.

Silicon Valley Daily, 07/01/2022

Startups’ financial upsides unchanged following SCOTUS decision

Startups and venture capital investors may be the least affected by the Supreme Court's ruling in West Virginia v EPA. In fact, they may stand to benefit in the short and medium term from lower regulatory pressures.

Axios, 07/01/2022

Elemental Excelerator endeavors to expand climate tech diversity

Good news: career opportunities in STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math — are more accessible than ever in Hawaii. Bad news: people to fill those jobs are hard to find, and their opportunities are not evenly distributed.

Hawaii Bulletin, 07/01/2022

Twelve to Deploy World’s First Industrial-Scale Carbon Transformation Platform

DCVC leads a $130 million financing to increase the production of materials made from captured CO2 for customers such as Mercedes-Benz, Procter & Gamble, Shopify, and the U.S. Air Force

BusinessWire, 06/29/2022

Why Big Tech is pouring money into carbon removal

The market for carbon removal is expanding rapidly, and private money is pouring in from tech companies seeking to help early-stage carbon capture and storage startups scale up and bring costs down.

CNBC, 06/28/2022

DroneSeed uses swarms of drones to reseed forests after devastating wildfires

DroneSeed is a Seattle-based startup that claims it can begin to restore thousands of acres of wildfire-ravaged land just 30 days after the fire is out.

CNBC, 06/28/2022

Meet 27 of the top transportation VC firms as funding tightens following a blockbuster 2021

Featuring Elemental Excelerator.

Business Insider, 06/24/2022

Atlanta food waste managment startup Goodr raises $8M

Atlanta food rescue startup Goodr Inc. has raised $8 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, likely the single largest investment round for the 5-year-old company. As part of the raise, the company also received debt financing from Atlanta Emerging Markets, Inc., a community development entity created by economic development agency Invest Atlanta, for $300,000.

Atlanta Inno, 06/24/2022

Meet the 25 Hawaii innovators that are blazing new paths in the local startup industry

Pacific Business News is pleased to introduce its first-ever Inno Fire awards, celebrating the startups and innovators driving progress in Hawaii. The honorees were selected from a combination of nominations that PBN received and reviewed and innovators chosen by the newsroom based on our coverage and familiarity with their work.

Pacific Business News, 06/15/2022

Announcing PBN’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2022

Meet the first 20 young professionals in PBN's 40 Under 40: Class of 2022.

Pacific Business News, 06/10/2022

Forbes 30 Under 30: Industry, Manufacturing & Energy

Creating the products, methods and materials of tomorrow. Featuring Cameron Knox, Co-founder, Allume Energy.

Forbes, 06/01/2022

Elemental Excelerator Gets $32.5 Million Navy Grant

Elemental Excelerator, a Honolulu-based organization that funds innovative enterprises addressing climate change, has received a $32.5 million grant from the Office of Naval Research. The five-year grant marks the third installment of Navy research funding, and brings the total funding from the office to more than $90 million, Elemental Excelerator said.

Honoloulu Civil Beat, 05/26/2022

Planet FWD secures $10M so consumer products industry can track carbon emissions

Planet FWD, a carbon-assessment startup founded by Zume Pizza co-founder Julia Collins, grabbed another cash infusion in the way of 10 million Series A dollars to continue developing technology so that the $1.5 trillion consumer products industry can more accurately measure and reduce their carbon footprint.

TechCrunch, 05/26/2022

The 2022 CNBC Disruptor 50 list: Meet the next generation of Silicon Valley

In the tenth annual Disruptor 50 list, CNBC highlights private companies that grew through the ups and downs of the pandemic and are poised to meet increasing economic and consumer challenges. See Elemental Portfolio company, CarbonCure Technologies featured for carbon to concrete.

CNBC, 05/17/2022

To fight climate change, California approves seaweed that cuts methane emissions in cow burps

On Friday, Blue Ocean Barns, which produces the red seaweed at a farm on the Big Island of Hawaii, announced that the supplement had been approved for use on both conventional and organic dairy farms. Called Brominata, the red seaweed variety has been shown to cut methane emissions in dairy cows by 52% over 50 days but so far has been used only in trials.

San Francisco Chronicle, 05/06/2022

Charging Up: Climatetech career moves at Sunrun, SunPower, Enel, NextEra, Virtual Peaker, Elemental and more

Antoinette West, previously with the Fax Partnership, has joined Elemental Excelerator — a women-led nonprofit with a 135-company portfolio — as career pathways manager to help foster careers in the climate sector, particularly for frontline and low-income communities of color. Also at Elemental Excelerator, Christina Angelides, previously with Natural Resources Defense Council, has joined as co-director of the Elemental Policy Lab, where she guides portfolio companies on policy strategy issues, and Aparna Reddy, previously with law firm Winter LLP, has come on board as in-house counsel.

Canary Media, 05/03/2022

EV-Charging Startup FreeWire Raises $125 Million From Investors Including BlackRock

FreeWire Technologies Inc. said it has privately raised $125 million from investors including asset manager BlackRock Inc. to increase supply of its electric-vehicle chargers.

The Wall Street Journal, 04/27/2022

Allbirds launches resale platform

Athletic company Allbirds Inc. announced the launch of its resale platform, Allbirds ReRun, on Thursday. Launched in partnership with Trove, a company that works with brands on their secondhand business, Allbirds will start by offering customers at three stores in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City a $20 credit when they trade in their used Allbirds.

MarketWatch, 04/17/2022

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Inc (NYSE:DNA) Stock Jumps After Announcing Partnership With FREDsense

The leading horizontal platform for cell programming firm Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Inc (NYSE:DNA) could be the one to track this morning considering the fact that its stock clocked gains of as much as 11% on Wednesday.

Top News Guide, 04/14/2022

FREDsense and Ginkgo Bioworks Announce Partnership to Develop Water Quality Biosensors

FREDsense Technologies Corp, a next generation water quality platform company leveraging synthetic biology to build field kits for faster, cheaper, and more efficient analysis, and Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), the leading horizontal platform for cell programming, today announced a partnership to build biosensors for water quality monitoring and detection.

Yahoo! Finance, 04/13/2022

Lululemon launches a trade-in and resell program as shoppers grapple with inflation

Lululemon will debut a trade-in and resale option for its gently used leggings, tops and jackets later this month following a successful pilot program prompted by rising consumer prices and a commitment to sustainable purchasing. Under Like New — powered by resale technology provider Trove — customers will be able to trade in their previously worn Lululemon items in exchange for a gift card at any of the retailer’s U.S. stores.

CNBC, 4/12/22

Invert and CarbonCure Sign the World’s Largest Purchase Agreement For Carbon Credits to Store CO₂ Through Carbon Mineralization

In a 10-year agreement, Invert and minority funder Ripple will provide USD $30 million of upfront capital in exchange for hundreds of thousands of high-quality carbon credits providing immediate, centuries-long carbon storage

CarbonCure, 04/12/2022

Feasible rebrands as Liminal, raises $8 Million in Series A Funding to accelerate the global transition to Electric Vehicles

Feasible, a leading battery manufacturing intelligence company, today announces the closure of its $8 million Series A financing round, co-led by Good Growth Capital (GGC) and The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (UTEC), with participation from Volta Energy Technologies, Helios Capital Ventures, and Impact Science Ventures; and continued support from Series Seed lead investor Chrysalix Ventures, Elemental Excelerator, and Incite.org. This funding coincides with the announcement of a new name — Liminal — which speaks to the power of the transition to electric vehicles and clean energy, and the crucial role that battery manufacturing intelligence plays in enabling that process.

Liminal, 04/05/2022

Evrnu’s Recycled Waste Fiber Launches Today, And Could Outperform 90% Of Existing Textiles

System-wide solutions are needed to ensure total net benefits across textiles and products, rather than siloed benefits that may be canceled out by toxic dyeing or other processing methods further down the production line. One textile innovator has bitten off this entire textile waste to fiber problem and is integrating a suite of solutions from raw materials to final fiber and yarn: Evrnu.

Forbes, 04/01/2022

Time 100 Most Influential Companies

Which businesses and corporate leaders are shaping our future? That’s the question at the heart of TIME100 Most Influential Companies, an annual list that highlights businesses making an extraordinary impact around the world. (Featuring Elemental Portfolio company, Blocpower).

Time, 03/30/2022

Bill Gates and Blackrock are backing the start-up behind hydropanels that make water out of thin air

Source’s hydropanels are installed in 52 countries in 450 separate projects. The company has raised $150 million from investors including Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BlackRock, Duke Energy and the Lightsmith Group.

CNBC, 03/28/2022

Going All In To Get Carbon Out: Shopify’s Commitment to Climate Entrepreneurs Reaches $32M

To build the future we all need, Shopify is supporting nine new entrepreneurial, tech-driven companies through our Sustainability Fund, bringing our total carbon removal purchase commitment to $32M.

Shopify, 03/28/2022

🌏 Minding the climate tech gap

In 2009, when Elemental Excelerator started its mission to redesign systems at the root of climate change, the startup and funding landscape was quite different. Very quickly, the team identified a funding gap for deploying technologies after the initial launch. Early stage venture capital and government research funding help to launch new companies, and later stage venture capital and growth equity help them grow once the technology and business model are proven. With that gap in mind, just over a decade later, the Honolulu and East Palo Alto-based, majority female-led organization has funded ~$50m across 130+ climate tech cos and supported 100+ (primarily first-of-a-kind) project deployments with a focus on the frontline communities typically impacted first and worst by climate change.

Climate Tech VC, 03/25/2022

Anheuser-Busch Partners with Cambrian Through Innovative Water Recycling Agreement to Reduce Water Usage and Further Advance Sustainability Efforts

America’s leading brewer, Anheuser-Busch is partnering with Cambrian, a commercial provider of distributed wastewater treatment and resource recovery solutions, to implement new water reuse technology in connection with its breweries – including a new plant in Houston, TX set to open in the summer of 2022.

Anheuser-Busch, 03/22/2022

Several Hawaii accelerators simultaneously seeking startups

Have an idea and a business plan and need funding? Check out XLR8HI's preX investment readiness program. Launched a startup with traction, but looking to go to market and scale quickly? Blue Startups may be for you. Is your startup looking to tackle climate change, with a prototype and pilots in place? The Elemental Excelerator is looking for big thinkers like you.

Hawaii Bulletin, 03/22/2022

Shell, Merck Animal Health back regenerative agtech Vence for carbon & traceability capabilities

Vence, a US startup that offers ‘virtual fencing’ for ranchers using regenerative ag practices, has secured funding from the venture arms of two major corporates: Merck & Co and oil and gas giant Shell.

Ag Funder News, 03/16/2022

Meet the 14 entrepreneurs vying to break into the $207.5 billion electric car charging industry as EVs finally take off

Shao cofounded Amply in 2018 and serves as CEO. The company provides charging management software, start-to-finish charging-as-a-service operations, and maintenance services. Its customers include transit agencies such as the Anaheim Transportation Network, Solano County Transit, and Tri Delta Transit, and the utility Hawaiian Electric. The startup, based in Mountain View, California, was acquired by gas giant BP in December. Shao was previously founder and CEO of energy storage company Green Charge Networks.

Business Insider, 03/15/2022

Fast Company Names Thrilling One Of The 10 Most Innovative Retail Companies of 2022

Thrilling has been added to Fast Company's innovator list for our work that helps bring vintage shopping into the 21st century.

Thrilling, 03/08/2022

The World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2022

Fast Company’s annual ranking of businesses that are making an outsize impact. Featuring Elemental Portfolio companies Twelve, BlocPower, FreeWire Technologies, and Thrilling!

Fast Company, 03/08/2022

BNEF Pioneers Finalists Tackle 24/7 Clean Power, Aviation and Carbon Removal

Each year, BloombergNEF runs the BNEF Pioneers competition to identify three key challenges in building towards a net-zero economy, and highlight innovative companies developing technologies to overcome these challenges. This year's group includes Elemental portfolio companies Climate Robotics, Twelve, ZeroAvia, and Ampaire.

BloomberNEF, 02/15/2022

Elemental Excelerator receives $500,000 grant to bolster equity, access

Hawaii-based Elemental Excelerator recently received a $500,000 grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, or CZI, officials with the company announced Thursday. The grant comes as part of $44 million in funding being disbursed by CZI to develop and scale "promising technologies to help address climate change," according to officials. The grant is also part of CZI’s $500 million commitment to support organizations building just and sustainable systems that advance racial equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Pacific Inno, 02/10/2022

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Invests in Promising Climate Change Solutions

Today, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) announced $44 million in funding to develop and scale promising technologies to help address climate change as part of an exploration of cutting-edge and emerging solutions, including carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Employing innovative financing strategies—including grants, investments, and making carbon removal purchases directly from companies—is part of CZI’s approach to accelerating action on climate change.

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, 02/10/2022

kWh Analytics raises $20mn for ESG insurance

kWh Analytics has raised $20 million in a funding round, reflecting the company’s focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues within the insurance industry. While many insurance companies are addressing ESG by steering away from fossil fuels, kWh Analytics has instead developed data-driven insurance specifically for zero-carbon assets.

Reinsurance News, 02/08/2022

Accelerating our transition to a green economy with green skills

LinkedIn [released their] Global Green Skills Report that shares new data on in-demand green skills and green jobs, including where to focus to drive lasting change... For example, U.S. partner, Elemental Excelerator, in collaboration with the Clean Energy Leadership Institute and FutureMap, helps underrepresented students enter careers in the climate industry through a 10-week immersive work experience called the EDICT internship program.

LinkedIn, 02/22/2022

3 Women-led Accelerators Are Funding the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

Blue Startups, Elemental Excelerator and Mana Up are working to diversify Hawai‘i’s economy. “We have a goal to inspire 10,000 climate jobs across Hawai‘i and beyond in the next five years. Innovation is one piece of the puzzle of what is happening here but there are other really huge pieces that have enormous economic benefits for Hawai‘i, that create jobs, lower energy prices, and bring additional equity to the system.” [Dawn Lippert, Elemental CEO]

Hawaii Business Magazine, 02/02/2022

T-REX Raises $40M Led by Riverstone Holdings to Accelerate Investment in Sustainable Infrastructure and Private Credit Markets

T-REX Group, Inc. ("T-REX"), a SaaS provider supporting the asset-backed financing industry, has announced a $40 million Series C funding round today, led by Riverstone Holdings LLC and Riverstone affiliates ("Riverstone"), with participation from existing shareholders Citi (NYSE: C), ClearSky, Westly Group, Viola FinTech, and the Partnership Fund for New York City. T-REX, with its advanced support for private credit and ESG-driven investments, will become part of Riverstone's Decarbonization Growth Equity platform.

GlobeNewswire, 01/26/2022

Fighting Climate Change, From Capitol Hill to City Hall

This report details case studies from six states and two cities to help inform how the United States can enact a whole-of-government approach to climate action.

Center for American Progress, 01/26/2022

ChargerHelp!and BlocPower Partner

ChargerHelp! and BlocPower announce a collaboration to provide training and job placement for tech jobs in Brooklyn and throughout New York City. This collaboration includes training courses on electric vehicle charging stations maintenance and repair with specific curriculum focused to get a workforce up and running within weeks.

LinkedIn, 01/21/2022

Startups to Watch

Here are nine innovative businesses to watch, based on our past reporting, tips from industry observers and a look at what companies have been earning recognition in the startup ecosystem. Each on a path to success, with this initial roundup, we wanted to convey the range of creative ventures underway right now.

Pacific Inno, 01/21/2022

KC startup grows employment and adds more tech offerings

NEER has proved that it has product market fit, and now it's ready to expand its tech offering to more customers throughout the U.S., CEO and founder Elango Thevar said. The Kansas City-based startup developed a real-time water management platform that uses machine learning to help cities and private utilities save money and become proactive with water, sewer and stormwater maintenance. In addition to identifying leaks, NEER can predict failures in water, sewer and stormwater collection systems.

KC Inno, 01/20/2022

The Future of Reforestation Could Be in the Sky

Just this century, the U.S. has lost 15 percent of its tree cover. This is especially troubling given that the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommends adding 1 billion hectares of trees to help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. As scientists search for solutions, they may look to an increasingly ubiquitous piece of technology: drones.

NY Magazine, 01/20/2022

BlocPower Receives $30 Million from Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund to Expand Existing Facility from Goldman Sachs for Equitable Electrification Projects

BlocPower, a leading national climate technology company focused on greening aging urban buildings, today announced that it has received $30 million from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) through its Climate Innovation Fund to accelerate and expand the company’s ongoing decarbonization projects, including Ithaca, NY – the first large-scale, city-wide electrification initiative in the U.S. These funds enable BlocPower to continue its turnkey engineering, financing, procurement and project implementation services for a wide variety of energy efficient, renewable energy and/or HVAC upgrade projects around the country, with a focus on low-to-moderate income (LMI) and environmental justice communities.

BlocPower, 01/14/2022

Solar-Powered SOURCE Hydropanels Can Produce Up To 5 Liters Of Drinking Water Per Day

SOURCE uses capital letters to spell out its name. And the Arizona company has a product to shout about. It’s called the SOURCE Hydropanel and is said to be able to provide clean, sustainable drinking water from sunlight and air. SOURCE is operating in 50 countries around the world. Arizona State University, where the technology was first developed by company CEO Cody Friesen, powered up a water farm in September that can produce 400,000 gallons of drinking water a year (or about 1.5 million liters).

Forbes, 1/13/2022

CarbonCure Inducted into Cleantech 100 Hall of Fame, Recognized for its Climate Action

CarbonCure Technologies, the global leader in carbon dioxide removal technologies for the concrete industry, has been inducted into the Cleantech Group’s Global Cleantech 100 Hall of Fame. For a seventh consecutive year, CarbonCure has also been named a 2022 Global Cleantech 100 Company out of a candidate pool of more than 10,000 entrepreneurs.

