Historic amounts of both private and public money are pouring into climate solutions, but when it comes to climate tech and venture capital funding, the distribution of those funds is largely unequal.
The Coalition’s Justice40 Principles Commits Incubators to Prioritizing
Opportunities for Underrepresented Cleantech Entrepreneurs, Investing in
Disadvantaged Communities & Ensuring the Clean Energy Economy
Benefits All Americans
Los Angeles, CA, September 20, 2023 – Leaders of the nation’s most innovative clean
technology incubators–via the National Coalition of Clean Energy Incubators (NCCEI) led by
the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)–adopted a new joint Statement of Principles to
advance President Biden’s environmental justice goals, promising to prioritize investments
and initiatives that “increase support and enhance opportunities for diverse
underrepresented cleantech entrepreneurs, provide job training for at-risk communities and
scale deployment of clean energy solutions in disadvantaged communities that will provide
increased benefits from the clean energy economy for all Americans.”
“Thanks to President Biden and the U.S. Congress, federal agencies are making historic levels
of investment to advance environmental justice as we respond to the climate crisis,” said
Matt Petersen, CEO of LACI. “That is why clean technology incubators like those represented in
the NCCEI understand that we need to help advance the President’s equity priorities–as
represented by Justice40–as we play our individual and collective roles in building an
inclusive green economy, creating good-paying, green jobs while deploying equitable
climate solutions in disadvantaged communities, and supporting underrepresented founders
to scale their game changing solutions.”
The NCCEI promotes robust growth of regional energy innovation ecosystems across the
nation by providing support for startups and entrepreneurs whose businesses focus on clean
energy-related technologies. In addition to Petersen, those signing the Statement of
Principles include Danny Kennedy, Chief Energy Officer of New Energy Nexus, Kate Frucher of
The Clean Fight, Rick Stockburger of BRITE Energy Innovators, Nina Axelson of Grid Catalyst,
Cortney Piper of Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC), Isaac Vanderburg of
Launch Alaska, Dawn Lippert of Elemental Excelerator, Pamela Fann of Impact Energy, Erik
Birkerts of Evergreen Climate Innovations and Felicia Davis, HBCU Green Fund Inc, Laura
Teicher of FORGE, Aina Abiodun of VertueLab, Doug Davenport of Prospect Silicon Valley, Kevin
Knobloch of Greentown Labs, Rebecca Taylor of the Austin Technology Incubator, and
Kenneth B. Hayes of Cleantech Open.
“The policy vision behind Justice40 is that when all communities can access the benefits of
our new energy future, our entire economy and society will thrive,” said Cortney Piper,
Executive Director of The Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council and a member of
NCCEI. “I am proud to be part of a community of clean energy incubators around the nation
that are making the connection between innovation and inclusion in order to create a
national advanced energy economy.”
The NCCEI’s Statement of Principles on the Biden Administration’s Justice40 initiative were
transmitted today to President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Congressional leaders. The
Principles include commitments to support underrepresented founders, deliver innovative
cleantech solutions in disadvantaged communities–including green workforce training–and
expand access to dedicated funding resources for women, Black, Latinx and Indigenous
founders who are chronically underrepresented as recipients of traditional venture capital
funding.
About the National Coalition of Clean Energy Incubators (NCCEI)
The NCCEI represents some of the most innovative clean technology incubators in the U.S., promoting
robust growth of regional energy innovation ecosystems across the nation by providing support for
startups and entrepreneurs whose businesses focus on clean energy-related technologies. LACI began
convening the NCCEI early in 2020 to advocate for increased federal funding for cleantech incubators
across the country. The NCCEI also championed the Transportation Electrification Partnership’s $150
billion federal stimulus proposal. The NCCEI worked with Rep. Tim Ryan to secure funding for the U.S. DOE
Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) and also championed the creation of the National Clean Energy
Incubator Program, which was authorized in the CHIPS and Science Act which was signed into law by
President Biden in August of 2022. NCCEI has hosted nearly two dozen roundtables and two national
advocacy events with federal policymakers in Washington, D.C.
About The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is creating an inclusive green economy for Greater Los
Angeles and beyond through: unlocking innovation by incubating cleantech startups to scale their
climate solutions, and helping support underrepresented founders in particular; transforming markets
through catalytic partnerships with policymakers, innovators, and private sector leaders in
transportation, energy, and sustainable cities; and enhancing communities through workforce
development, pilots, and other programs. Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of
Los Angeles and Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LACI has been recognized as one
of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI Global. LACI has helped 375 portfolio
companies raise over $1 billion in funding, generated $335 million in revenue, and created 2,626 jobs
throughout the Los Angeles region, with a long term economic impact of more than $587 million. Learn
more at www.laci.org.
