Dive Brief:
- Wells Fargo’s newest cohort for its innovation incubator program will focus on building decarbonization, the bank announced Wednesday.
- The cohort on the program’s emerging tech track consists of three North American-based startups that will each receive $250,000 and support from the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which co-administers the program.
- The three startups focus on different aspects of building decarbonization, including energy management, as well as building cooling and dehumidification.
Dive Insight:
Wells Fargo’s latest cohort represents the 14th iteration of its Innovation Incubator, or IN2, program, as the bank provides funding and NREL teams with startups to share expertise. The additions of Chicago-based Blip Energy, Ontario-based Evercloak and Sommerville, Massachusetts-based Transaera brings the total number of incubator companies to 75, according to the press release.
Sarah Derdowski, the IN2 program manager, said in the release that the three companies were chosen because they have “market-ready technologies poised to make a meaningful impact” on building energy management.
"With increasing urbanization, addressing energy demands and building resilience is paramount," Derdowski said in the release. “Their solutions are designed for quick deployment across diverse settings, helping to accelerate adoption and maximize energy efficiency and sustainability."
Each of the companies will work with research engineers from NREL’s Building Energy Science Group. Blip Energy is a smart battery platform, designed for energy management of building appliances and will work with Ravi Kishore. Evercloak is focused on reducing energy used from building cooling and will work with Jason Woods on its refrigerant-free dehumidification systems. Transaera will also look to tackle building cooling, and it will work with Nelson James on its dehumidification solution that integrates with standard heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
The building decarbonization cohort will also get “real-time feedback” from another one of Wells Fargo’s incubator programs, according to Wells Fargo Interim Co-Head of Sustainability Jeff Schub. The Scalable Tech Track program launched in August — also in collaboration with NREL — and helps provide companies with practical implementation guidance for clean energy technologies, according to an August release.
“We’re thrilled to continue our work with IN² and support innovative companies working to address energy and resilience challenges in buildings,” Schub said in Wednesday’s release. “The demand for innovative solutions in the building and sustainability space is only growing, so we continue to support companies preparing to meet that rising need.”
An analysis from BloombergNEF found that electrification could help bridge up to 33% of the current gap between a 2050 economic transition scenario aligned with a 2.6 degrees Celsius temperature rise and one aligned with reaching net-zero by 2050.