CarbonCure, 01/13/2022

Ruth E. Carter Tapped as Brand Ambassador for Vintage Site Thrilling

The Oscar-winning 'Black Panther' costume designer appears in a campaign for the Black-owned company as it launches its studio services program: "It's taking all the dust out of the equation."

The Hollywood Reporter, 01/13/2022

Bristol-based Matter raises €442k to tackle the microplastic pollution problem

Climate-tech startup Matter has just completed a Pre-Series A funding round, securing €442k fresh funding from Builders Vision’s Rising Tide Fund. This new boost follows on from receiving €175k from the British Design Fund and the young company’s entry into the Elemental Excelerator programme.

EU Startups, 01/07/2022

Five questions with Ryan Ozawa, the new CEO of Smart Yields

Honolulu-based agricultural technology firm Smart Yields has named Ryan Ozawa as its new chief executive officer. Ozawa takes on the new leadership role after more than six years as the company's co-founder and chief marketing officer. He replaces former CEO and lead founder Vincent Kimura, who is now the director of programs and partnerships at the University of Hawaii Office of Innovation and Commercialization.

The Business Journals: Pacific Inno, 01/06/2022

Bristol-based Matter secures $500k in Pre-Series A funding

Bristol-based technology start-up, Matter, has just completed a successful Pre-Series A investment round, securing $0.5m of new funding from Builders Vision’s Rising Tide Fund. This follows the recent £150,000 investment from the British Design Fund and the company’s entry into the Elemental Excelerator programme for climate technologies.

Business Leader, 01/06/2022

Ige Names Aimee Barnes To State Land Board

On Wednesday Hawaii Gov. David Ige announced his nomination of Aimee Kelii Barnes to the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

Honoloulu Civil Beat, 10/05/2022

US: 2021 Set public transit towards equitable, accessible future

For decades transportation has been the business of building roads, bridges and rail lines to serve cars, buses and trains. But in the last several months the conversation — and the business of transportation — has taken a noticeable turn. It has become a conversation dominated by debates around equity, sustainability and the essential role of transit and transportation in society.

Mass Transit, 01/05/2022

Heliogen nets $188 million in cash in business combination, added to NYSE

Heliogen, provider of concentrated solar power (CSP) plants enabled with AI, reached the New York Stock Exchange on the last day of 2021 after completing a business combination with Athena Technology Acquisition Corp.

PV Magazine, 01/03/2022

Heliogen, Inc. Announces Completion of Business Combination with Athena Technology Acquisition Corp.

Heliogen Inc. (“Heliogen” or the “Company”), a leading provider of AI-enabled concentrated solar power, today announced that it has completed its previously announced business combination with Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. (“ATHN”).

Heliogen, 12/30/2021

ImpactAlpha’s Holiday List No. 3: A dozen Agents of Impact who took leadership in 2021

In dozens of profiles this year, we highlighted Agents of Impact who are breaking old rules, demonstrating new models and driving social and environmental benefits. Impact is a team sport, so we also saluted young climate leaders, climate scientists, universal owners, green Nobel Prize winners, India’s citizen-responders, students of impact, Georgia’s organizers and, of course, friends of ImpactAlpha. And you are all Agents of Impact. Let’s take a end-of-year spin through a dozen that stood out:

ImpactAlpha, 12/28/2021

Thinking Global, Acting Local: How To Get Clean Tech Into Every Community

The Elemental Excelerator, a Hawaii-based nonprofit with a mission to wean Hawaii and the world off fossil fuels, has pioneered a community engagement solution with some of its 100+ clean tech startups. It includes investing actual dollars in local communities (funding nonprofits and community groups to help build programs, rather than just asking them for free advice). It gets buy-in and shows that the local community’s time and energy is valued in a real way.

CleanTechnica, 12/24/2021

GE Digital to Acquire Renewal Portfolio Company Opus One Solutions

We’re very excited to share the news that Renewal portfolio company Opus One Solutions is being acquired by GE Digital to further accelerate DER adoption and help utilities hit aggressive targets for grid decarbonization. GE Digital was the perfect partner to help Opus One rapidly take the company’s grid optimization and resource orchestration technology to global scale and we couldn’t be more thrilled for Joshua Wong and team in their next phase of growth!

Linkedin, 12/21/2021

GE Digital Will Acquire Opus One Solutions to Advance the Energy Transition

GE Digital (NYSE:GE) has entered into an agreement to acquire Opus One Solutions Energy Corporation (“Opus One”), a software company that helps electric utilities optimize energy planning, operations, and market management.

GE, 12/21/2021

Full Harvest targets food waste by finding homes for imperfect, surplus produce

Food waste is a $2.6 trillion problem globally as some 40% of food is wasted annually. Full Harvest believes this is a distribution problem that can be solved by digitizing the produce supply chain.

TechCrunch, 12/17/2021

2021 in review, 22 perspectives for 2022

Despite our strong affinity for stacked bar charts and running the numbers every week, the genius animating climate innovation today is the many individuals shaping the world through their work day in, day out. We collected a breadth of perspectives on this year, next, and the many people and things to be grateful for in-between.

Climate Tech VC, 12/17/2021

New York City’s natural gas ban is a major milestone for city climate policy

New York City just became the largest city in the US to ban natural gas hookups in new buildings, a step toward the city’s efforts to become carbon neutral by 2050... CEO Donnel Baird of BlocPower, a building energy startup based in New York that retrofits buildings with electric heat pumps to improve energy efficiency, supported the move arguing it would deliver modern, all-electric clean energy infrastructure, as well as thousands of jobs.

Quartz, 12/16/2021

CarbonCure Celebrates 500 Carbon Mineralization Systems, Two Million Truckloads of Sustainable Concrete

CarbonCure Technologies, a climate tech company that provides a suite of carbon dioxide removal technologies to the concrete industry, has announced a milestone, 500th system sold to one of its visionary concrete producer partners.

CarbonCure, 12/16/2021

ZeroAvia Raises Further $35 Million for Zero-Emission Flight Technology, Taking Total Raised to $115 Million

As the company moves closer to commercialization of its hydrogen-electric technology, ZeroAvia has secured a new raise of $35 million to help develop its 2–5MW zero-emission powertrain system for regional aviation. As announced today, United Airlines has invested in ZeroAvia through this round, and the agreement with United anticipates an order for 50 ZA2000-RJ engines, with an option for 50 more.

ZeroAvia, 12/13/2021

Full Harvest Rescues Lemons for New Danone Yogurt Line

Full Harvest(R), the first business-to-business online marketplace for surplus and imperfect produce, co-announced with Danone North America the launch of Two Good ‘Good Save’ yogurt made with Full Harvest Verified RescuedTM Meyer Lemons.

Full Harvest, 12/9/2021

bp takes first major step into electrification in the US by acquiring EV fleet charging provider AMPLY Power

bp today took its first major step into electrification in the US with the acquisition of AMPLY Power, an electric vehicle (EV) charging and energy management provider for fleets that operate trucks, transit and school buses, vans and light-duty vehicles.

bp, 12/7/2021

From pollutant to product: the companies making stuff from CO2

Vodka, jet fuel, protein… according to a new clutch of carbon-to-value startups, these are just some of the things that can be manufactured from thin air

The Guardian, 12/05/2021

To regrow forests, the U.S. needs billions of seeds—and many more ‘seed hunters’

Skilled collectors are becoming rarer, undermining the nation’s ambitious tree planting goals.

National Geographic, 12/02/2021

How close are we to guilt-free flying?

Gleaming airplanes have been returning to the empty blue skies above 30,000 feet in recent months, opening up travel possibilities as they skim the clouds on their way towards unfiltered sunshine. On board, safely behind face masks, many passengers have been shrugging off the old discomforts of plane travel in their excitement at being in the air again. Airline food has never tasted so good. And yet, something is leaving a bitter taste. The world is a changed place since we were last exploring it, and one of the main changes is the heightened concern we have for the damage we've been causing to it through activities such as flying.

CNN Travel, 11/24/2021

This U.S. city just voted to decarbonize every single building

Following a common council vote, Ithaca, N.Y., is set to be the first city in the country to electrify its buildings with the help of BlocPower.

The Washington Post, 11/3/2021

COP26 and Future of Climate Tech

Elemental Excelerator Founder & CEO Dawn Lippert talks to Emily Chang about what to expect from the COP26 climate discussion in Glasgow, how policy can influence tech startups trying to make an impact on climate change - for good or bad.

Bloomberg, 11/1/2021

What Funders Look For in Startups Tackling Food Waste

Elemental Excelerator is a global technology organization that backs startups addressing climate change. To date, it’s invested in over 115 growth-stage companies. Specific to addressing food waste, it has shelled out up to $500,000 to each of five companies thus far, with more to likely come in the future, says Mitch Rubin, director of Innovation, Elemental Excelerator.

Waste360, 11/1/2021

Straus Dairy Farm and Blue Ocean Barns Demonstrate a Dramatic Climate Change Solution in Dairy Farming

First U.S. Commercial Trial Using Red Seaweed (Asparagopsis Taxiformis) Successfully Reduces Enteric Methane Emissions From Cows, Proving Potential for Immediate Climate Impact

Business Wire, 10/27/2021

Alaska Airlines Backs ZeroAvia

Watch the newscast: Developing hydrogen-powered plane

KMGB / Hawaii News Now, 10/27/2021

With $24 million raised, Evrnu wants to scale circular fashion

The startup, which has partnered with Stella McCartney and Levi’s, is announcing a new round of funding that will go toward a demonstration facility.

Vogue Business, 10/27/2021

Are Green Jet Fuels Finally Ready for Takeoff?

A first commercial test flight shows how fuel made from plants, not petroleum, could make flying cleaner.

Wired, 10/27/2021

Alaska Air Group Collaborating with ZeroAvia to Develop Hydrogen Powertrain for 76-Seat Zero-Emission Aircraft

ZeroAvia is gaining altitude as the leader in zero-emission passenger aircraft as it announces a development collaboration with Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, for a hydrogen-electric powertrain capable of flying 76-seat regional aircraft in excess of 500 NM. Alaska is also joining the list of top investors for the company, alongside a fellow Seattle-based Amazon Climate Pledge Fund and Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Alaska Airlines Newsroom, 10/26/2021

At S.F.’s Anchor Brewing, the beer’s for drinking but the water’s for recycling

Anchor Brewing is San Francisco’s oldest operating brewery, producing its flagship steam beer since 1896. Now it’s making history in a new way. The brewery will soon operate the city’s largest commercial water reuse facility. Instead of dumping out water after rinsing fermentation tanks and cleaning bottling lines, Anchor will collect, treat and recycle much of what used to go down the drain. Anchor has contracted with Cambrian Innovation not only to build and install the reuse system but to operate it over the next 20 years.

San Francisco Chronicle, 10/22/2021

Jupiter Intelligence raises $54 million

Jupiter Intelligence, a climate risk analytics company, has raised a $54 million Series C round, co-led by ClearVision Ventures and MPower Partners.

Axios, 10/21/2021

This startup turns food waste into bioplastic that can break down in the ocean

Full Cycle Bioplastics makes PHA, a building block for plastics that can fully break down in your backyard compost bin or even in the ocean, no industrial compost facility required.

Fast Company, 10/19/2021

Twelve Produces First Batch of E-Jet® Fuel from Carbon Dioxide Through Partnership with the U.S. Air Force

Demonstrated for the first time, this electrochemical process enables a path to fossil-free commercial aviation fuel from CO2 from the air or industrial sources.

Business Wire, 10/19/2021

Xos Trucks Makes Eco-Friendly Delivery Vehicles

These eco-friendly trucks are making zero-emission deliveries possible.

NowThis, 9/30/21

DroneSeed’s $36M A round makes it a one-stop shop for post-wildfire reforestation

DroneSeed started as a tech-powered alternative to the backbreaking work of large-scale tree planting, but this important task is only one small part of forest restoration, the infrastructure for which is being pushed to the breaking point by wildfires. Armed with $36 million in new funding, the company is reimagining reforestation from root to crown in a modern and vertically integrated way, grafting carbon futures and AI to century-old machinery and logistics.

TechCrunch, 9/29/21

Made of Air, a maker of ‘carbon negative’ thermoplastics, locks in $5.8M

Berlin-based climate tech startup Made of Air has closed a €5 million (~$5.8 million) seed funding round, led by Norwegian sustainability-focused family fund, TD Veen.

TechCrunch, 10/4/21

Ceres Imaging Secures $23M in Series C Funding to Fuel Development of AI in Agriculture

Ceres Imaging, the precision farming provider that uses aerial imagery and data analytics to help growers improve their farming practices, today announced that it has raised $23 million in Series C funding with investments led by XTX Ventures and Romulus Capital, joined by Insight Partners and B37 Ventures.

Markets Insider, 9/29/21

Leap Secures $33.5 Million to Scale Its Next-Gen Energy Market Access Platform

Leap, the leading energy market access provider, today announced that it has secured a new capital raise totaling $33.5 million from a combination of equity and debt.

Business Wire, 10/13/21

The Urban Future Prize Competition awards three $50,000 prizes, sponsored by the New York Community Trust, Carrier, and MUFG

Shifted Energy wins prize in the Urban Future Prize Competition.

EurekAlert!, 9/15/21

CarbonCure Signs The Climate Pledge, Joining 200+ Total Signatories

Carbon XPRIZE-winning climate tech company becomes a signatory of The Climate Pledge one year after its announcement as a Pledge Fund portfolio company.

Carbon Cure, 9/20/21

Farm Link Hawaii names new CEO amid year of positive growth

Farm Link Hawaii names Claire Sullivan as new CEO amid year of positive growth. Rob Barreca, the founder and former CEO of Farm Link Hawaii, will adopt a new role as chief technology officer.

Pacific Business News, 9/29/21

Megan Glover, CEO of 120Water, named to Inc’s Female Founders 100 list

For helping consumers know what's in their drinking water.

Inc., 9/20/21

From fake meat to cow burps: 5 ways to use seaweed to tackle climate change

There are various dietary changes that dairy and beef farmers can make to lower methane from their livestock. One of the most promising is a seaweed called asparagopsis, which is grown in either the ocean or in tanks on land, freeze-dried and sprinkled onto cattle feed. Scientific trials have shown it to consistently reduce cattle methane by a whopping 80 percent or more.

TED Ideas, 9/17/21

Hip-hop artist helps bring free grocery store to his former middle school

Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Gunna partners with Goodr to open a free grocery store inside Ronald E. McNair Middle School. The store, named Gunna’s Drip Closet and Goodr Grocery Store, features not only food but also clothing, toiletries and household supplies, all available to the school's families for free.

Good Morning America, 9/23/21

Emerson Collective Backs New Climate Technology Fund

Elemental Excelerator is spinning out a new venture capital fund, Earthshot Ventures, to support entrepreneurs tackling climate change. With backing from the Emerson Collective, John Doerr, Tom Steyer, and Microsoft, Earthshot Ventures Founder Dawn Lippert speaks with Emily Chang about the new fund and its top priorities.

Bloomberg, 9/8/21

Climate tech accelerator Elemental starts early-stage Earthshot venture fund

Underscoring the climate tech funding frenzy, well-known accelerator Elemental Excelerator — which has evaluated more than 5,000 startups and ventures developing technologies to address climate change — is spinning out a $60 million early-stage fund.

GreenBiz, 9/9/21

Tom Steyer launches new investment fund with a focus on climate justice

Steyer cites ​“movement capitalism” as philosophy behind Galvanize Climate Solutions. He’s also backing new socially conscious fund Earthshot Ventures.

Canary Media, 9/9/21

RatedPower raises $6M in series A funding to become the SaaS suite of renewables

Seaya Ventures leads the round of $6 M with participation of US investors. The funding will be used to drive international growth and expansion in key solar markets, expedite product development, and deliver a seamless customer experience.

RatedPower, 10/13/2021

Massachusetts Electric School Bus Helps Power Electricity Grid in Breakthrough for Vehicle-to-Grid Technology

Thomas Built electric school bus powered by Proterra successfully delivered electricity back to the grid for more than 50 hours this summer in Beverly, Massachusetts

GlobeNewswire, 10/13/2021

What seaweed and cow burps have to do with climate change

Scientists have long known that cows are a huge source of the greenhouse gas methane, contributing up to four percent of emissions globally. But could there be a way to make cattle less -- ahem -- gassy? Animal scientist Ermias Kebreab talks through an ingenious solution to reduce methane-rich cow burps by feeding cattle something growing below the surface of the ocean: seaweed.

TED, 10/01/2022

Kevala raises $21M to improve tools for managing energy grid infrastructure

Kevala, the startup that collects and analyzes energy grid infrastructure data for utility companies, renewable energy providers, EV charging companies, regulators and other energy industry stakeholders, has raised $21 million in a Series A round.

TechCrunch, August 31, 2021

Resale Stays Hot as Platform Powering Lululemon Valued Over $200 Million

Trove raises $77.5M, valuing the company over $200M!

Bloombers, August 25, 2021

Heliogen And Bloom Energy Agreement Signals The Start Of The Hydrogen Age

Heliogen and Bloom Energy (BE) announced a partnership to produce “green hydrogen” – a powerful industrial energy source – using only concentrated solar power and water.

Forbes, Jul 22, 2021

FREDsense Technologies Raises $2.5M from BDC Capital to Accelerate Their Biologically Based Water Quality Sensors.

FREDsense raises $2.5M from BDC Capital to accelerate their biologically based water quality sensors!

Business Wire, July 07, 2021

Concentrated Solar Power Firm Heliogen to Go Public in $2 Billion SPAC Merger

Heliogen to go public in $2B SPAC merger with Athena Technology, one of the few SPACs led by women!

