Clean Energy Trust Named As Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator Channel Partner Award Winner
$125k in funds will go towards the CET University Accelerator and university engagement
CHICAGO — March 31, 2020 — Clean Energy Trust today announced that it was named a 2020 Channel Partner Award winner by the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2), a technology incubator and platform funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and co-administered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The award program strengthens sustainable technology initiatives and fosters a creative and collaborative network of cross-industry stakeholders in order to address barriers that startups face on the path to commercialization.
Clean Energy Trust will leverage this funding by supporting student entrepreneurship programming through the CET University Accelerator and hands-on engagement with Midwest universities. Clean Energy Trust will collaborate with Case Western Reserve University, Northwestern University, and the University of Michigan to expand entrepreneurship programming in conjunction with existing sustainability education programs.
The CET University Accelerator is a business accelerator that supports student entrepreneurs working on impactful cleantech solutions. The program takes place remotely during the summer and culminates in a demo day in the fall, where teams will showcase their businesses to cleantech ecosystem stakeholders and compete for cash prize awards.
This year’s submissions were selected on a competitive basis by evaluating their potential for STEM job creation, impact on cleantech and agtech sectors, ability to leverage the IN2 network, and funding sustainability.
“The Channel Partner Awards establish a continuum of innovation within the IN2 program — from early-stage concept to commercialization,” said Trish Cozart, IN2 program manager at NREL. “By allocating resources to Channel Partner initiatives, in addition to selecting companies for our tech incubator, we’re reaching startups at multiple points along their journey and will get more transformative resources to market.”
“We are honored to receive the Channel Partner Award as supporting early-stage entrepreneurs is integral to our mission,” said Erik Birkerts, Chief Executive Officer at Clean Energy Trust. “The Mid-Continent region of the United States has a depth of world class universities and we see tremendous opportunity in supporting student entrepreneurs as they begin to shape and scale new cleantech ventures.”
The nationwide network of IN2 Channel Partners includes 63 cleantech and agtech business incubators, accelerators, universities and industry experts. The IN2 Channel Partner Awards program was established in 2017 with $5 million of committed funding from Wells Fargo to be distributed over four years. Since inception, the program has supported more than 115 events, strategic meetings and trainings, and 29 larger strategic initiatives between 31 organizations. Funded projects have engaged more than 2,369 participants (entrepreneurs, industry and academic representatives and others), created nearly 200 jobs, led to more than $18.2 million in follow-on funding for startups involved and earned $1.8 million in matching funds from outside organizations.
++
About Clean Energy Trust
Clean Energy Trust is a Chicago-based nonprofit that supports early-stage startups in the Mid-Continent region of the United States working on solutions for clean energy, decarbonization, and environmental sustainability. Clean Energy Trust helps high potential entrepreneurs scale and succeed by providing capital and hands-on mentorship and programming. To date, Clean Energy Trust has invested in 31 portfolio companies. Learn more at www.CleanEnergyTrust.org.
About the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2)
The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) is a $30 million technology incubator and platform funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation. Co-administered by and housed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, IN2’s mission is to speed the path to market for early-stage, clean-technology entrepreneurs. Launched in 2014 with an initial focus on supporting scalable solutions to reduce the energy impact of commercial buildings, IN2 has since expanded its focus to advance technologies that address the sustainable production of agriculture and housing affordability. Companies selected for participation in the program receive up to $250,000 in non-dilutive funding from Wells Fargo, technical support and validation from experts at NREL and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and ongoing connections to organizations across value chains. For more information, visit in2ecosystem.com.
About Wells Fargo
Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,500 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com). With approximately 261,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. With its corporate philanthropy, Wells Fargo aims to pave a path to stability and financial success for underserved communities by focusing on housing affordability, small business growth, and financial health, among other local community needs. In 2018, Wells Fargo donated $444 million to nearly 11,000 nonprofits. For 10 consecutive years, Wells Fargo has held the honor of №1 in workplace giving by United Way Worldwide. Wells Fargo team members also actively support communities by donating more than 2 million hours of volunteer time in the last year. News, insights and more information on the company’s overall corporate responsibility are available at Wells Fargo Stories and www.wellsfargo.com/impact.
Contact Information
Clean Energy Trust
Amy Yanow Fairbanks
amy.yanow@cleanenergytrust.org
(847) 208–3190
Wells Fargo IN2 Media
E.J. Bernacki
ejbernacki@wellsfargo.com
415–840–4469
