“New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Center is a driver of entrepreneurship and innovation, supporting energy startups and helping strengthen New Mexico’s leadership in clean energy innovation,” said U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
December 5, 2024
Washington, D.C. – Today the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) announced five Phase 2 winners of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Round 3.
EPIC Round 3 is a multi-phase funding opportunity that aims to encourage energy innovation ecosystems, increase local clean energy business productivity, and improve the commercial success of energy tech startups. Now in its third consecutive year of competition, the EPIC program has gained recognition as a valuable resource for organizations supporting clean energy innovation and entrepreneurship.
“The EPIC program represents a strategic investment in one of our Nation’s best job creation catalysts – the incubator and accelerator community. The Office of Technology Transitions, along with our Round 3 funding partners in the Office of Grid Deployment and the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office, is proud to support the incubators and accelerators that are on the ground helping clean energy entrepreneurs thrive,” said DOE Chief Commercialization Officer and Director of OTT, Dr. Vanessa Z. Chan. “Each year of the program bolsters the tremendous impact these organizations can have on clean tech startups in their communities.”
In Phase 1 of the prize round, 23 incubators and accelerators were each awarded $150,000 for their programs designed to support energy startups and entrepreneurs. With the culmination of Phase 2, five competing teams were selected as grand prize winners and offered the chance to negotiate a 3-year, million-dollar cooperative agreement with OTT.
“This $1 million in federal funding will support ClimateHaven’s innovative, cutting-edge work – significant to Connecticut’s clean energy efforts. This investment will boost our state’s economic growth, create new jobs, and support the next generation of clean energy leaders and entrepreneurs. I will continue to fight for federal investments that advance Connecticut’s clean energy goals and tackle climate change,” said U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal.
“This $1 million Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize isn’t just a win for ClimateHaven, it is a win for entrepreneurs in New Haven, who are at the forefront of mitigating the impacts of climate change and creating good paying jobs,” said U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro. “This award from the U.S. Department of Energy will support ClimateHaven’s work to keep Connecticut a leader in energy innovation, strengthening our resilience and improving energy efficiency.”
“New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Center is a driver of entrepreneurship and innovation, supporting energy startups and helping strengthen New Mexico’s leadership in clean energy innovation,” said U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján. “This $1 million investment will boost Arrowhead’s work and support cutting-edge innovations to address issues like critical energy-water challenges. I’m proud to welcome this funding and will continue to fight for resources to support innovation and promote job creation in our state.”
As each EPIC winner negotiates their $1 million cooperative agreement, they will collaborate with OTT to determine the scope and scale of the work they plan to achieve through their partnership over the next three years.
Meet the Winners
The Phase 2 winners of EPIC Round 3 have developed thoughtful, creative, and comprehensive plans to engage and assist the cleantech startups communities they support. Congratulations on your big win, teams!
EPIC Round 3 winners span across the U.S. and its territories, representing a wide range of regions and energy tech industries supported by DOE.
- Arrowhead Center at NMSU, Las Cruces, NM – Arrowhead RenewTech Incubator will build on in-house incubator offerings, focusing on emerging energy and water technologies. Cohorts will either work with National Lab technologies available for licensing or solve community/industry challenges with their own or lab technologies.
- ClimateHaven, Inc., New Haven, CT – ClimateHaven MVP will provide business support services to companies in Connecticut, focusing on early-stage companies, with sector-specific support in the field of green chemistry/engineering. The award for this team is co-funded by the Energy Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office.
- Dominion Energy Innovation Center, Ashland, VA – DEIC Hyperscaled will focus specifically on startups related to or supporting data center energy usage.
- Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust (PRSTRT), San Juan, Puerto Rico – Project Switch will build on PRSTRT’s success with its Parallel18 accelerator program, with the goal of centering Puerto Rico as the premier hub of energy innovation in the Americas. The award for this team is co-funded by the Grid Deployment Office.
- Spark Innovation Center, Knoxville TN – SparkShop will provide product development support, resources, and training designed to help cleantech startups accelerate market entry, validate technology, and boost investor confidence.
Thank you to all the EPIC Round 3 competing teams for your hard work and dedication to support, incubate, and accelerate clean energy startups!
The OTT EPIC program has been supporting incubators since first launching in 2020. The impact has been far reaching, beginning with the first Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) awardees in 2021. As of February 2024, in their third year of a three-year award, the 10 incubators funded under the Round 1 FOA have supported 230 companies with a total annual revenue of $33M and secured more than $138M in follow-on funding. The companies supported by these incubators reported that they created 1,800 jobs since FY 2021. Learn more about the impacts of EPIC from 2021-2024 in OTT’s recently published report to congress.
As the competitive portion of EPIC Round 3 awards its remaining available funding, OTT is looking forward to the exciting future of EPIC in 2025. Stay tuned for updates on prospective opportunities through the EPIC program!
Learn More
EPIC Round 3 is part of OTT’s broader Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) program which provides funding and support to place-based incubators to encourage the robust growth of regional energy innovation ecosystems across the United States.
The American-Made program fast-tracks innovation through prizes, training, teaming, and mentoring, connecting the nation’s entrepreneurs and innovators to America’s national labs and the private sector. Teams competing in EPIC Round 3 have access to the American-Made Network, which provides tools, resources, and support to accelerate real-world solutions and achieve clean energy goals.
Visit energy.gov/technologytransitions to learn more about OTT’s overall mission to spur commercialization of impactful energy technologies and expand public benefit of DOE’s research, development, demonstration, and deployment portfolio.
About the Department of Energy Office of Technology Transitions
The Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) is one of the largest supporters of technology commercialization in the federal government. Founded in 2015, OTT bolsters the technology industry’s market skills and enables clean energy technologies to progress through research, development, demonstration, and to deployment into the private sector to meet our nation’s climate and energy goals. Visit us at energy.gov/ott to learn more and subscribe to receive our latest opportunities and accomplishments via email. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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