The Wall Street Journal, July 6, 2021

ZeroAvia Expands its Hydrogen-Electric Aviation Program to 19-Seat Aircraft and Raises Additional $13 Million in Funding for Large Engine Development

ZeroAvia raises $13M to build hydrogen-electric powertrains for a 50+ seat zero-carbon aircraft

Cision PR Newswire, Jun 29, 2021

Carbon negative material company wins Circularity Accelerate contest

Made of Air, which makes a carbon-negative plastic alternative, wins GreenBiz Group’s Circularity 21 pitch competition

GreenBiz, June 24, 2021

Blue Ocean Barns Closes Funding Round for Production of Methane-Cutting Seaweed

Blue Ocean Barns, a Redwood City, CA-based producer of a cattle supplement which significantly reduces the animal’s methane emissions, raised $5M in Seed funding from Valor Siren Ventures.

Yahoo Finance, June 10, 2021

Naspers co-leads $14.5M extension round in mobility startup WhereIsMyTransport

WhereIsMyTransport secures $14.5M to help commuters plan transport across formal and informal public transit systems

TechCrunch, June 7, 2021

The Work To Convert Hawaii’s Cesspools Continues

WAI is collaborating with Elemental Excelerator to introduce innovative technology and financing models to Hawaii. One of Elemental’s new cohort companies is Cambrian, whose small-scale modular treatment systems are designed for approximately 30 to 300 households. Cambrian has created a Water Energy Purchase Agreement that allows the company to build these systems with a service agreement instead of large upfront capital costs.

Honolulu Civil Beat, June 6, 2021

Business booms at climate risk start-up as threat from extreme weather grows

Rich Sorkin, CEO of Jupiter Intelligence, featured in a Wall Street Journal story about the recent disaster in Texas, and how companies must reassess their risks in the face of climate change.

The Washington Post, May 27, 2021

Thrilling, A Black- & Asian-Owned Secondhand Marketplace, Raises $8.5M In Series A Funding

Thrilling, a Black- & Asian-owned secondhand marketplace, has announced that they’ve raised $8.5 million in a recent Series A funding round.

AfroTech, May 5, 2021

CarbonCure Wins Carbon XPRIZEGeothermal technology has enormous potential to power the planet and Fervo wants to tap it

Fervo Energy raises $28M Series B and announces agreement with Google to develop a next-generation geothermal power project, which will provide an "always-on" carbon-free resource that can reduce hourly reliance on fossil fuels!

TechCrunch, April 30, 2021

Economic recovery meets climate change head-on

Economic recovery collided with climate change this Earth Day. Dawn Lippert wrote about what that means for Hawaii in the Star Advertiser.

Star Advertiser, April 18, 2021

How to build an equitable electric vehicle infrastructure

Entrepreneurs from three of Elemental’s portfolio companies — KIGT, ChargerHelp, and Amply — provide high-level insights and on-the-ground experience about meeting the needs of frontline communities that have been too often been boxed out of the push to electrify transportation.

Canary Media, April 8, 2021

ChargerHelp raises $2.75M to keep EV chargers working

Demand for ChargerHelp’s service has attracted customers and investors. The company said it has raised $2.75 million from investors Trucks VC, Kapor Capital, JFF, Energy Impact Partners and The Fund. This round values the startup, which was founded in January 2020, at $11 million post-money.

TechCrunch, March 29, 2021

The 10 most innovative companies in robotics

DroneSeed, not to be outdone, was also honored by Fast Company as the most innovative robotics company, for its work replanting fire-ravaged forests

Fast Company, March 9, 2021

The 10 most innovative energy companies of 2021

SparkMeter named the world’s most innovative energy company by Fast Company for bringing smart grids to off-the-grid

Fast Company, March 9, 2021

Remix acquired by Via for $100 million

Remix, the startup that developed mapping software used by cities for transportation planning and street design, was born out of a hackathon during a Code for America fellowship. Nearly seven years later, the San Francisco-based startup is being acquired by Via for $100 million in cash and equity.

TechCrunch, March 9, 2021

Climate tech startup BlocPower raises $63M Series A

BlocPower (Cohort 7) raised $63 million in equity and debt financing to support its mission to identify and develop building upgrades to become more energy efficient, all while supporting high-paying jobs for workers in the communities the company hopes to serve.

Venture Capital Journal, February 22, 2021

Electric Truck Maker Xos to Go Public via $2 Billion SPAC Deal

Xos Trucks (Cohort 9) becomes our second electric vehicle portfolio company to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), just weeks after electric bus maker Proterra announced its own deal.

Bloomberg, February 22, 2021

Fashion Trends Are Often Recycled. Now More Clothing Can Be, Too

Evrnu (Cohort 9), which develops technology to break fibers down to their basic chemical components and recycle them, is one of the startups working to improve sustainability and interrupt the path to the landfill.

The New York Time, January 26, 2021

Electric Busmaker Proterra Going Public In $1.6 Billion SPAC Deal

Proterra (Cohort 7), maker of electric buses, drivetrains, batteries and charging systems for the growing heavy-duty electric transport market, agreed to go public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company ArcLight Clean Transition Corp.

Forbes, January 12, 2021

Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos just invested millions in aeroplane start-up, ZeroAvia

ZeroAvia secured $38M in funding from Amazon, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the UK government, and others, and has 10 airlines lined up for their hydrogen fuel cell airplane.

Yahoo Finance, December 16,2020

OhmConnect Raises Infrastructure Funding for 550MW ‘Power Plant’ of Home Demand Flexibility

OhmConnect raised $100M to build the world's largest virtual power plant.

GreenTechMedia, December 7, 2020

Behind-the-Meter Battery Pioneer Stem to Take SPAC Route to Public Markets

Stem (portfolio company since 2013) joined the SPAC momentum with a $1.35B deal.

GreenTechMedia, December 4, 2020

Winners of the 2020 UN Global Climate Action Awards Announced

The recipients of the 2020 United Nations Global Climate Action Awards were announced today, shining a light on some of the best examples of what people across the globe are doing to combat climate change in a year that has cast darkness upon so many.

UN Climate Press, October 27, 2020

HDOT NEWS RELEASE: CONNECTED VEHICLE SENSORS INSTALLED IN EAST HAWAII

The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) is pleased to announce the installation of Blyncsy Intersect Connected Vehicle units on the 16 state-owned traffic signals in East Hawaii in cooperation with Elemental Excelerator. These connected vehicle sensors calculate travel times between units by anonymously collecting data from Bluetooth-enabled devices in passing vehicles. HDOT and the County of Hawaii will use data from the units to optimize traffic signal timing.

HDOT, October 28, 2020

Dawn Lippert of Elemental Excelerator

Today on Point 01, Aaron Cohen sits down with Dawn Lippert, CEO of Elemental Excelerator. Elemental Excelerator is a non-profit startup organization in collaboration with Emerson Collective, the investment, and philanthropic platform.

Point 01, October 29, 2020

Microvi expands reach to areas hit hardest with nitrate pollution in Central Valley of California

Microvi, in partnership with the City of Modesto Elemental Excelerator, will install a Microvi MNE nitrate treatment system in Modesto, California. Scheduled for operation in late fall, the project will demonstrate Microvi's innovative biological system's ability to treat nitrate contamination in a cost-effective manner producing no additional waste and with minimal operator intervention.

Smart Water Magazine, October 21, 2020

Elemental Excelerator Wins United Nations Global Climate Action Award

Elemental Excelerator was received global recognition from the United Nations Global Climate Action Awards this week. Lippert and Elemental Excelerator were recognized in the “Women for Results” category for being the first organization to apply a technology accelerator model to address climate change by investing in startups with the potential to decarbonize economies.

Pacific Business News, October 30, 2020

Agents of Impact on transition tailwinds for climate action, racial justice and local economic revival

The policy plans of President-elect Biden suggest the new administration could accelerate adoption of impact investing.

ImpactAlpha, November 9, 2020

The climate technologies venture capitalists are backing

The world needs to invest about $3.5 trillion per year to keep global average temperatures from rising to dangerous levels, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. So far, we’re not even close.

Quartz, November 8, 2020

How to finance a climate tech startup

If entrepreneurs were mountaineers, starting a climate tech company would be like traversing the Himalayas. Beyond almost every peak lies another summit, and between them financial valleys of death.

Quartz, November 8, 2020

Why investors are betting on Silicon Valley’s second climate boom

“Entrepreneurs want to do something meaningful with their lives,” says Dawn Lippert, CEO of Elemental Excelerator, a nonprot investing in commercializing climate-related startups. She has noticed that new startups now arrive with more than an engineer and some early R&D. They’re bringing years of expertise in marketing, partnerships, and scaling up huge companies.

Quartz, November 8, 2020

Elemental Excelerator’s 9th cohort adds 3 water startups to its portfolio

Elemental Excelerator’s milestone 9th cohort adds 3 all-star water startups to the the global climate-tech accelerator's 117 company lineup.

Water World, Nov 12, 2020

Elemental Excelerator helping support global climate tech start-ups

Danya Hakeem, from Elemental Excelerator, stops by Sunrise to talk about their efforts to support climate tech start-ups like the Hawaii Ulu Cooperative.

Hawaii News Now, October 5, 2020

Elemental Excelerator welcomes ninth cohort

Elemental Excelerator chose 19 companies to lead its ninth cohort — growing the environmental accelerator's portfolio to 117 companies.

Pacific Business News, October 5, 2020

AMPLY Power, Inc. Partners with Anaheim Transportation Network

Anaheim's New All-Electric Bus Depot to Gain an Estimated $4.8 Million in Fuel Savings with 20-Year Fleet Charge Management Services from AMPLY Power​.

Amply Power, September 20, 2020

Real-time information helps riders with OCTA bus capacity

Swiftly, Inc. partners with Orange County Transportation Authority public transit system to provide arrival predictions & real-time crowding insights to help improve rider experience and enhance safety.

Mass Transit, Aug 28th, 2020

Amazon, Breakthrough Lead CarbonCure Round

CarbonCure Technologies, has raised a fresh round of funding led by Amazon and Breakthrough Energy Ventures. CarbonCure CEO, Robert Niven, believes it’s the biggest cleantech financing round in Canada this year.

Entrevestor.com, September 17, 2020

IN PREPARATION FOR FLIGHT TRIALS AMPAIRE FLIES SECOND HYBRID-ELECTRIC PROTOTYPE

Ampaire flies second hybrid-electric prototype. Ampaire's success could play a key role in helping a heavily visited state like Hawai‘i reach its ambitious renewable energy goals and meet its unique transit needs.

Fifty Sky Shades, September 14, 2020

The Doers: 25 trailblazers creating hope and inspiring us

Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao, founders of BioCellection, who made it on to Insider's list of Doers: trail blazers creating hope!

Insider, Aug 21, 2020

OhmConnect Paid Users Over $300,000 to Respond to CAISO’s Flex Alert in California

When grid operator, CAISO, released a statewide emergency after California's heatwave, OhmConnect pitched in by incentivizing decreased home energy usage. In just one day, OhmConnect awarded over $300,000 to its active users!

Cision PR Newswire, Aug 19, 2020

Curb Management Pilots to Launch in Several U.S. Cities

“The curb conversation is really a dive into one of the most contentious conversations that cities, urban cities, have,” said Danielle Harris, director of mobility innovation at Elemental Excelerator, a nonprofit focused on growing technology projects that address climate change.

Government Technology | July 10, 2020

How tree-planting startup Propagate Ventures monetizes land conservation

Propagate Ventures, part of the 8th cohort at Elemental Excelerator, recently raised $1.5 million in seed funding from the Grantham Environmental Trust to focus on helping agricultural operations figure out how to profit from planting trees.

GreenBiz | July 9, 2020

Meet the rising stars who are taking on the $1.9 trillion energy industry and cleaning up the electrical grid

The global energy industry is in the middle of an epic transition, away from fossil fuels and towards clean sources of energy.

Business Insider | June 30, 2020

BlackRock Leads $50M Investment Into Off-Grid Solar Technology That Generates Water

Zero Mass Water creates boxy solar panels that generate flows of pure, potable water instead of electrons. It offers access to safe water for homes or businesses in arid parts of the world or places with unsafe tap water.

Green Tech Media | June 19, 2020

Propagate Ventures raises $1.5m seed round to help farmers adopt agroforestry

Propagate Ventures, a portfolio company of Elemental Excelerator, makes it easy for investors to back low-risk agroforestry projects while simultaneously helping farmers boost their farms’ ecosystem services and profits.

AgFunder Network | May 29, 2020

Introducing A New Vision For Hawaii At This Critical Time

A coalition called Uplift Hawaii is working toward a more resilient and equitable community for everyone.

Civil Beat | May 27, 2020

Span Raises $10M to Scale Up Deployments of Smart Electrical Panels

Span.IO, the San Francisco-based startup that makes a smart home electrical panel that can track and control behind-the-meter batteries, rooftop solar inverters, EV chargers and other key household loads via smartphone, has landed a $10.2 million Series A round to scale up deployment in key markets, including wildfire-prone California.

Green Tech Media | May 12, 2020

Electric charging gets more juice as Soros Fund Management makes a bet on Amply Power

Elemental Excelerator's portfolio company AMPLY is the preferred partner of BYD and a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Company, Pacific Current. The Los Angeles-based electric charging startup received a financial investment from Soros Fund Management.

TechCrunch | April 28, 2020

This is climate tech

The stunning array of technologies emerging to decarbonize the world and make it more habitable for flora, fauna and humans goes far beyond cleantech 2.0.

GreenBiz | April 22, 2020

Elemental Excelerator seeks startups for 9th climate-tech focused cohort

Elemental focuses on funding project deployments that have the potential to address challenges in the program’s key geographic areas.

AgFunder Network | March 24, 2020

My Climate Journey: Dawn Lippert, CEO of Elemental Excelerator

In this podcast for those seeking to better understand climate change and how to help, Dawn Lippert talks about the areas Elemental has invested in and the multifaceted ways it supports its portfolio companies.

My Climate Journey | March 23, 2020

Entrepreneurs must focus on serving frontline populations

Startups must pursue a strategy of equity and inclusion, not only to avert a climate disaster, but also to grow their businesses, realize the positive impact they envision and ensure all communities have clean and affordable food, water, transportation and energy.

Smart Cities Dive | March 3, 2020

The Conversation: Hong Kong Economy Drops in Wake of COVID-19

Elemental Excelerator, the nonprofit startup accelerator, is looking for its next set of companies to help combat climate changes. Over the past decade, the nonprofit has funded $36 million to 99 startups.

Hawaii Public Radio | February 25, 2020

6 experts predict the most disruptive tech of 2020

Leaders at CES last week weighed in on the most disruptive tech and trends to come, and how to best prepare for the associated risks.

Smart Cities Dive | January 13, 2020

Meet the Tyrion Lannister of smart city innovation

Danielle Harris equates building smart cities to "Game of Thrones": challenges like climate change and single-occupancy vehicles are the White Walkers, and "everybody's into their own fiefdom.

Smart Cities Dive | January 13, 2020

Zero Mass Water has a new rooftop well that pulls water out of the air

Zero Mass Water’s focus is on providing off-grid, independent access to perfect drinking water for every person in every place, empowering people to create their own drinking water in a sustainable and low-cost way.

VentureBeat | January 6, 2020

Detecting Wastewater Leakages With The Internet Of Things

Technological advances offer another way to tackle the problem, an opportunity that has been embraced by Kando, a company recently selected as one of Elemental Excelerator’s new startups.

Forbes | November 27, 2019

Are flying cars close? Leaders say yes, but doubts linger

Some of the largest cities in the U.S. and internationally may soon find themselves as major testing grounds for the vehicles, even as issues around regulation, safety, technology and equity continue to swirl.

Smart Cities Dive | November 25, 2019

How does AI improve grid performance? No one fully understands and that’s limiting its use

AI is a form of computer science that would make power system management fully autonomous in real time, researchers and private sector providers of power system services told Utility Dive.

Utility Dive | November 14, 2019

In the ‘cat and mouse game’ of utility cyberattacks, AI and machine learning show promise, limits

There is so much low hanging fruit in utility system challenges that can be addressed by advanced data analytic strategies that AI and machine learning are not the place to start

Utility Dive | November 7, 2019

How David and Goliath Can Team Up on Climate Innovation

Matt Logan from Elemental Excelerator weighs in on how corporates and startups can find opportunities working together that create better outcomes for everyone involved.

GreenBiz | November 6, 2019

The Many Ways Local Companies Give Back

Local companies practice philanthropy in expansive ways. The impact these activities have can outweigh what the businesses are able to donate. In this piece, Hawai‘i’s leaders shed light on what giving back looks like beyond the donation check.

Hawaii Business Magazine | November 4, 2019

Blue Ocean Barns Seaweed Supplement Makes Cows Burp Less, Cuts Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Blue Ocean Barns has a seaweed supplement that reduces methane emissions from cows. A climate tech booster called Elemental Excelerator recently fed the effort, which means more cows will be eating the supplement and burping out fewer methane emissions.

Forbes | November 4, 2019

Smart Devices Offered to Help HECO Manage EV Charging

Hawaiian Electric Co. is partnering with Elemental Excelerator and Enel X to study how electric vehicle charging during different times of the day affect the power grid.

Star Advertiser | October 15, 2019

5 Startups Unlocking the Mobility Revolution

With the transportation sector accounting for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States (at nearly 29 percent), Elemental Excelerator is focused on technologies that can help communities ditch the internal-combustion engine habit.

GreenBiz | October 15, 2019

Jupiter Announces Partnership With Hawaiian Electric Companies

Jupiter to provide climate-related risk analytics for infrastructure in new collaboration supported by Elemental Excelerator.

GlobeNewswire | October 15, 2019

Climate Change-Minded Tech Accelerator is Funding Innovation Across the Food Value Chain

Elemental Excelerator selects five companies whose technologies solve some of agriculture’s greatest needs for their 8 Cohort.

