SUSTAINABILITY & ALTERNATE ENERGY INNOVATORS EMBARK ON CLIMATE-FOCUSED TECH ACCELERATOR
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – (January 9, 2023) – On Wednesday, January 11th, the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, a technology incubator, accelerator, and coworking office, kicks off its climate and cleantech-focused accelerator program for emerging startup ventures. Over the next 12 weeks, the founders of these companies will receive specific training and mentoring in customer discovery, product strategy, investor readiness, and entrepreneurial leadership.
“Several sustainability-focused startups have participated in previous accelerator cohorts, and we believed there would be enough interest to conduct a program specifically for new ventures in this growing industry,” said Ken Evans, managing director of the accelerator program. “Over 250 startups expressed interest in participating in this program representing a wide array of solutions to climate and sustainability issues. There were many good companies and ideas, but in selecting this batch of startups, we will focus our effort on the business ideas that we can assist the most through our workshops and mentor network,” added Evans.
The program, which is technology agnostic, will assist innovations focused on monitoring or reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, generating more sustainable sources of energy, reducing waste that currently ends up in landfill or our waterways, and other innovative solutions that will assist commercial enterprises as well as municipalities with their goal to become more carbon neutral. The startup ventures selected for this program include:
Zero Circle – ESG metrics & reporting platform
BuildingLens – CRE systems management & monitoring
Hago Energetics – Green energy by converting waste into hydrogen
Emerald Technology Group – Integrating sustainability behavior into corporate culture
Haylon Technologies – Energy storage systems management & optimization
Connex2X – Optimizing transit to reduce greenhouse gases, and improve vehicle safety
Laminar Scientific – Microgrid electricity generation from wave energy
TEKMARA – System for high-efficiency AgTech in marine environments
“Climate tech innovation will be an ongoing focus for the Tampa Bay Innovation Center’s programming and future resources provided to startup founders,” said Tonya Elmore, president & CEO, Tampa Bay Innovation Center. “We anticipate innovations in this sector leveraging innovations in artificial intelligence, blockchain, cybersecurity, big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and other core technologies that are at the center of evolving or disrupting current industry solutions,” added Elmore.
The climate tech program is supported by corporate champions ARK Invest, Duke Energy, PODS Moving & Storage, and others. The climate tech accelerator will operate from mid-January through the end of March. Upon completion of the program, the companies will take part in TBIC’s 6th Innovation Showcase event, tentatively scheduled for mid-April 2023. The in-person event will gather an audience of investors, community leaders, media, and potential business partners/customers interested in supporting the innovations developed by these companies.
About Tampa Bay Innovation Center:
Tampa Bay Innovation Center supports entrepreneurial success, fosters the creation of high-tech jobs, and develops new sources of technology and manufacturing capabilities by nurturing early-stage ventures as they grow and launch their products into the marketplace. The Innovation Center offers programs that are tailored to the innovator/entrepreneur and address business intelligence, planning, business formation, strategy execution, and technology transition.
In February of 2022, the Tampa Bay Innovation Center in partnership with the Federal Economic Development Administration, Pinellas County, and the City of St. Petersburg began constructing a purpose-built 45,000 sq. ft. startup incubator facility in the St. Pete Innovation District. In October of last year, it was announced that ARK Invest partnered with TBIC to be the title sponsor for this facility, now designated as ARK Innovation Center.
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