Uptake Alliance: Inaugural Cohort Of 15 Climate Tech Startups Announced

By Dan Anderson • Jan 18, 2024

Uptake Alliance – an emerging venture development program focused on fostering breakthrough climate technologies – announced the selection of its inaugural startup cohort. The innovation program – which was designed to facilitate and propel startups to secure commercial agreements, boost revenue, assemble exceptional teams, and secure funding – launches later this month.

This program will feature an extensive and bespoke curriculum, mentorship from industry experts, corporate networking opportunities, customized roadmapping sessions, and access to Uptake Alliance’s extended network of partners and investors.

Launched in September 2023, Uptake Alliance plans to serve as the gateway to New York State for climate tech startups, facilitating their growth through valuable industry connections, strategic partnerships, and assistance in securing funding for deploying GHG-reducing technologies. The initiative, administered by ADL Ventures and supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), is accessible to startups worldwide, serving as a centralized hub for climate tech entities interested in doing business in New York State.

These 15 startups demonstrate exceptional promise, innovation, and a focus on driving positive change:

1.) Ampaire (Los Angeles, CA) – Revolutionizing air travel with its innovative hybrid-electric aircraft technology, reducing aviation’s carbon footprint and making air travel more accessible worldwide.

2.) Banyan Infrastructure (San Francisco, CA) – A purpose-built project finance software designed to simplify, accelerate, and optimize sustainable infrastructure financing across the deal life cycle.

3.) ecoSPEARS (Orlando, FL) – Provides sustainable, cost-effective green remediation technologies that extract and eliminate persistent toxins from contaminated sediment, soil, and water, giving polluted land and waterways a second chance at life.

4.) Edgecom Energy (Toronto, ON, Canada) – Empowers large energy consumers to harness the power of IoT and AI solutions to optimize energy usage, save money, and contribute to a greener, more sustainable future.

5.) Feedback Solutions (Buffalo, NY) – A pioneer for Demand-Controlled Ventilation, using precise, BACnet-enabled, real-time occupant count data to effectively optimize energy efficiency of HVAC systems in campus, commercial, and municipal buildings.

6.) Hub Controls (Binghamton, NY) – Utilizes an automated energy management system that intuitively reduces energy waste in residential spaces, enabling energy, carbon and cost savings.

7.) H2Ok Innovations (Somerville, MA) – An IoT platform helping supply chain and manufacturing optimize industrial liquid and fluid systems through advanced intelligence.

8.) Icarus RT (Carlsbad, CA) – Building a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal solar cogeneration system, doubling the output of commercial PV arrays and cutting the CO2 emissions and payback period in half.

9.) INOVUES (Houston, TX) – Re-energizes building facades through non-invasive, non-disruptive window retrofit technologies, making buildings smarter, greener, and healthier.

10.) itselectric (Brooklyn, NY) – Simplifies the EV transition as the first ‘behind the meter’ charging system, providing public EV charging for all communities.

11.) Kelvin (New York, NY) – Designs and installs smart radiator covers, heat pumps, and thermal batteries to save money, reduce carbon emissions, and enable pinpoint temperature control for legacy buildings.

12.) Rensair (London, UK) – Offers ventilation energy management solutions for commercial real estate, reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions in commercial buildings by more than 40% while improving indoor air quality.

13.) Rhizome (Washington, DC) – Helps electric utilities assess future climate risk at high resolution, measure the benefits of grid-enhancing investments, and prevent power grid failures through their AI-powered software platform.

14.) Symbium’s (San Francisco, CA) – Computational law-powered dashboard accelerates residential energy-saving project installations with instant permitting and incentives for homeowners and contractors.

15.) Voltpost (New York, NY) – Decarbonizes mobility and democratizes charging access, retrofitting lampposts into a modular EV charging platform.

KEY QUOTES:

“We are thrilled to welcome this exceptional cohort of startups to our venture development program. These 15 teams of innovators represent a diverse set of cutting-edge solutions that will revolutionize and help shape our sustainable future. We are excited to support them with the resources, mentorship, and connections they need to thrive and make a lasting impact in New York State and beyond.”

— Chris Richardson, Executive Director at Uptake Alliance

“Congratulations to the startup companies selected for the first cohort of Uptake Alliance that are poised to commercialize technologies critical to meeting New York State’s climate and clean energy goals. Supporting emerging companies that create products to help lower emissions and advance clean energy is a win-win – as this support provides innovators with much-needed resources to grow and forge new partnerships that will benefit local communities and the State’s economy overall. “

— New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Chief Program Officer Anthony Fiore