AgFunder Network | October 10, 2019

Saving Discarded Food to Fight Hunger

Every year, an estimated 72 billion pounds of edible food ends up in landfills – and Goodr wants to rescue as much of it as it can to feed people who need it.

Hawaii Business Magazine | Oct 3, 2019

Jupiter Intelligence Shows Companies How Climate Change Will Impact Them

Jupiter Intelligence uses human and artificial intelligence to help companies look into the future and see the potential impact of climate change on their businesses.

Hawaii Business Magazine | Oct 2, 2019

Amply Makes It Easier for Fleets to Convert to Electric Vehicles

Amply, part of Elemental Excelerator’s latest cohort, aims to remove one of the biggest challenges that fleet operators face when switching to electric-powered vehicles: fleet charging.

Hawaii Business Magazine | Oct 2, 2019

Order Food Direct from O‘ahu Farmers

Farm Link Hawai‘i, a new company in Elemental Excelerator's 8th cohort, lets stores, restaurants and consumers connect to farmers on O‘ahu, order food and then have it delivered.

Hawaii Business Magazine | Oct 1, 2019

Blue Ocean Barns Fights Climate Change with Seaweed

Cattle are a major source of methane, but Blue Ocean Barns says its seaweed-based feed additive for cows will reduce their formation and emission of that powerful greenhouse gas.

Hawaii Business Magazine | Oct 1, 2019

Elemental Excelerator Announces Its Latest Cohort

Elemental Excelerator, a global clean technology accelerator based in downtown Honolulu, today announced $6 million in funding for the 17 startups that comprise its latest cohort.

Hawaii Business Magazine | Sep 30, 2019

Remix’s Equity & Access Work Gets a New Partner: Elemental Excelerator!

Remix is chosen alongside four other mobility startups to join Elemental's 8th cohort. As part of Elemental Excelerator, Remix will work directly with cities across the States of California and Hawaii to develop “the Title VI” for street infrastructure.

Remix | September 30, 2019

Smart Charge Hawaii Partnership Seeks to Expand State’s EV Infrastructure

The Smart Charge Hawaii smart EV charging program, a partnership between Hawaiian Electric Cos., Enel X and Elemental Excelerator, is aiming to simplify EV charging across the Islands.

Pacific Business News | Sep 26, 2019

Op-ed: Hawaii’s Innovation Economy Goes Far Beyond R&D

Elemental CEO, Dawn Lippert, talks about how dozens of Hawaii entrepreneurs are taking new ideas and building businesses from the ground up.

Pacific Business News | Sep 13, 2019

Greening the Concrete Jungle

Using innovative technology from CarbonCure, Hawai‘i is introducing a new form of concrete that reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Hawaii Business Magazine | Sep 9, 2019

Urban Air Mobility Already Has 200 eVTOL Designs

In the short space of 3 years, companies like Ampaire have pushed boundaries with their Electric VTOL tech.

Clean Technica | Sep 7, 2019

Elemental Excelerator Launches STEM Opportunity Tracker

Connecting tech industry leaders with STEM opportunities just became easier through Elemental Excelerator's new Root and STEM dashboard.

Pacific Business News | Aug 29, 2019

Artificial Intelligence Pushes ‘Commoditized’ Wind and Solar Power Into the Money

Elemental Excelerator, amongst other accelerators and VC firms, drives investment into digital clean energy innovations.

Greentech Media | Aug 29, 2019

Conversations With Female Immigrant Founders: Overcoming Adversity Through Authenticity

Fatemeh Shirazi, CEO of Microvi, speaks about her journey as an immigrant founder.

Crunchbase News | August 28, 2019

How ‘Green’ Concrete Can Help Cities Fight Climate Change

"Green" or carbon dioxide (CO2) mineralized concrete has received support from the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and private companies for its use in public projects as part of the national response to climate change.

Smart Cities Dive | Aug. 15, 2019

Elemental Excelerator Receives $450,000 Grant

Out of a pool of 759 applicants, Elemental Excelerator was chosen as one of 19 organizations nationally for its work in breaking down barriers for entrepreneurs.

Pacific Business News | Aug 2, 2019

Hawaii a Proving Ground for ‘Extremely Thorny’ Electric Aviation Challenge

Electric aviation startup Ampaire plans to demonstrate a retrofitted hybrid-electric plane on a commercial route on the Hawaiian island of Maui later this year, in partnership with Mokulele Airlines and with backing from Elemental Excelerator.

Greentech Media | July 29, 2019

Hawaii to Combat Climate Change with Carbon-Injected Concrete

The Hawaii Department of Transportation (DOT) plans to use carbon-injected concrete from Canadian startup, CarbonCure, in all construction as part of its climate change solution.

Smart Cities Dive | July 8, 2019

U.S. lawmakers take a concrete step to battle emissions

Companies have been experimenting with lower-carbon concrete - but now some, such as CarbonCure Technologies, are starting to make headway with public buyers. Officials in Hawaii plan to lock planet-warming carbon dioxide up in the concrete they use for road construction.

Reuters | July 2, 2019

Microvi Awarded as Technology Pioneer by World Economic Forum

Microvi was selected for its contributions in the field of advanced biotechnology solutions for safe water/wastewater treatment as well as the production of sustainable renewable chemicals for a wide range of industries.

Microvi | July 1, 2019

The Green New Deal wants farmers to restore the land, not keep wrecking it

The sweeping framework—and surprisingly, Silicon Valley tech—could help soil-repairing practices like regenerative agriculture take off.

Fast Company | June 28, 2019

The Green New Deal wants farmers to restore the land, not keep wrecking it

If you were looking for one person to embody the Green New Deal’s attempt to link family farms, soil health, and food systems, it could easily be Christine Su. Her company, PastureMap, could help soil-repairing practices like regenerative agriculture take off.

Fast Company | June 28, 2019

To Clean Drinking Water, Just Add Microbes

A new approach to water treatment could be cheaper, produce less waste and possibly help fix nitrate pollution in California

Scientific American | June 27, 2019

To Clean Drinking Water, Just Add Microbes

Microvi's new approach to water treatment could be cheaper, produce less waste and possibly help fix nitrate pollution in California

Scientific American | June 27, 2019

Two Elemental Excelerator Companies Acquired

Two of Elemental Excelerator's portfolio companies — Scoot and Go Electric — were acquired recently.

Pacific Business News | June 21, 2019

Saft Acquisition Gives Go Electric Resources to Chase Commercial Microgrid Market

Battery maker Saft and its owner, Total, are expanding their position in the grid edge market.

Greentech Media | June 20, 2019

Bird buys Scoot — and a back door into San Francisco’s rental scooter market

Part of Scoot’s value to Bird comes in the form of both its long and amicable relationship with San Francisco regulators and its ability to operate in the city.

Los Angeles Times | June 12, 2019

How Patagonia, REI And Eileen Fisher Are Using Secondhand Sales To Get More New Customers

The market for secondhand fashion is growing by leaps and bounds, but brands are losing sales and the long-term relationships with customers by not claiming their place in the resale market. Yerdle offers brands a way to stand behind their quality through a white-label resale platform.

Forbes | June 10, 2019

Swiftly Raises $10 Million Series A to Power Real-time Transit Data in Your City

Swiftly will grow its software-as-a-service business for cities’ transportation agencies. lt works by helping cities manage their transit systems and identify points in the schedule or route that negatively impact service efficiency and reliability.

TechCrunch | June 7, 2019

Hybrid plane makes inaugural flight in California with plans to test future flight on Maui

Ampaire was one of the 20 cohorts selected last year by Elemental Excelerator, a Honolulu startup that funds companies that fit its mission of improving lives through innovative solutions. Each cohort is awarded up to $1 million.

Star Advertiser | June 6, 2019

Hybrid plane makes inaugural flight in California with plans to test future flight on Maui

Ampaire, a Los Angeles-based startup that has partnered with Mokulele Airlines to launch a hybrid electric plane, marked a milestone with its first test flight of a retrofitted Cessna 337 Skymaster in southern California.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser | June 6, 2019

Carbon Lighthouse Raises $32.6M to Expand Sensor and Software-Driven Building Efficiency

Startup with software-driven efficiency optimization, flat fees and performance guarantees, wins investment including $20 million from Cox Enterprises.

Greentech Media | June 4, 2019

Behavior Change Case Study: Elemental Excelerator – The Equity & Access Program

Elemental is funded by the U.S. Navy and a diverse coalition of utility partners, corporate partners, the U.S. Department of Energy, state government, and philanthropic organizations.

Meeting of the Minds | May 29, 2019

Behavior Change Case Study: Elemental Excelerator – The Equity & Access Program

Elemental Excelerator's model is reflective of the fact that the organization’s founding roots were laid upon a set of islands, and was designed to help people on those islands reach their fullest potential.

Meeting of the Minds | May 29, 2019

Resideo Acquires Responsive Energy Efficiency Technology, Expands Smart-Home Comfort Offering

Whisker Labs' technology creates a thermodynamic model of a home to accurately predict home heating and air conditioning run time and energy use to enable a homeowner to use less energy while maintaining comfort.

PR Newswire | May 21, 2019

Hawaii tests injecting concrete with carbon dioxide

The carbon-injected concrete used in the testing is produced by Island Ready-Mix Concrete using waste carbon dioxide from Hawaii Gas. The carbon dioxide is mixed into the concrete using CarbonCure technology.

The Construction Index | May 20, 2019

Predicting the Next Power Disaster

VIA uses data from power company equipment inspections, smart meters and environmental factors to figure out if transformers are at risk of disaster

Axios | May 10, 2019

Mokulele Airlines Partners to Launch Test of Hybrid Planes,

From Kahului Airport, it takes at least two hours to drive the notorious twists and turns of Hana Highway to get to Hana Airport. On a plane, it takes about 20 minutes.

Star Advertiser | April 28, 2019

Accelerators are helping nonprofits fast-track green tech

Businesses supported by Elemental Excelerator range from Ampaire, a creator of electric-powered aircraft; to TerViva, which has commercialized a tree crop; to BioCellection, developer of a technique that breaks plastic waste into simple chemicals that can be easily reused.

GreenBiz | April 24, 2019

Microvi Wins Breakthrough Technology Company of the Year at Global Water Awards in London

The awards recognize the most important achievements in the international water industry, and reward those initiatives that are moving the industry forward through improved operating performance, innovative technology adoption and sustainable financial models.

PR Newswire | April 23, 2019

Kevin de León Wants Cleantech to Focus More on Equity and Access

The architect of California’s clean energy legislation has joined Elemental Excelerator to help startups tailor their products to disadvantaged communities.

Greentech Media | April 8, 2019

Kevin de León Wants Cleantech to Focus More on Equity and Access

The architect of California’s clean energy legislation has joined Elemental Excelerator to help startups tailor their products to disadvantaged communities.

Green Tech Media | April 8, 2019

Tech Accelerators Help Nonprofits Fast-Track Technology Aimed at Solving Environmental Challenges

Innovative partnerships — such as the one between Elemental Excelerator and Conservation International — provide the coaching, capital and connections needed to turn bright ideas into sustainable solutions

Ensia | April 4, 2019

TECH ACCELERATORS HELP NONPROFITS FAST-TRACK TECHNOLOGY AIMED AT SOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

Zero Mass Water got into the accelerator program last year and has received coaching and funding from Elemental Excelerator to help it expand into Australia.

Ensia | April 4, 2019

Beyond Hotels And Beaches: Can Hawaii Really Diversify Its Economy?

How Elemental Excelerator and companies like Carbon Lighthouse are growing Hawaii’s energy innovation sector.

Civil Beat | April 2, 2019

Elemental Excelerator Welcomes Kevin de León, California State Senate President pro Tempore Emeritus, as Strategic Advisor and Chair of California Community Council

de León's expertise in California-based policy will support Elemental's work driving markets for environment and infrastructure innovations in California's disadvantaged communities

PR Newswire | April 2, 2019

Beyond Hotels And Beaches: Can Hawaii Really Diversify Its Economy?

Hawaii’s economy is thoroughly dominated by tourism. But alternative energy and research-and-development offers some of the best chances for creating new, higher paying jobs.

Honolulu Civil Beat | April 2, 2019

Elemental Excelerator Welcomes Kevin de León, California State Senate President pro Tempore Emeritus, as Strategic Advisor and Chair of California Community Council

Kevin de León's expertise in California-based policy will support Elemental's work driving markets for environment and infrastructure innovations in California's disadvantaged communities

Cision PR Newswire | April 2, 2019

Resideo Acquires Buoy Labs, Adding Innovative Water Usage And Leak Prevention To Smart Home Portfolio

Buoy produces an innovative Wi-Fi enabled solution that tracks the amount of water used in a home, integrating smart software and hardware that can identify potential leaks and intervene to prevent them through its subscription-based app services.

PR Newswire | March 28, 2019

Proterra CEO talks about role of electric buses in energy transition

Electric buses are having a moment as falling battery costs make them increasingly competitive with diesel vehicles, and local and state clean air policies help drive deployment.

Axios | March 27, 2019

2019 New Energy Pioneers Unveiled at BNEF Summit in New York City

Game-changing companies from around the world — including Sunfolding, CarbonCure, and Zero Mass Water — recognized for their leadership in transformative technologies.

Bloomberg NEF | March 26, 2019

TerViva, A Company Growing Protein On Trees, Raises $20m Series D

The pongamia tree is a protein powerhouse that far outclasses the globally dominant soybean: its yields can offer as much as 10 times the beans per acre as soy, according to TerViva, which closed funding today.

AgFunder | March 26, 2019

Carbon Lighthouse and Hawaiian Airlines Co-Pilot Clean Energy Project in Honolulu

Carbon Lighthouse, a clean energy company dedicated to stopping climate change, and Hawaiian Airlines, the world's premium leisure destination carrier, announced a partnership focused on turning energy waste into guaranteed financial returns.

Markets Insider | March 25, 2019

Mokulele ready to test hybrid aircraft between Kahului, Hana

Ampaire started in 2016 with a focus on retrofitting aircraft to fly on electric power, a less expensive alternative to building them from scratch. The company’s research on Maui will be funded by Elemental Excelerator, a Hawaii nonprofit that supports startups with innovative ideas in energy, water, food and agriculture and mobility.

Maui News | March 17, 2019

Kunoa announces expansion to operations, executive team

With plans to double its herd from the current size of 2,000 cattle, Kunoa Cattle Company has added 1,700 acres of land to its Kauai ranch.

Pacific Business News | March 13, 2019

Exemplars Of Excellence

Dawn Lippert, Emily Reber Porter, and Ann Teranishi have been selected as Girl Scouts of Hawai‘i’s 2019 Women of Distinction — serving as role models for a fresh generation of young women across the state.

MidWeek | March 13, 2019

Grist 50: Elemental Excelerator’s CEO Dawn Lippert Finds Funds for Sustainable Startups

Every year, Grist scours the sustainability space to find up-and-coming people doing potentially game-changing work.

Grist | March 12, 2019

25 badass women shaking up the corporate climate movement

Elemental Excelerator CEO Dawn Lippert included in this list of 25 women mustering corporate action against climate change.

GreenBiz | March 8, 2019

25 badass women shaking up the corporate climate movement

The 25 badass women at the center of the corporate climate movement make persuasive role models for any generation. Dawn Lippert, the CEO of Elemental Excelerator, is listed.

GreenBiz | March 8, 2019

Elemental Excelerator Provides Up to $1m to Startups Tackling Our Biggest Agriculture Challenges

Elemental seeks growth-stage startups that improve food resiliency, slow emissions associated with the agricultural sector, and reduce global constraints on natural resources.

AgFunder | February 27, 2019

Blue Pillar Enables an ‘Energy-Smart University’ Network in Hawaii

Energy data from substations and solar panels to building automation and submeters, all in a vendor-agnostic package.

Greentech Media | February 27, 2019

The water in this hospital is all pulled out of thin air

In Jamaica, one hospital is giving up bottled water by using a system from Zero Mass Water, which uses the moisture in the air as a water supply.

Fast Company | February 27, 2019

Episode 548: Elemental Excelerator and the Aloha A.I. Toolkit

Aki Marceau from Elemental Excelerator joins Bytemarks Cafe with an update on the next cohort application window.

Bytemarks Cafe | February 27, 2019

Blue Pillar Enables an ‘Energy-Smart University’ Network in Hawaii

Energy data from substations and solar panels to building automation and submeters, all in a vendor-agnostic package.

Green Tech Media | February 27, 2019

Elemental Excelerator Provides Up-to $1m to Startups Tackling Our Biggest Agriculture Challenges

“Elemental Excelerator provides an incredible opportunity to accelerate the deployment of your technology,” says Naveen Sikka, CEO of TerViva.

AgFunder Network | February 27, 2019

Funds Available for Environmental Startups in Hawai‘i

Elemental’s model is unique among tech accelerators. In addition to coaching and strategic partnerships, Elemental also co-funds and co-designs project deployments with portfolio companies using a “place-based” model of innovation that unites startups, industry partners and local communities to identify challenges and deploy innovative solutions.

Maui Now | February 27, 2019

JMC Capital Partners Announces Phoenix Lighting’s Acquisition of Bright Light Systems

The acquisition of Bright Light Systems adds to Phoenix Lighting's technology offerings to help customers improve efficiency and performance.

PR Newswire | February 26, 2019

kWh Analytics structures Solar Revenue Puts on $500 million of solar assets

Rapid adoption of the Solar Revenue Put highlights kWh Analytics’ usage of data analytics and financial innovation to successfully lower the cost of solar.

Solar Power World | February 25, 2019

A Great Day for Clean Energy Access

A recap of the first East Palo Alto solar installation powered by Elemental Excelerator’s Just Innovation Prize, bringing together cleantech startups like Sighten to partner for community impact with organizations like GRID Alternatives.

GRID Alternatives | February 25, 2019

University of Hawaii & Blue Pillar Complete Energy Management Project

Blue Pillar, the leading Internet of Things (IoT) network solutions provider for IoT data and control systems, and Elemental Excelerator announced the completion of an Energy Internet of Things platform across the University of Hawaii System’s 10 campuses.

Pacific Business News | February 25, 2019

UH Manoa completes energy usage project with local startup help

The system is intended to help the university achieve net-zero energy use by 2035.

Pacific Business News | February 25, 2019

WaterSmart Software Launches Integration-as-a-Service Offering to Unlock Data Insights for Water Suppliers

Integrating disparate data systems to generate actionable insights that can drive down costs and improve operational efficiency for water suppliers.

PR Newswire | February 14, 2019

Vector to participate in data driven transformer project

VIA and Vector acknowledge the support and funding they have received for the GDAC from Elemental Excelerator, a growth accelerator that has funded more than 50 projects globally. Each year, Elemental Excelerator funds a selection of innovative projects that seek to reinvent society’s core systems - like energy, transportation, agriculture, and water - to better prepare the world for a more clean, resilient, and equitable future.

Scoop | February 12, 2019

Elemental Excelerator Awarding Tech Startups up to $1 Million

Elemental’s portfolio consists of startup companies focused on commercialization, including Opus 12 and Zero Mass Water. Opus 12 is piloting carbon-capture technology with the world’s biggest emitters; Zero Mass Water uses technology to make drinking water from sunlight and air.

Big Island Now | February 8, 2019

Sunfolding’s Pneumatic Solar Tracker Builds 60 Megawatt Pipeline

Maverick pneumatic solar tracker maker Sunfolding has amassed a pipeline of 60 megawatts for the first quarter of 2019, following its 2018 commercial rollout.

Cleantechnica | February 7, 2019

Vector and Chargetrip partner to ease ‘range and charge anxiety’ among EV users

Vector and Chargetrip are adapting a popular EV journey planning app for the New Zealand market, that equips EV drivers with journey planning information that is tailored to them, their trip, and their EV. To help fund the app’s adaptation to the New Zealand market, Vector and Chargetrip have been awarded a grant from Elemental Excelerator.

Vector News Release | February 7, 2019

Elemental Excelerator seeks companies for 8th cohort

Honolulu-based startup accelerator Elemental Excelerator announced Wednesday that it's seeking companies for its eighth cohort, with up to $1 million in funding available to qualifying companies and a $20,000 bonus for the first team to sign a commercial agreement at its May 14th Deal Day.

Biz Women | February 7, 2019

“We’re Seeking Startups Tackling Our Biggest Environmental and Infrastructure Challenges,” says Elemental Excelerator

Elemental is seeking startups whose technologies improve the critical systems that impact people's lives, including energy, mobility, agriculture, water and the circular economy.

PR Newswire | February 6, 2019

Elemental Excelerator seeks companies for 8th cohort

Up to $1 million in funding available to qualified startups.

Pacific Business News | February 6, 2019

Elemental Excelerator and Conservation International Partner to Catalyze Technology Startups in the Agriculture and Water Sectors and Project Deployments in Asia-Pacific

Organizations will share portfolio pipelines, best practices to tackle sustainable infrastructure challenges

My Social Good News | February 2, 2019

Elemental Excelerator Is Looking for Startups Tackling the World’s Most Urgent Environmental Problems

Since 2013, Elemental Excelerator has allocated more than $30 million to 82 companies, six of which have been acquired, and funded 59 demonstration projects in Hawaii, California, and Asia-Pacific

Emerson Collective | February 2019

This Accelerator Is Helping To Solve Some Of The World’s Most Pressing Environmental Problems

Elemental Excelerator is an accelerator in the non-profit sphere, that annually funds 15-20 companies.Unlike most startups, which face truly grim survival odds, ventures that participate in accelerator programs have between a 75% and 87% five-year survival rate.

Forbes | January 30, 2019

This Accelerator Is Helping To Solve Some Of The World’s Most Pressing Environmental Problems

Business incubators or “accelerators” have helped launch some of the leading companies of our time, from Airbnb to Dropbox. Unlike most startups, which face truly grim survival odds, ventures that participate in accelerator programs have between a 75% and 87% five-year survival rate.

Forbes | January 30, 2019

Elemental Excelerator and Conservation International Partner to Catalyze Technology Startups in the Agriculture and Water Sectors

Conservation International joins Elemental Excelerator's Innovation Partner Program, a collaboration designed to scale impact investments in sustainable infrastructure and facilitate project deployments.

Elemental Excelerator News Release | January 30, 2019

Where Can Cleantech Startups Find Funding in 2019?

A roundup of VCs, accelerators, incubators and billionaires investing in cleantech.

Greentech Media | January 24, 2019

Talking Global Startups & Diversity in Tech with Dawn Lippert of Elemental Excelerator

A conversation about Elemental’s mission and goals, and how we can really bring true diversity to teams, and to tech in general.

Cleantechnica | January 15, 2019

How Cody Friesen extracts water from air and kindles hope at Zero Mass Water

Cody Friesen had a big dream, and with Zero Mass Water he is making it come true. His team has figured out how to extract water from air, using nothing more than a solar electricity-powered panel.

VentureBeat | January 12, 2019

Talking Global Startups & Diversity in Tech with Dawn Lippert of Elemental Excelerator

One of the experts featured at this year’s event was Dawn Lippert, CEO and Founder of Elemental Excelerator, an accelerator focused on growing energy, mobility, water, and agriculture startups from around the world. Dawn was the opening keynote speaker at the event this year, as well as a juror for the Grand Final, the final pitch competition.

Clean Technica | January 15, 2019

She finds funds for sustainable startups

Tired of hearing about all the world’s problems? You’ve come to the right place. The people you’ll soon meet are cooking up the boldest, most innovative solutions you haven’t yet heard of to fix the biggest challenges that face our globe.

Grist | 2019

7 ways startups can collaborate more successfully with utilities and corporates

Entrepreneurs prize nimbleness. Established companies emphasize stability. Elemental Excelerator's Ramsay Siegal explains how to harmonize those two agendas.

GreenBiz | December 20, 2018

Opus One Solutions Closes Series B Funding Led by Renewal Funds

Opus One Solutions, the leader in transactive energy and distributed energy software solutions, today announced it has closed a Series B funding, which was led by Renewal Funds, to further the company’s mission to embed their energy solutions across North America and the globe.

Associated Press | December 14, 2018

LO3 Energy, eMotorWerks partner to connect EVs to microgrids, optimize renewables

Enel subsidiary eMotorWerks and LO3 Energy have teamed up to explore connecting electric vehicle (EV) chargers with microgrids, in a partnership that will utilize both companies' technologies to optimize the use of renewable energy.

Utility Dive | December 6, 2018

FreeWire Raises $15 Million to Expand Portable Charging Technology for Electric Vehicles

FreeWire Technologies, a startup that creates portable charging technologies for electric vehicles (EVs) and other devices, has closed a $15 million series A round of funding led by BP Ventures, with participation from Volvo Cars Tech Fund, Stanley Ventures, and other investment funds.

VentureBeat | December 4, 2018

Microvi MNE Solution to Restore Billions of Gallons of Drinking Water in California at Cucamonga Valley Water District

The multi-million-dollar turnkey project will reduce nitrate contamination without producing a significant waste stream.

Microvi | November 28, 2018

Carbon Lighthouse’s Commercial Clean Energy and Efficiency Projects Benefit from HSB Group’s Portfolio Level Insurance

Technical Solutions and Insurance Coverage combine to decrease risk even further for building owners turning energy waste into guaranteed financial value

PR Newswire | November 27, 2018

Pan-United to produce greener, stronger concrete with CarbonCure technology

Pan-United announced that it has signed an agreement to use technology from Canada-based cleantech company CarbonCure Technologies. Using this technology, carbon dioxide released by industrial emitters would be turned into a nano-mineral that becomes permanently embedded within concrete.

Straits Times | November 19, 2018

American Efficient Acquires Energy Analytics Firm PlotWatt

American Efficient and PlotWatt are joining forces to accelerate the arrival of metered energy efficiency

Business Wire | November 15, 2018

How BlocPower’s Donnel Baird Is Building an Ethical Billion Dollar Company

On “Start to Sale,” the BlocPower founder discusses how to battle climate change and help low-income communities while turning a profit.

Eater | November 9, 2018

Elemental Excelerator and PG&E Working to Bring Clean Energy Innovation to Disadvantaged Communities in California

The collaboration is intended to help increase access to clean energy and transportation technologies among California’s underserved populations, while also improving economic opportunities and local air quality.

Elemental Excelerator News Release | November 7, 2018

Go Electric to Build Microgrid at Hawaii’s Largest Cattle Ranch

Go Electric Inc., an Indiana-based microgrid solutions provider, has received a contract to design and build a 400-kilowatt microgrid system at Parker Ranch on Hawaii's Big Island. The microgrid system will be located on the Waimea ranch property and serve the dual purpose of providing energy resiliency for Hawaii's largest cattle ranch while also supporting overall grid resiliency on the Big Island.

Pacific Business News | October 31, 2018

Four Elemental Excelerator Portfolio Companies Get Follow-on Funding

Several of Honolulu-based Elemental Excelerator's portfolio companies received investments this week, including Carbon Lighthouse, Zero Mass Water, CarbonCure and FreeWire Technologies.

Pacific Business News | October 26, 2018

Volvo Buys a Stake in Electric Charging Firm FreeWire

Swedish luxury vehicles company Volvo Cars has bought a stake in FreeWire Technologies, a California-based electric car charging business.

CNBC | October 25, 2018

Carbon Lighthouse Raises $65 Million to Make Buildings Efficient

A clean-energy company that uses sensors and software to help businesses cut their carbon emissions and energy costs has lined up $65 million in funding to serve hundreds of commercial buildings.

Bloomberg | October 23, 2018

Nonprofit Aids Startups Finding Green Solutions in Energy, Transportation

Start-up companies offering battery-operated airplanes, a video-based monitoring system to verify how fish are caught and new ways to install, track and store solar technology are among Elemental Excelerator’s newest cohort for 2019.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser | October 14, 2018

Solar Finds Its Place in the Sun Among America’s Poor

In a white hard hat, cargo work pants and sunglasses, Krystal Ruiz climbs the scaffolding of a multifamily public housing unit on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Ruiz is installing solar panels on the building as an installation supervisor with GRID Alternatives, a nonprofit providing solar energy to low-income communities in cities across the U.S. She’s excited. A public housing tenant herself, Ruiz is helping to realize the potential of solar power for communities that simply couldn’t access it a decade ago.

Ozy | October 10, 2018

5 Reasons to Be Optimistic About Hawaii’s Clean Energy Future

Clean energy advocates say we’re on the right track to continue reducing emissions that lead to climate change. Here’s why, plus some of the challenges that we’ll have to overcome.

Hawaii Business | October 4, 2018

Bridging the Gap Between Government and Startups

Aki Marceau landed her “dream job” in 2016, when she joined Elemental Excelerator as the program’s director of policy and community for the Hawaii region. Marceau joined the Honolulu-based accelerator after spending six years at Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation where she ran the rail agency’s sustainability and land use program.

Pacific Business News | September 27, 2018

How this startup accelerator is scaling ‘Earthshot’ ideas with $8 million

Electric scooter startup Scoot is rolling out a pilot program in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood thanks to $750,000 from Honolulu and Palo Alto-based Elemental Excelerator. The company hopes to develop mobility services targeting lower income communities. “What I love about the accelerator is it’s looking for solutions that can scale,” said Scoot president Justin Dawe.

San Francisco Business Times | September 27, 2018

Billionaire-Backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures Makes 7 More Investments

The fund started by Bill Gates backs R&D into fusion power, capturing water from the air and carbon in concrete, and other long-range efforts.

Greentech Media | October 1, 2018

Elemental Excelerator taps 20 startups for 2019 cohort

Elemental Excelerator (EEx), a Hawaii-based innovation accelerator, will offer $8 million in total funding to 20 new startups in its 2019 cohort. The announcements bring the accelerator’s portfolio to 82 companies.

Smart Cities Dive | August 25, 2018

Elemental Excelerator Announces Its 7th Cohort

The innovation infrastructure accelerator awards $8 million of funding to 20 startups. Its newest cohort includes companies with new technologies in electric aviation and circular economy, as well as its first cohort of projects in California's low-to-moderate income communities.

Elemental Excelerator News Release | September 25, 2018

kWh Analytics receives 2018 Finance Innovation Award at the Global Climate Action Summit

kWh Analytics was awarded the 2018 Finance Innovation Award at the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) for its invention of the Solar Revenue Put, a credit enhancement that de-risks the performance of solar power plants, enables investors to deploy more capital into solar assets and reduces the cost of solar.

Solar Power World | September 17, 2018

Leading the Charge for Startups

Elemental Excelerator has been on a high growth trajectory over the last several years, garnering new investments from a major philanthropic organization as well as renewing a multimillion-dollar commitment from the U.S. military.

Pacific Business News | September 13, 2018

20 Cleantech Startups That Support Your Dream of Owning a Tesla

Each of these cleantech companies is connected to building a clean energy future, either through innovation for electric vehicles (EVs), EV charging, transportation, solar power, energy storage, or energy management.

Angel List

Candidates debate energy, climate issues in last major public forum before primary election

Several of Hawaii's gubernatorial candidates discussed the issues of climate and energy at the first "Business of Climate & Energy Candidate Forum," which took place on the campus of the University of Hawaii at Manoa on Monday.

Hawaii News Now | August 6, 2018

Hawaii gubernatorial candidates take on energy, climate at public forum

With the primary election coming up this Saturday, candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, and congress tried one last time to set themselves apart from their opponents in the last major public forum before the primary.

Pacific Business News | August 6, 2018

Social ROI is goal of new Palo Alto accelerator backed by Emerson Collective

The accelerator targets projects done by startups that promise to improve systems that impact people’s lives: energy, water, agriculture and transportation.

Silicon Valley Business Journals | July 25, 2018

Hawaii’s Elemental Excelerator raises $30 million, expands its sustainable accelerator to California

Hawaii-based Elemental Excelerator announced it has raised $30 million from the U.S. Navy and will expand its socially minded accelerator program to California.

Venture Beat | July 25, 2018

“Intern and Fellowship Opportunities…and Netflix”

Know someone who might be a fit as an EEx intern or fellow? Send them our latest newsletter, "Intern and Fellowship Opportunities...and Netflix".

Elemental Excelerator | July 2, 2018

VERGE Hawaii Sidebar Discussion on HCEI

Check out this VERGE Hawaii Sidebar Discussion with our CEO Dawn Lippert, Hawaii Governor Ige, and CRO Honolulu Joshua Stanroe. What's discussed? The transition to 100% clean energy, activating stakeholders, a user-centric future, and public + private partnership.

Greenbiz | July 1, 2018

Ceres Imaging gets $25M to intelligently scan crops from above

Agtech startup Ceres Imaging, which uses computer vision and spectral imaging tech to deliver insights about crops to farmers, has closed a new round of funding.

TechCrunch | June 28, 2018

Bytemarks Café Episode 513: EEx & Carbon Lighthouse

We learn about accelerating clean energy startups from our friends at Elemental Excelerator, we’re joined by Aki Marceau from EEx and Louis Concato from Carbon Lighthouse.

Bytemarks Café | June 27, 2018

Fuel cost risk sharing order for Hawaiian Electric seen as ‘landmark’ clean energy driver

The idea, regulators explained in a statement, is to "more fairly share the risk of fuel price increases and decreases between Hawaiian Electric and its customers." The risk sharing is capped at $2.5 million per year to protect the utility from "significant unanticipated increases in fuel prices," while prodding it to reduce prices and fuel use.

UtilityDive | June 26, 2018

How TransitScreen helps city dwellers preserve a valuable asset: time

CEO and Co-founder Matt Caywood said by curating transit information, people can make better and more efficient mobility decisions.

SmartCities Dive | June 21, 2018

Smart Yields News Release

Smart Yields News Release

Smart Yields | May 31, 2018

Mitigating Weather Damage & Saving Crops: Smart Yields at 5,500 Feet in Colorado

Smart Yields wireless monitoring stations alert farmers to issues in real-time, allowing them to activate heating systems in the most critical areas.

Smart Yields | May 31, 2018

“Climate Solved” by Carbon Lighthouse

Climate change may seem like an insurmountable challenge. But while politics and passions paint a bleak picture of inaction, Carbon Lighthouse recognizes climate change as just another problem — and problems are meant to be solved. Many of the tools for profit-driven carbon elimination already exist — what matters is finding the combination of willpower, business sense, and financial structure that make it possible.

iTunes | May 17, 2018

PastureMap: Creating a More Sustainable Steak

Through her startup PastureMap, entrepreneur Christine Su hopes to improve beef production practices while helping ranchers increase their bottom line. PastureMap helps ranchers raise climate-friendly beef. The software platform helps them manage their grazing land and strategically graze their herds in a sustainable way.

Stanford Business School | May 8, 2018

Bidgely Expands Reach of Personal Energy Insights with Voice Assistant Function for Smart Speakers

Bidgely has broadened the omnichannel reach of its artificial intelligence platform by launching a new disaggregation-enhanced Voice Assistant function for utilities to reach their customers via Smart Home speakers.

Bidgely | May 8, 2018

Pathways to Sustainability 2018

The companies featured provide solutions that are innovative, efficient and save money. This guide will help you to plan better practices that will benefit your company and community.

Hawaii Business Magazine | May 1, 2018

PastureMap: A Digital Ranch Hand

Christine Su started building PastureMap in 2014 with local cattle ranchers on the California coast, to help family farms and ranches — the backbone of the food system — become more productive and profitable.

Canadian Cattlemen | April 27, 2018

AI Will Give Us Better French Fries

Oakland-based Ceres Imaging flies planes over crops to capture data. That data is crunched using artificial intelligence, and it can tell a potato farmer if fields are getting too much or too little water.

Bloomberg Technology | April 26, 2018

Inspiring the World to Shoot for the Moon

At the recent Earth Day Energy Summit in Honolulu, Miki Tomita, co-founder of the Education Incubator’s Moonshot Laboratory, sat down with Astro Teller, X’s Captain of Moonshots, to discuss how anybody — regardless of age or expertise — can try their hand at 10x thinking.

X | April 26, 2018

Hawaii Upends Utility Model, Adds Incentives for Solar

Governor David Ige signed legislation that directs the state's Public Utilities Commission to create a framework for rewarding utilities based on performance. Criteria for rewards or penalties include "rapid integration of renewable energy sources, including quality interconnection of customer-sited resources."

E&E News | April 26, 2018

Congresswoman Hanabusa Attends Earth Day Energy Summit

Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa encouraged the continued diversification of Hawai‘i’s energy sources and stressed the need to accelerate the pace of efforts to move the state closer to clean, sustainable sources of power.

Big Island Now | April 20, 2018

Hawaii Can Get to 80% Clean Twice as Fast — Study

Hawaii can accelerate its switch from fossil fuels to renewables, hitting more than 80 percent clean in 2030, according to Transcending Oil, an independent report commissioned by EEx.

Energywire | April 20, 2018

Report Says Hawaii Can Reach Renewable Energy Goal Faster, and Cheaper

Hawaii can achieve 84 percent of its clean energy goal by 2030, more than double the state’s target for that year, and that it would be cheaper than not doing anything according to Transcending Oil, a report commissioned by EEx.

Pacific Business News | April 20, 2018

SoCalGas and Opus 12 Successfully Demonstrate Technology That Simplifies Conversion of Carbon Dioxide into Storable Renewable Energy

Southern California Gas Co. and Opus 12 successfully demonstrated a new process to convert the carbon dioxide in raw biogas to methane in a single electrochemical step.

The Virginian Pilot | April 19, 2018

FreeWire and Off the Grid Partner to Deliver Clean Onsite Power to Weekly Street Food Events

FreeWire Technologies, maker of mobile electric vehicle chargers and mobile energy storage systems, and Off the Grid, a scalable experiences platform and organizer of the San Francisco Bay Area's most popular series of outdoor street food markets, announced a partnership to use FreeWire's Mobi Gen for clean onsite power at Off the Grid events.

FreeWire Technologies | April 18, 2018

Hawaiian Electric Teams up with Canadian Software Company to Boost DER Integration on Oahu

Hawaiian Electric Co. has teamed up with Toronto-based Opus One Solutions to tackle one of the biggest challenges on the Oahu grid, managing an ever increasing number of distributed energy resources.

Pacific Business News | April 18, 2018

No Sun? No Problem! Solar Power Now Comes With Insurance

kWh Analytics new Solar Revenue Put drives down the cost of solar by lowering risk to investors.

kWh Analytics | April 18, 2018

Going Vegan? Eating Sustainable Beef Can Be Good For The Environment

Christine Su, the millennial co-founder and CEO of PastureMap, a San Francisco-based social venture, is building a technology platform for the meat industry to help reward producers for regenerative practices. PastureMap’s ranch management software is making regenerative grazing easier for over 9,000 livestock producers in 40 countries with grazing planning, soil, and rainfall tools.

Forbes | April 14, 2018

Electric vehicles to dominate Hawaiian roads by 2045, HECO predicts

Hawaiian Electric filed its "Electrification of Transportation Strategic Roadmap" with the state's Public Utilities Commission, outlining how it will utilize growing EV adoption to lower system costs, bring more rooftop solar onto the grid and ultimately help meet the state's 100% renewables goal!

Utility Dive | April 2, 2018

VIA Unveils Refreshed Brand

VIA has revealed their newly refreshed brand! At the core of the refresh, VIA is updating “Via Science” to “VIA” and using "Solve with VIA" as their brand anchor.

VIA | March 29, 2018

Y. Hata, Kunoa Cattle Company team up to launch local beef line

The locally grown and produced beef is finally here! During a recent invitation-only launch event at the Grove Farm Company, it was announced that Y. Hata, a locally owned and Hawaii- based broadline food service wholesale distributor, was selected to support the recently honored Mana Up awardee Kunoa Cattle Company in launching its local beef production line on Kauai.

The Garden Island | March 18, 2018

Hawaiian Electric and Amber Kinetics Begin Kinetic Energy Storage Demonstration with Support from Elemental Excelerator

Hawaiian Electric and Amber Kinetics are testing the 8 kW / 32 kWh storage system for local grid reliability and support and aid in the integration of renewable energy. One 8 kW unit can power approximately 25 homes for one hour. Technical field data is being collected and is expected to guide planning for future utility-owned energy storage projects in Hawaii.

Press Release | March 12, 2018

Can California’s Carbon Queen Recycle Pollution?

Cave co-founded the startup Opus 12 with two fellow Stanford grads, their mission statement to transform CO2 into a clean technology resource. Figuring out how to get cheap renewable energy is part of Cave’s plan, and at scale, she believes she could potentially counteract one-third of global CO2 emissions.

OZY | March 12, 2018

When it comes to Pi or pie, math counts!

As we come up on Pi Day next week, it seems fitting to give a shout out to Hawaii’s young “mathletes” who recently competed in the Oahu Chapter MATHCOUNTS® Competition sponsored by the Hawaiian Electric Companies and the Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers Educational Foundation (HSPEEF) with support from Kamehameha Schools.

Medium | March 7, 2018

Ceres Imaging is Helping to Fine-Tune California’s Irrigation

Almond growers have new technology available from an Oakland, CA, company called Ceres Imaging that recently received a ringing endorsement from University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Farm Advisor Blake Sanden.

Growing Produce | February 26, 2018

Nv Energy Taps Bidgely to Help Reinvent Home Audit

NV Energy, the Nevada utility, has selected Bidgely to help it personalize offerings and reinvent its home assessment, leveraging the company's cloud-based machine learning tools to improve customer experiences.

Utility Dive | February 21, 2018

Penn Beats Out Harvard, Columbia in New Campus Transportation Ranking

TransitScreen ranked the country’s most transportation-friendly college campuses. That is, schools with quick and easy access to buses, trains, taxis, bike share programs, and ridesharing services. The University of Pennsylvania sits at the top of the list with a perfect score of 100.

Philadelphia Magazine | February 16, 2018

This Startup Is Disrupting Public Transit (With Ford and Samsung Along for the Ride)

Swiftly is a transportation platform based in San Francisco and funded by industry leaders like Ford Smart Mobility, RATP Dev, Via ID, and Samsung NEXT. Swiftly is bringing big data and predictive algorithms to transform how public transportation systems operate. In short, their technology is helping to create more efficient public transit networks and eliminate inefficiencies that currently exist.

Inc. | February 9, 2018

East Meets West Second Day Delivers Info Packed Panel Talks

Dawn, our CEO, joined Mark de Groh, Stephen Forte, and Chenoa Farnsworth on stage at East Meets West to talk about investing in mission-based companies.

Hawaii Business Magazine | February 5, 2018

kWh Analytics, Coronal Close the First Solar Revenue Put

kWh Analytics and Coronal Energy announced a new development in reinsurance that kWh Analytics says can significantly reduce the cost of solar finance, closing on the industry’s first solar revenue put for three solar projects totaling 30 MW.

PV Magazine | January 31, 2018

Electric Vehicles: BP Invests $5 Million in Charging Business FreeWire

Oil major subsidiary BP Ventures has invested $5 million in FreeWire Technologies, a U.S. company that specializes in mobile electric vehicle rapid charging systems.

CNBC | January 31, 2018

Stem Lands $80 Million to Fuel Its Growing Behind-The-Meter Battery Business

Behind-the-meter battery startup Stem has raised $80 million in a Series D round, with three new investors -- including one that’s helping bring the company’s lithium-ion battery systems to a new international market.

Greentech Media | January 23, 2018

Gov. Ige Gives 2018 State of the State Address

Vincent and Smart Yields were named in Governor Ige's State of the State address as a local ag-tech startup bringing international attention to the islands through their participation in the Vatican’s first tech accelerator.

KITV | January 22, 2018

Bidgely Raises $27 Million to Scale Energy Disaggregation for Utilities

Bidgely has raised a $27 M Series C round to help it serve more than 10 million homes with a blend of efficiency reports, energy usage alerts, and home energy audits.

Greentech Media | January 16, 2018

Solar Trackers Find a New Home on the Roof

Edisun Microgrids completed the installation of the world’s largest (and only!) rooftop solar tracking system on a cold storage building in Oxnard, California. The 1 MW system uses more than 2,900 trackers attached to individual panels.

Solar Power World | January 15, 2018

Can We Actually Stop Using Fossil Fuels?

Dawn, our CEO, and a handful of our portfolio companies were featured in this Popular Science article on the state's radical goal to generate 100 percent of its electricity from ­renewable sources.

Popular Science | January 10, 2018

Why Millions of People Rely on This A.I. Startup to Keep Their Lights On

Read how Colin, CEO of Via Science, recruits talent in what today has become one of the hottest areas: A.I. and machine learning.

Inc. | January 9, 2018

Buoy Labs Announces Partnership with Cross Country Home Services to Power Company’s Nationwide, On-Demand, Plumbing Services

Buoy Labs is partnering with Cross Country Home Services to offer a nationwide, on-demand network of licensed plumbers to install the Buoy device and to make repairs in response to Buoy insights.

Buoy | January 8, 2018

TransitScreen Will Be Helping CES 2018 Attendees Sort Through Ride Options

TransitScreen's displays and the CES 2018 app will provide conference attendees access to real-time transportation information.

TransitScreen | January 5, 2018

Canadian Cleantech Startups Get Ready for a Breakout Year

Canada's global reputation for cleantech innovation is on the rise. The Toronto Globe and Mail named Opus One Solutions as a startup ready for a breakout year.

The Globe and Mail | January 3, 2018

Hawaii’s Mayors Just Committed To 100% Renewable Transportation By 2045

Dawn, our CEO, and Mayor Kirk Caldwell of Honolulu co-authored a piece on why Hawaii's mayors and the startup community are coming together to make this happen now.

Fast Company | December 21, 2017

Military Microgrid Startup Go Electric Wants to Bring Energy Resilience to the Private Sector

President and CEO Lisa Laughner has her eyes set on a broader market: commercial and industrial customers that want the kinds of bill reductions storage can provide and the resilient backup and uninterrupted power that comes with a proper microgrid.

Greentech Media | December 20, 2017

Hawaiian Electric to Deploy Varentec’s Grid Edge Voltage Regulation Technology for Increased Rooftop Solar Grid Capacity

Varentec and Hawaiian Electric are scaling their pilot project and deploying 100 Edge of Network Grid Optimization (ENGO) devices and Varentec's Grid Edge Management System (GEMS) platform at three Oahu substations with high penetrations of solar PV. The project, co-funded by EEx, aims to minimize voltage fluctuations and allow for additional rooftop solar capacity.

Varentec | December 19, 2017

Eight Great Women in the Business and Science of Solar

Renate Egan, Co-founder & Chair of Solar Analytics, was named one of eight great women in solar!

Renewable Energy World | December 15, 2017

Farmers Spot Diseased Crops Faster with Artificial Intelligence

Ceres Imaging utilizes aerial spectroscopy and AI to help farmers efficiently allocate resources. Their technology identifies trouble, such as fungus growth and water shortages, in corn and soybean crops 2-3 weeks before the naked eye would ever realize it.

CNN | December 14, 2017

Tokyo’s TEPCO to Test Stem and Sunverge Behind-The-Meter Batteries as Virtual Power Plants

Sunverge and Stem, two California-based behind-the-meter battery startups, have landed their first international projects in Japan, joining mutual investor Mitsui in a series of virtual power plant projects for massive utility Tokyo Electric Power Co.

Greentech Media | December 13, 2017

CRC Awards Solar Analytics $1.9M for Residential Energy Management System

Solar Analytics wins $1.9M in grant funding from the Australian Cooperative Research Centres Program to develop a solar monitoring platform to a smart home energy management system.

ecogeneration | December 13, 2017

Bidgely Surpasses 10 Million Homes Under Contract with Utilities for Energy Disaggregation

Bidgely has crossed over a milestone of 10 million homes under contract, now providing disaggregation solutions to 25 leading utilities across 12 countries, including Origin Energy Limited, NV Energy, and Innogy.

Business Wire | December 12, 2017

California Energy Storage Companies Wade Into Japan Market

Stem, a California-based predictive analytics and energy storage startup, is entering the Japan market! In partnership with Mitsui & Co, they will be deploying a “virtual power plant” made up initially of aggregated storage systems that will supply 750 kWh of capacity to the grid.

Bloomberg | December 11, 2017

Blue Pillar Recognized by JMP Securities “Efficient Fifty” as a Leading Private Company in Industrial and Energy Technology

JMP Securities, a San Francisco-based investment bank, recognizes Blue Pillar, Inc. in its inaugural Efficient Fifty Private Companies listing as a distributed resource management technology that helps energy providers and Commercial and Industrial (C&I) companies overcome reliability and resiliency challenges.

Blue Pillar | December 7, 2017

The Solar Industry’s Most Active Investors

Elemental Excelerator makes the list of the top 5 most active investors to solar startups.

CBInsights | December 6, 2017

Smart Yields Makes Final Pitch in Vatican-Blessed Accelerator Program

Honolulu-based Smart Yields presented its final pitch at the Laudato Si’ Challenge demo day in Rome. This was part of their participation in the inaugural Vatican-blessed accelerator program.

Pacific Business News | December 5, 2017

Amber Kinetics + HECO Install & Test Flywheel Technology in Hawaii

Amber Kinetics and Hawaiian Electric announce the installation of the world's first commercially available, 4-hour flywheel energy storage system at Campbell Industrial Park on Oahu.

CleanTechnica | December 1, 2017

How Startups Should Do Customer Discovery

Customer discovery guru, Steve Blank, interviews the CEO of Ceres Imaging, Ashwin Madgavkar on their customer discovery process.

ThinkGrowth | November 27, 2017

Podcast: Andy Karsner and Dawn Lippert on Solving Our Energy Future

Andy Karsner is managing partner of Emerson Collective and a former Assistant Secretary of Energy. He spoke with Dawn and Joel Makower, chairman and executive editor at GreenBiz, at the VERGE Hawaii in June. They discussed how transforming markets and scaling technologies, programs and platforms can strengthen the symbiosis between nature and humanity, while delivering reliable clean energy.

GreenBiz Center Stage Podcast | November 27, 2017

Origin Energy Launches Smart Home Kit for Optimizing Energy Usage

People Power and Origin Energy launch a new smart home kit for optimising energy usage. At AU$199, the starter kit comes with sensors and other internet-connected things to help Origin's customers better manage energy usage.

ZDNet | November 20, 2017

25 People Shaping the Future in Tech, Science, Medicine, Activism and More

Rolling Stone names Opus 12 founders Kendra, Nicholas, and Etosha in their list of 25 people shaping the future.

Rolling Stone | November 17, 2017

29 Start-Ups That Prove Silicon Valley Innovation Isn’t Dead

CNBC interviewed angel investors, partners who invest in venture firms, and senior investment partners with funds in San Francisco, Boston, and New York to get a sense of which start-ups are likely to raise big rounds soon. See which EEx portfolio company made the cut.

CNBC | November 14, 2017

Hawaii’s Elemental Excelerator Announces 2018 Cohort

Elemental Excelerator, based in Honolulu, Hawaii, has just announced its 2018 cohort of companies. The 12 companies focus on three major trends: applying machine learning to energy and mobility, commercial application of peer-to-peer energy sharing, and finding ways to reach underserved communities.

CleanTechnica | November 2, 2017

Ceres Imaging Scores $2.5m to Bring Machine Learning-Powered Insights to Farmers

Agtech has largely seemed underserved by emerging startups, though farmers have largely proven more receptive to adopting new tech than most might assume.

TechCrunch | November 1, 2017

New Connectivity Technology Brings Down Solar Installation Costs

ConnectDER is allowing utility consumers in Ohio and Nebraska easy connectivity between their solar arrays and other varieties of renewable power systems to the grid.

CMFE News | October 30, 2017

Honolulu-Based Elemental Excelerator Selects 12 Companies for Latest Cohort

Honolulu startup accelerator Elemental Excelerator has selected 12 startups to participate in next year’s cohort.

Pacific Business News | October 19, 2017

Edisun Puts Online the World’s Largest Rooftop Tracking System

The 1 MW project is being followed by a 20 MW pipeline of C&I rooftop projects, all of which will utilize dual-axis tracking.

pv magazine | October 11, 2017

Is This Obscure Bean Tree Hawaii’s Next Bigtime Crop?

A startup is using former sugar cane land on the North Shore to “grow oil” — pongamia trees whose seeds can be turned into biofuel.

Civilbeat | September 27, 2017

MobilityScore Tells You Exactly How Easy A Place Is To Get Around Without A Car

America is a place where a disturbingly large proportion of people, faced with the prospect of traveling somewhere less than a mile away, get in their car to do so.

Fast Company | September 22, 2017

Hawaii-Based Investment Fund Reef Capital Ventures Closes First Investment

Reef Capital Ventures, a Hawaii-based investment fund focused on commercializing Hawaii’s technology-based research assets, is proud to announce it has made an investment in local tech company Ibis Networks.

Reef Capital Ventures | September 14, 2017

Go Electric Awarded Advanced Energy Storage Contract for Fort Custer Microgrid Demo Program

Go Electric Inc., a provider of advanced energy solutions, announced today it has been awarded a $499,506 contract by Electricore, Inc. for a demonstration microgrid project at the Fort Custer Training Center in Michigan.

Solar Power World | September 14, 2017

GTM Research Launches Trailblazers Partnership With Leading Cleantech Incubators

GTM Research is announcing the launch of Trailblazers. The initiative’s goal is to engage with cleantech incubators to support the growth and evolution of early-stage companies.

Greentech Media | September 12, 2017

Why Are Storage Firms Selling Their Project Portfolios?

Amber Kinetics and Powin Energy are pivoting toward product development. It may represent a broader shift.

Greentech Media | September 11, 2017

Array Changing Technologies

Since 2015, pv magazine has been recognizing excellence in innovation for solar components and PV power plant development and operation in the Array Changing Technologies feature and award.

pv magazine | September 8, 2017

How FreeWire’s Second-Life Battery Packs Could Help EVs Go Mainstream

As electric cars become more powerful, battery-backed fast chargers may prove critical to protecting the grid from demand spikes.

Greentech Media | August 31, 2017

Kevala is Mapping Oahu’s Electric Grid

In collaboration with Hawaii Natural Energy Institute and More Than Smart, Kevala will be hosting a series of collaborative workshops to crowdsource data from energy stakeholders.

Pacific Business News | August 28, 2017

TransitScreen – Welcome to Our New Home

For the past few years, we've been working out of the amazing offices at 1776's downtown location. It was all we could ask for, but the time has come to graduate into our own space.

TransitScreen | August 22, 2017

Stem and CPower to Combine Behind-the-Meter Batteries and Demand Response

CPower and Stem announce they’re combining their technologies into an “integrated solution for managing electricity demand” for commercial, industrial and institutional customers, starting in California.

Greentech Media | August 8 2017

Origin Energy Putting Customers in the Picture on Use

Origin Energy and Bidgely will soon be launching a trail of the Bidgely platform to 5,000 customers. The solution allows customers to track which appliances in their homes are using power as part of a deepening trend that sees retailers working more closely with consumers.

The Sydney Morning Herald | August 6, 2017

Go Electric to Deploy $1.7 Million Advanced Battery Storage Microgrid at Tooele Army Depot in Utah

Go Electric wins a $1.7 M contract to install a 1 megawatt (MW)/1 megawatt-hour (Mwh) advanced battery-based energy storage system at the Tooele Army Depot in Tooele, Utah.

Microgrid Media | July 28, 2017

ICTSI Melbourne Terminal Becomes the First Fully Automated International Container Terminal in the World

For its project on Elemental Excelerator’s Demonstration Track, Bright Light Systems deployed 350 energy-efficient luminaires with integrated controls, three Gateway communications devices, and the smart digital management system in partnership with the Port of Melbourne, Australia at the Victoria International Container Terminal. In July, the terminal became the first fully automated international container handling facility in the world.

PortNews | July 28, 2017

Two-Factor Authentication Utilizes Data Intelligently to Protect Users

Karl Holmqvist, co-founder and CEO of internet security system firm Lastwall, spoke with TechRepublic's Dan Patterson about the flaws of two-factor authentication.

TechRepublic | July 28, 2017

The Transformative Power of Renewables in Hawaii

Our colleague, Andy Karsner, and CEO Dawn Lippert took the stage at VERGE Hawaii to discuss the ongoing energy transformation in Hawaii.

Emerson Collective | July 2017

PRIME Coalition Closes Seed Round for Rebound Technologies

Rebound Technologies, a Denver-based startup developing a novel refrigeration technology that will dramatically reduce energy consumption, has closed its $1.2M seed round with support from PRIME Coalition, Closed Loop Ventures, and Investors’ Circle.

PRIME Coalition | July 20, 2017

Elemental Excelerator

Dawn Lippert, CEO of Elemental Excelerator, and John Davies, VP & Senior Analyst at GreenBiz, talk the transition from 'Energy' to 'Elemental', deployment in the Asia Pacific, and why Hawaii.

GreenBiz | July 13, 2017

8 Water Technology Startups Helping Agriculture Grow Up

This article names eight water technology startups helping farmers siphon less water while keeping yields at their maximum. Ceres Imaging operates at the nexus of water and agriculture, utilizing their aerial spectral imagery technology to save farmers both money and precious resources

Nanalyze | July 12, 2017

In Corporate Energy Management, Expect More Consolidation and Verticalization

A few important trends stood out at GTM's Grid Edge World Forum last month: the coming consolidation, the growing diversity of delivery models, verticalization, and improved clarity in the technology stack. Portfolio companies Whisker Labs & Blue Pillar, Inc. are a couple of the main players mentioned in this maturing landscape.

Greentech Media | July 10, 2017

What Will Happen To Clean Energy Startups Under Trump?

How will the current administration’s policies affect innovation in renewable energy? “Washington cannot determine the path of industry, the path of technology, in many of these cases, and so those organizations are really redoubling their efforts to innovate and deploy,” says Dawn Lippert, CEO.

Fast Company | July 6, 2017

#Solar100’s Danny Kennedy: The Most Interesting Man in Solar

Rich Matsui, CEO and Founder of kWh Analytics, sits down with Danny Kennedy, Co-Founder and Managing Director of the California Clean Energy Fund and the most interesting man in solar.

PV Magazine | July 5, 2017

Start-Ups Descend on Dublin for ESB Pitch Off

Some of the world’s most innovative energy start-ups flew into Dublin to compete in a pitching competition organized by ESB as part of Free Electrons. Elemental Excelerator was selected in February to facilitate the global utility accelerator program. HST Solar, an EEx portfolio company, will be working with ESB and Bord na Mona on a joint venture solar power project.

TechCentral | June 29, 2017

Top Winners at Austin Creator Awards Announce ‘We’re Hiring’

Austin entrepreneur Robert Olivier accepted the grand prize at the Creator Awards, $360,000, for Grub Tubs. Grub Tubs, a pioneer of the growing “table to farm” movement, transforms restaurant leftovers into animal feed.

WeWork | June 28, 2017

The 25 Most Innovative Ag-Tech Startups

TerViva was named one of the 25 most innovative ag-tech startups by Forbes. Together, these 25 companies have more than $400 million in financing.

Forbes | June 28, 2017

Bidgely Platform V3 Leverages Disaggregation and Big Data Footprint to Reach 100% of Homes

Bidgely, the world leader in disaggregation-based solutions for utilities, has launched the next evolution in the company’s consumer engagement platform. The Bidgely Platform V3 introduces significant new features including Universal Disaggregation, which extends energy usage itemization to all homes, with or without a smart meter.

Business Wire | June 27, 2017

3 Ways Hawaii Is Driving Toward Sustainable Transportation

Hawaii is second only to California in EV adoption per capita. Shepherding this transition will require breaking with traditional policies regarding land use and allocation of infrastructure. Find out how two Elemental Excelerator portfolio companies are playing a role in this transition.

GreenBiz | June 26, 2017

Efficiency Powers Hawaii’s Quest for Energy Independence

While Hawaii pursues its commitment to reach 100 percent renewable energy in the electricity sector by 2045, the state is progressing on a parallel track to make better use of the energy it already has. Improving energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to move Hawaii forward before adding new generation capacity, according to experts, and will reduce dependence on fossil fuels in the state with the most expensive electricity costs in the United States.

GreenBiz | June 26, 2017

Fixing Nitrogen, Waste

Given that agriculture is one of the biggest contributors to nitrogen pollution, and also that no one is going to stop eating in order to stop polluting, what can people do to reduce their nitrogen footprint?

TerViva | June 23, 2017

TransitScreen Partners with Panasonic on Smart City Projects

TransitScreen has a new partnership with Panasonic. Providing transportation info is one part of Panasonic’s CityNOW platform, which is looking to develop smart city tech in a number of different areas.

Technical.ly DC | June 22, 2017

How HECO Is Trying to Modernize Its Electric Grid

Stem Inc. in many ways illustrates the challenges facing Hawaiian Electric Co. as it tries to modernize the grid that brings electricity to some 450,000 customers statewide. Stem has set up massive battery systems and software that diagnose energy consumption at 29 businesses on Oahu. Such virtual power plants, along with other distributed energy resources, will play a key role in Hawaii’s future.

Civil Beat | June 22, 2017

3 Climate-Tackling Social Entrepreneurs Recycling Carbon Emissions in Our Air

A team of social entrepreneurs from Berkeley, California have been working diligently in a lab to develop a solution that could curb climate change. Opus 12 aims to develop a device to capture carbon emissions from its source, and to create valuable products in the process

Forbes | June 22, 2017

A&B Partners with California-Based Company to Grow Energy Crop on Former Maui Sugar Land

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. has entered into a partnership with California-based TerViva to cultivate pongamia on 250 acres of former sugar plantation lands in Central Maui.

Pacific Business News | June 21, 2017

Indiana Green-Tech Company’s Rise Inextricably Tied to Hawaii

Go Electric is a small green-tech startup from Anderson, Indiana, that has made a name for itself in the area of microgrids due to its reliable hardware and software products that first gained recognition in Hawaii.

Pacific Business News | June 21, 2017

Hawaii’s Energy Transition Needs Local Entrepreneurs to Thrive

A public-private collaboration forged with the mutual goal of advancing new technologies and testing business models will prove key to achieving Hawaii’s aspiration of being powered entirely by renewable electricity by 2045. Three nationally recognized accelerator programs have risen up around Hawaii’s energy transition.

GreenBiz | June 21, 2017

A&B, Carbon Lighthouse to Reduce Energy Use at 3 Oahu Commercial Buildings

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. is seeking to cut energy consumption at three of its commercial buildings on Oahu through a partnership with energy efficiency company Carbon Lighthouse.

Pacific Business News | June 20, 2017

Smart Yields in First Round of Vatican’s Inaugural Accelerator Program

Honolulu-based Smart Yields has made the first round of the Vatican’s inaugural accelerator program, called the Laudato Si’ Challenge.

Pacific Business News | June 8, 2017

The Energy 202: Seven Former Heads of Energy Renewables Office Balk at Trump Budget

All seven former heads of the Energy Department’s renewables office, including our colleague Andy Karsner, told Congress and the Trump administration that the deep budget cut proposed for that office would cripple its ability to function.

The Washington Post | June 8, 2017

T-REX Group Raises $10m in Series B Funding

T-REX Group, Inc., a fintech company focused on providing data, analytics, and transactional tools for a variety of asset classes, including renewable energy, raised $10M in Series B funding. innogy and the Partnership Fund for New York City joined Safeguard Scientifics and Ecosystem Integrity Fund.

FinSMEs | May 24, 2017

Whisker Labs’ DIY Home Energy Monitoring Sensor Wins Electronic House Product Of The Year Award

Whisker Labs, which is bringing next generation total home intelligence technologies to market, announced that its DIY Home Energy Monitoring Sensor has received an Electronic House 2017 Products of the Year Award

Business Wire | May 23, 2017

Hawaii Grown – Hawaii Made: Kunoa Cattle Company

Kunoa Cattle Company is revitalizing Hawaii’s Ranching industry and expanding across Oahu and Maui with the help of Times Supermarkets.

khon2 | May 19, 2017

State Recognizes Hawaii Businesses, Events for Green Practices

13 Hawaii businesses were honored for pursuing energy efficiency and sustainable business practices at this year's Hawaii Green Business awards. One of this year's honorees was Ibis Networks.

Pacific Business News | May 18, 2017

Stem, Inc. Signs California State University Dominguez Hills for Intelligent Energy Storage Services

California State University (CSU) Dominguez Hills will be partnering with Stem to deliver software-driven energy storage services and reduce the university’s energy costs.The savings will be shifted elsewhere to CSU's services to their students.

Press Release | May 16, 2017

The Rise of Corporate-Funded Cleantech Incubators

Across the country, incubator programs that help cleantech startups and entrepreneurs grow are expanding and raising money, thanks to growing interest from big corporations that want access to the latest technologies and innovative entrepreneurs. Elemental Excelerator is one such program.

Greentech Media | May 16, 2017

​Honolulu-based in2lytics Raises $3M in Series A Funding

Honolulu-based In2lytics has raised $3 million in Series A funding from Enerdigm Ventures and Referentia Systems Inc. to expand its sales and marketing efforts.

Pacific Business News | May 16, 2017

People Power Closes Series B-1 Funding from innogy and Origin

Internet of Things and artificial intelligence software company, People Power, closes a Series B with funding from innogy and Origin to support the rapid deployment of smart home solutions for utility companies and service providers.

Power Engineering | May 15, 2017

AgTech Startup Ceres Imaging Announces a Funding Round of $5 Million

Ceres Imaging has secured $5 million in Series A financing to scale in its current markets, to speed entry into new crops, and to hire additional staff. Ceres is an ag-tech startup that provides farmers with spectral data to optimize water and nitrogen application.

Tech Crunch | May 10, 2017

EEx May Newsletter

Check out our May Newsletter! Portfolio companies in the news, a new collaboration with Emerson Collective, and more!

Elemental Excelerator | May 11, 2017

WaterSmart Software Partners With South Staffs Water to Deliver Measurable Outcomes With Behavioural Efficiency

WaterSmart Software today announced a new strategic partnership with South Staffs Water to engage with their end-use customers through a digital analytics and communications platform.

PRWeb | May 9, 2017

This Transportation Company Makes the Complex Simple

TransitScreen combines real-time technology with behavioral science to help people streamline their lives and make their cities work better.

Entrepreneur | May 5, 2017

Wild Relatives May Not Be so Crazy After All

Pongamia is naturally drought and tolerant to most temperature and weather extremes. Considering current predictions of our climate and weather patterns for the future, Pongamia seems to fit the bill as a “Wild Relative” for future oilseed crop production. Pongamia also provides other major environmental benefits such as carbon sequestration and nitrogen fixation.

Agriculture 2.0 | May 8, 2017

Energy, it’s Elemental!

Shawn Moorhead, Partnerships Coordinator at Elemental Excelerator, was on ThinkTech Hawaii to discuss the role of partnerships and innovation on Hawaii's path to a renewable energy future!

ThinkTech Hawaii | May 5, 2017

Swiftly Raises $2.5M to Expand Big Data Platform

Swiftly, the leading big data platform for public transit and mobility services, has raised $2.5 million for international expansion in a round led by Via ID.

Swiftly | May 3, 2017

Techies and Tractors: Silicon Valley’s Next Big Thing Is Saving Water

Ceres Imaging is bridging the gap between the agriculture and technology sectors by using their aerial imagery technology to help farmers optimize water and fertilizer application amid state-wide droughts.

Grist | May 2, 2017

Sandal plc: Trading Update

The Board of Sandal Plc announced the signing of a Design and Supply agreement with Momit, a Spanish company engaged in the smart home sector. Momit is redesigning its successful smart thermostat to enable its compatibility with the Energenie MiHome platform.

Yahoo Finance | April 27, 2017

Chubu Electric Power Selects Bidgely for Modern Customer Engagement Initiative

Bidgely and leading Japanese utility Chubu Electric Power are working together to become the first to bring residential disaggregation technology to Japan. The partnership is part of an enhanced customer engagement strategy underway at Chubu that seeks to incorporate innovative digital technologies into the utility’s service offerings.

Yahoo Finance | April 25, 2017

Two Hawaii Schools to Use Smart Yields Ag-Tech Through Whole Foods Grants

Two local schools in Hawaii will be using technology from Honolulu-based Smart Yields this upcoming school year after winning grants from Whole Foods.

Pacific Business News | April 25, 2017

Stem, Inc. Expands Intelligent Energy Storage Leadership in New York

Stem, Inc. has expanded its reach into New York State with commercial-scale energy storage and active participation in grid support programs. They are working with more than 20 companies in the Empire State looking to deploy 14 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy storage systems across 80 locations to reduce energy costs and strengthen the local grid.

Yahoo Finance | April 25, 2017

Energy Jobs: Rhodes Replaces Zibelman at NY PSC, Plus Enphase, Trina, Vivint, Dr. Moniz at Emerson

Dr. Ernest J. Moniz, former U.S. Secretary of Energy and founding director of the MIT Energy Initiative, has been named as the first distinguished fellow of Emerson Collective, a social impact effort headed by Laurene Powell Jobs. Moniz will focus on equitable access to technology, workforce development, and clean energy innovations in communities across America in support of a low carbon future.

Greentech Media | April 24, 2017

New York Seeks ‘Next Wave of Innovation’ with US$15.5M Funding for Energy Storage

Projects that demonstrate how energy storage can benefit a wide range of stakeholders and the electric grid can compete for US$15.5 million of funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Energy Storage | April 20, 2017

Geli Makes Storage Project Design Software Available for Free

Software company Geli released a new online program to streamline and optimize the design process for commercial storage. The company’s ESyst software makes it easy for independent developers to right-size their systems based on how they’ll be operated.

Greentech Media | April 19, 2017

Amber Kinetics Flywheels Pass Utilities Group Test

An independent study released this week by California’s Emerging Technologies Coordinating Council concludes that Amber Kinetics’ four-hour discharge duration flywheel storage technology effectively shifts load in a cost effective manner, and recommends it for adoption into the state’s Self-Generation Incentive Program.

Yahoo Finance | April 19, 2017

Bozzuto and TransitScreen Announce National Partnership

Bozzuto Management Company today announced a partnership with TransitScreen, a Washington, D.C.-based software company. A TransitScreen display provides residents with real-time departure and commuting time information for mass transit, bikeshare, carshare, rideshare, and other local transportation details. The large LCD screens will be prominently featured in the lobbies of Bozzuto communities in several major cities along the East Coast.

Bozzuto | April 18, 2017

Whisker Labs Sensor Widens IoT Energy Management Possibilities

Whisker Labs's low-voltage sensor identifies electrical signatures, enabling integrators to earn RMR from energy management of every device in a smart home. The Whisker Labs sensor does not require an electrical license to install. The sensor connects the main breaker and is tethered to a hub that communicates via Wi-Fi to the cloud where the analytics identify the electrical signature of every device in the home.

CE Pro | April 14, 2017

Honolulu-Based ​Energy Excelerator Rebrands as Part of New Emerson Collective Partnership

Energy Excelerator is rebranding as Elemental Excelerator as part of a new collaboration with investment and philanthropic platform Emerson Collective.

Pacific Business News | April 13, 2017

A Low-Tech Approach to Energy Storage: Molten Metals

The ability to store energy promises to revolutionize the way we generate, transmit and use electricity — making renewable sources such as wind and solar cheaper and more dependable. Ambri is based on the idea of using liquid or molten metals to generate electricity.

WBUR | March 27, 2017

Pono Home’s Efficiency Retrofit Project for 5,000 Public Housing Units Kicks off in Hawaii

In collaboration with Hawaii Energy and the Energy Excelerator, Pono Home kicked off a project to retrofit up to 5,000 homes for the Hawaii Public Housing Authority.

Cleantechnica | March 23, 2017

Bidgely’s Business Blooms as Residential Demand Management Matures

Bidgely, like other energy management solution providers, aims to allow consumers to take control of their energy usage through increased knowledge of their power consumption. But unlike many of its competitors, the company offers energy consumption information for nearly every major household appliance without the use of any mandatory hardware.

Utility Dive | March 22, 2017

Before Tesla: 10 Hawaiian Startups Building an Amazing Alternative Energy Ecosystem

The opening of Tesla’s newest solar center is bringing overdue attention to the state’s bustling alternative energy sector and thus to a growing list of new energy startups taking advantage of local resources.

Geektime | March 19, 2017

How Drones Are Helping Design the Solar Power Plants of the Future

"A cottage industry is growing around creating technology for solar power developers to design, build and operate solar farms. HST Solar has developed algorithms to swiftly plot out the best designs, layout, and wiring for large solar farms," says Katie Fehrenbacher.

The Guardian | February 26, 2017

Building a Cohort

Go behind the scenes of how we built our 2017 cohort of companies ranging from aerial spectroscopy for farmers to a new CO2 conversion technology.

Cleantechnica | February 9, 2017

Smart Yields, Smart Farming

Smart Yields connects a wide variety of sensors and hardware, and taps a diverse array of data sets and agronomy best practices to give farmers a flexible yet powerful tool to help protect crops, optimize operations, and increase yields.

Hawaii News Now | February 8, 2017

Bidgely Shares Results from Energy Efficiency Program with London Hydro

It's time to install batteries into the biggest machine of all: the United States' electrical grid. In this episode of "Nova", the "Search For the Super Battery" leads to Amber Kinetics.

CBS News | January 29, 2017

Ambri Returns to the Energy Storage Hunt with Liquid Metal Battery Redesign

Eric Wesoff writes that "Ambri, with its liquid metal battery technology, has returned to the energy storage race after "a pause" during which it redesigned its high-temperature seals and worked on other facets of its storage system."

Greentech Media | December 14, 2016

Letter From Marrakech

After returning from COP22 in Marrakech, Melissa shares Dr. Jonathan Pershing's (lead climate negotiator for the US) 5 key perspectives on the Conference of the Parties process and his focus for the next 5 years.

Cleantechnica | December 7, 2016

Ibis Networks Raises $2.5M Series A

“It gives us working capital to really focus on expanding our commercialization efforts in 2017,” says CEO Michael Pfeffer.

Pacific Business News | December 7, 2016

WaterSmart Signs Agreement with GE’s Water & Process Technologies

Together they will further the creation of digital solutions that address pressing issues in water distribution management.

GE Press Release | December 7, 2016

Pilot Program With Pono Home Helps Low-Income, Kupuna Families

Over 1,300 home-efficiency products were installed in 66 low-income and kupuna (elderly) homes across Kauai as part of a pilot program spearheaded by Pono Home in partnership with Kauai Island Utility Cooperative and the County of Kauai.

The Garden Island | November 29, 2016

Kunoa Buys Oahu’s Only Slaughterhouse to Beef Up Industry

While Kunoa will use Oahu’s only U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified hog and cattle slaughter facility to process its own animals for sale, it will also continue to offer meat processing services to the Hawaii livestock community.

Pacific Business News | November 18, 2016

The Difference Makers: TerViva’s Business is Saving the Earth

“Farmers are not the earliest adopters of new technology,” says Naveen Sikka, cofounder and CEO of a six-year-old Oakland-based startup called TerViva. But eight large citrus growers in Florida and two major sugar plantation owners in Hawaii have embraced the company’s brand of AgTech, putting them at the forefront of what Sikka hopes will become a technology-driven game-changer for feeding the planet.

Fortune | November 14, 2016

WaterSmart and Stripe Bring Innovative Payment Solution to Water Industry

WaterSmart launches a new innovative payment solution: the first of its kind for the water industry. It integrates customer engagement, water consumption data, leak resolution, billing information, and multi-channel electronic payment options - all in a unified customer portal.

Press Release | October 5, 2016

Hawaiian Electric is Testing Flywheels as an Energy Storage Option

Hawaiian Electric announces a new partnership with Amber Kinetics to build and install a flywheel system at Campbell Industrial Park power plant.

Greentech Media | October 4, 2016

The Difference Makers: T-REX Finances Renewable Energy

As a fintech entrepreneur who left a stable corporate job, Ben Cohen feels lucky. While he now has the flexibility of running his own innovative startup, Cohen has clients that are some of the biggest financial firms in the world.

Fortune | October 3, 2016

Pono Home & KIUC Amp Up Efficiency

Kauai Island Utility Company and the County of Kauai, in partnership with Pono Home, are offering a new pilot program to Kauai residents conserve energy.

The Garden Island | September 26, 2016

Sun Dance

Many hurdles will have to be cleared and problems solved along the path to Hawaii's goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045. Shifted Energy leverages the energy and thermal storage capacity of grid interactive water heaters (GIWH). Shifted Energy's solution connects water heaters to smart systems allowing the heaters to cycle on or off based on real-time grid needs for increased or reduced aggregate power consumption.

Summit Zine | September 17, 2016

How Data and Machine Learning are Changing the Solar Industry

Katie Fehrenbacher writes, "The rise of data tools—algorithms, machine learning, sensors—are driving investments in, and acquisitions of, solar startups, while entrepreneurs are launching new companies that are using data to solve various solar industry problems." Featuring kWh Analytics and BrightBox Technologies.

Fortune | September 14, 2016

kWh Analytics Raises $5M Series A Round & Launches a New Product

kWh Analytics’ new PowerLock financial product increases equity returns of solar projects by combining the world’s largest solar production database with insurance backing by Standard & Poor’s “A” rated global insurance carriers.

Cleantechnica | September 7, 2016

BrightBox Gets Acquired! What Does This Mean for Energy Startups?

Aquisition details plus four interesting trends we’ve been tracking through our work with our portfolio companies.

EEx on Medium | September 2, 2016

We’re a Non Profit & We Raised a Fund: Why?

If you’ve been at any of our events over the past few months, you’ll know that we have been dropping mentions of this new chapter, but we haven’t publicly announced it…. so…drumroll please! It is with great excitement that we introduce the newest evolution of the Energy Excelerator model, a private, follow-on fund customized for energy and clean technology companies: EEx Fund One.

EEx on Medium | August 9, 2016

Energy kits for 750 Oahu Homes

Bidgely, through its EEx Demonstration Project, is partnering with Blue Planet Foundation and Hawaiian Electric to launch a pilot program offering the installation of free home energy kits in 750 homes across Oahu.

Pacific Business News | July 6, 2016

250 Hawai‘i Schools Get Energy Management Systems

Public elementary, middle and high schools in the Hawaiian Electric Companies’ service territory are receiving new, intelligent, energy-monitoring devices and software through a unique collaboration among Stem, Hawaiian Electric Companies, EEx, and the Hawai‘i Department of Education.

Maui Now | June 21, 2016

Accelerating the Success of Clean Energy Entrepreneurs

Getting clean-energy innovations to market can require access to costly scientific equipment, along with patient, long-term capital to meet rigorous technical and market milestones. Both government and philanthropy can play a catalytic role for entrepreneurs at the earliest stages.

The White House Blog | June 2, 2016

6 Cleantech Startups Making Waves in Hawaii

Over the past three years EEx has mobilized $15 million in funding to support 42 companies. Over the next 18 months, these companies plan to raise more than $240 million in new investment. Julia Pyper profiles six of the 32 in Greentech Media.

Greentech Media | May 18, 2016

DR Down Under: Bidgely App Delivers 30% Peak Load Reductions in Australia

Bidgely helps United Energy reduce load by a 30% during peak events during the 2016 summer season.

Utility Dive | May 4, 2016

Grid 2.0: Toward an Energy Paradigm Shift

The "Grid 2.0" vision calls for a responsive and highly integrated system of distributed energy sources and consumers. At the 2015 VERGE conference in San Jose, California, Dawn, Elisabeth Brinton of California utility PG&E and Graham Richard from Advanced Energy Economy discussed new kinds of relationships and partnerships in order to facilitate this vision.

GreenBiz | April 7, 2016

Hawaii, Where Energy Startups Go to Prove Themselves

David Ferris writes about how "Hawaii is an exotic species in the world of energy. On the one hand, it's tiny, an archipelago thousands of miles from anywhere. On the other, it's big: a U.S. state that is home to 1.4 million people, a tourist destination for millions more, and home base to one of the world's largest naval fleets."

EE News | April 5, 2016

Why Did 1776 Invest in TransitScreen?

1776 invests in entrepreneurs who are transforming critical industries like transportation, energy, health and smart cities. They offer ample opportunities for innovative startups to scale while improving countless lives around the world. As investors, that excites them. Their latest investment is in Washington, D.C.-based TransitScreen, a startup that produces real-time, way-finding displays.

1776 Insights | April 5, 2016

Third Wave

Hawaii Business profiles EEx in three parts: 1) a look at our 2016 cohort, 2) an update on past EEx cohorts, and 3) a look at EEx itself and its partners.

Hawaii Business | April 2016

Ibis Networks Partners with Honeywell Company, Alerton

To help building professionals save up to 40% on their plug-load electricity costs, Alerton and Ibis Networks​ have partnered to bring the Ibis InteliNetwork to Alerton dealers.

Alerton Press Release | March 31, 2016

Can Data Rescue Solar Stocks? Google Is Leading the Way

Opening up solar data sets is the key to unlocking capital, argues Jason Kaminsky of kWh Analytics.

Greentech Media | March 9, 2016

Impact Investors in the Eco Revolution

"We're seeing very rapid transformation in the energy sector in particular, as well as transportation and water, and over the next 10 years we're going to be making decisions that determine how the next hundred years of infrastructure is going to look, in this country and around the world," says Dawn at SOCAP 2015.

SOCAP Blog | March 2, 2016

Why I Care About Energy in My Quick Service Restaurant

Roger Deslauriers and his brother-in-law have owned a dozen Dunkin Donuts locations in Massachusetts and Florida; it’s a business that his father started back in 1959 and it has been part of their family ever since. He addresses some of the most common questions he gets about their business’ commitment to green on the Plotwatt blog.

Plotwatt Blog | February 17, 2016

Launching TransitScreen Green

TransitScreen Green is a new initiative to keep their team, facilities, and platform working in harmony with the environment.

TransitScreen Blog | January 27, 2016

How Startups and Incumbents Are Collaborating to Make Hawaii 100% Renewable

Dawn joined Stephen Lacy, Jigar Shah and Katherine Hamilton better known as The Energy Gang to talk how startups are supporting Hawaii's goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045.

Greentech Media | January 21, 2016

EEx Expands Further into Asia Pacific, Partners with Vector, New Zealand’s Largest Utility

“Innovation is core to Vector’s growth," says Simon Mackenzie, CEO of Vector. "EEx and its pipeline of innovation will help us test and scale new solutions."

Press Release | January 12, 2016

PG&E’s 75MW Energy Storage Procurement to Test Amber Kinetics’ Flywheels

On Wednesday, Pacific Gas & Electric revealed contracts for 75 MW of storage that includes 20 MW of flywheels from startup Amber Kinetics.

Greentech Media | December 3, 2015

U.S. Department of Energy & MIT Energy Initiative Recognize Women Leaders in Energy

Dawn, Carla Peterman (commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission), and seven other women were honored for their outstanding leadership and achievements at the Annual U.S. DOE / MIT Clean Energy Symposium.

C3E Blog | November 4, 2015

Bidgely Raises $16M Series B

Bidgely is best known for its disaggregation software offering customers appliance-level energy consumption data, which it collects by analyzing the unique energy-use patterns of individual devices. Constellation Technology Ventures, which is part of Exelon Corporation, led the round. European utility investors E.ON and RWE also joined in the round with existing investor Khosla Ventures.

Greentech Media | November 2, 2015

TerViva Pioneers a New Type of Oilseed

Canola growers could soon be facing competition from a new type of oilseed.
 A California company will be harvesting its first commercial crop of pongamia next year, a leguminous tree species that produces oilseed pods.


The Western Producer | October 15, 2015

Energy & Innovation from the Slopes of Aspen to the Shores of Hawaii

"The grid has never changed faster, and this sea of change has its own navigators," writes Dawn for Global Island News. She attended the 2015 Aspen-Institute Clean Energy Innovation Forum, an impressive gathering of about 70 forward-looking folks, including technology companies like Google, utilities like NRG, and representatives from the White House and Department of Energy.

Global Island News | September 19, 2015

The Land of Surf, Sun and Startups: 5 Promising Energy Companies Working in Hawaii

"With strong demand for distributed generation, Hawaii is an ideal place for cleantech startups to test their ideas -- if they can get traction. Enter Energy Excelerator, a Hawaii-based nonprofit designed to help startups find their way into the island state's dynamic energy market," says Julia Pyper.

Greentech Media | September 3, 2015

The White House Hosts Its First Demo Day

"Whether it’s a garage, a basement, a dorm room, or—if you’re like me—a kitchen, a great idea can ignite just about anywhere," writes Diana Doukas on the White House's first every Demo Day featuring EEx company, Go Electric.

The White House Blog | August 19, 2015

Stem Raises $45M in Series C

Stem has raised $45 million from investors including the energy-trading arm of German power company RWE. Katie Fehrenbacher writes that "the key to Stem's system is algorithms that use data from local utilities, building operations, and from a variety of other sources to quickly shift buildings from battery to grid power. Lithium-ion batteries can provide short bursts of power, to meet the demand."

Fortune | August 13, 2015

Need a Taxi to the Airport? Options Expanding Beyond Uber

EEx company, Bandwagon, featured as an alternative to Uber by Stephanie Rosenbloom in the New York Times. In late May Bandwagon began operating at La Guardia Airport.

New York Times | August 10, 2015

ConnectDER Cuts Cost of Grid Interconnection for Rooftop Solar

Forbes writes about ConnectDER, a startup founded in 2012 in Pennsylvania with a technology that goes a long way toward solving panel-driven interconnection conundrums for solar and other distributed energy resources.

Forbes | June 2, 2015

EEx Weekend Hackathon Tackles Hawaii’s Traffic Problem

On Friday, EEx launched a two-day hackathon where teams will have 24 hours to build apps addressing one of Hawaii’s most notorious problems: transportation.

Pacific Business News | May 22, 2015

Blackstone and DENSO Back EEx

Blackstone Charitable Foundation and DENSO join the Office of Naval Research, the US Department of Energy, Hawaii State Energy Office, and Hawaiian Electric Industries as Energy Excelerator's Global Partners.

Cleantechnica | February 19, 2015

Stem to Supply 86MW to Southern California Edison

Stem leverages the work they are doing with us in Hawaii to become of four companies selected by Southern California Edison (SCE) in the largest grid-connected storage purchase in the history of the United States, 261 MW of storage capability.

Forbes | November 5, 2014

Stem Raises $100M Project Finance Fund

Eric Wesoff covers the a behind-the-meter energy storage startup' $100 million fund to finance distributed energy storage at commercial and industrial customers. At the same times he asks whether or not the "leasing model can do for energy storage what it’s done for residential solar."

Greentech Media | September 16, 2014

EEx Opens Applications for its 2015 Cohort

Katie Fehrenbacher reveals our secret sauce, deployment: "Seed stage companies can draw up to $75,000 and growth stage companies can bring in up to $1 million. So, yeah, not huge coffers, but perhaps the biggest upside of the program is if a company wants to do a pilot or commercial project in Hawaii."

Gigaom (R.I.P.) | May 12, 2014

EEx Provides Boost for Clean Energy

Hawaii Business profiles the 15 companies in EEx's 2014 cohort.

Hawaii Business | March 2014

EEx Pours $5M into Cleantech Startups

A new startup program, called Energy Exceletor, recently raised $30 million from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Naval Research to help the state achieve that goal. A portion of the funds — about $5 million — have already been invested in 15 innovative companies.

Venture Beat | November 7, 2013

Navy Commits $30M to EEx

Ucilia Wang of Forbes writes about why EEx and the Navy feel Hawaii is the best test bed for energy startups: "Hawaii may be small in size, but its high energy costs have made the island state a desirable market for green tech."

Forbes | September 6, 2013

EEx Receives $30M From The Navy

Announcing our $30 million commitment from the U.S. Navy, Eliza Brooke of TechCrunch writes, "By operating outside Silicon Valley and instead in an environment with a vested interest in finding energy solutions, Energy Excelerator could be making steps toward helping startups gain traction."

TechCrunch | September 3, 2013