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Rep. Nanette Barragan came to the Port of Los Angeles to present a federal funding check to LACI for $1.5 million as an investment for the first public electric truck charging hub at the Port of LA in Wilmington.
LACI Will Seed First Public Depot Charging Infrastructure on Port of Los Angeles Property, Helping Meet the 2028 Transportation Electrification Partnership’s Zero Emissions Target and State 2035 Deadline
Los Angeles, CA, August 23, 2023 – Thanks to a $1.5 million Community Project Funding (CPF) grant secured by Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (CA-44), and awarded to the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), LACI will help install public charging infrastructure dedicated for use by electric heavy-duty trucks that transport freight between the Port of Los Angeles and nearby distribution centers, a major step towards replacing the current fleet of highly-polluting diesel drayage trucks.
During a news conference at the Wilmington site of the future charging station, Rep. Barragán presented LACI’s President and CEO Matt Petersen with a check representing the investment, and together, they shared plans and renderings for the Port’s first-ever public EV truck fast-charging station.
“The success of our clean energy future requires investments in charging infrastructure today. LACI has the vision and capacity to accelerate the adoption of EV heavy-duty drayage trucks in support of decarbonization goals and to improve the health and welfare of our frontline communities,” said Rep. Barragán.
“The Los Angeles economy depends on trade and goods movement, but we also depend on healthy families and communities. That’s what today’s announcement is really about,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “I am proud to support the installation of electric charging at the Port of Los Angeles, and I’m grateful to Congresswoman Barragán, Port of Los Angeles staff and LACI for their leadership in making this possible.”
“We are deeply grateful for Congresswoman Barragán, who is an incredible advocate for reducing air pollution and protecting those communities that suffer the most: Black, brown, and low income neighborhoods near ports, freeways, and warehouses,” said Matt Petersen, LACI CEO of co-chair of the Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP). “As LACI stressed in our clean trucks for clean air campaign last year, goods movement is critical to California’s prosperity, but is also the single largest source of air pollution in Greater LA—thanks to Representative Barragán, this initiative will bring to fruition years of work to advance zero emissions solutions to replace dirty diesel drayage trucks.”
“Today’s announcement is further proof of our commitment to achieving zero-emissions operations,” said Los Angeles Harbor Commission President Lucille Roybal-Allard. “With strong partnerships – like those with Congressmember Barragán and the LA Cleantech Incubator – we will accelerate deployment of zero-emission trucks to do what’s right for the environment, right for the truckers, and right for our port communities.”
“While the Port of Los Angeles moves more containers than any other in the Western Hemisphere, our Harbor communities feel that impact daily by the emissions from the trucks going to and from,” said Councilmember Tim McOsker (CD15). “As we work towards a goal of 100% clean energy trucks by 2035, with this charging station, we are one, important step closer.”
Given that goods movement is the single largest source of air pollution in Greater Los Angeles, LACI’s Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP) set a target for 40% of all short haul drayage trucks to be zero emissions and 60% of all medium-duty delivery trucks to be electric by the time of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Further, the Ports of LA and Long Beach’s Joint Clean Air Action Plan—as does an executive order from Governor Newsom—requires 100% of the drayage trucks registered and serving the ports be zero emissions by 2035. This award to LACI will fund the first public depot charging infrastructure on Port of Los Angeles property that lays the groundwork for achievement of those goals.
The new chargers will be capable of providing electric drayage trucks with a full charge in half an hour. Drayage is a category of heavy-duty trucks designed to move containers and bulk freight short distances. Drayage trucks are constantly in motion at the Port and on surrounding roads and freeways. Their emissions are a major source of air pollution in the frontline communities adjacent to the Port and freeways, including along the I-710 and I-110.
To support the electrification of drayage and delivery trucks, LACI and the Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP) are creating a detailed regional investment plan for innovative infrastructure solutions at industrial facilities and commercial zones along critical freight arteries feeding into I-710 freeway. This plan will leverage existing goods movement real estate assets (e.g. ports, warehouses, distribution centers, retail locations) to provide charging for different supply chain fleets.
“WIth the critical support of the DOE, LACI and TEP are adding to our blueprint for charging infrastructure along the 710 by looking at other freight corridors in the region to meet the needs of heavy-duty truck drivers and operators while meeting critical equity and environmental justice priorities,” Petersen concluded.
About The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is creating an inclusive green economy for Greater Los Angeles and beyond through: unlocking innovation by incubating cleantech startups to scale their climate solutions, and helping support underrepresented founders in particular; transforming markets through catalytic partnerships with policymakers, innovators, and private sector leaders in transportation, energy, and sustainable cities; and enhancing communities through workforce development, pilots, and other programs. Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LACI has been recognized as one of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI Global. LACI has helped 375 portfolio companies raise over $1 billion in funding, generated $335 million in revenue, and created 2,626 jobs throughout the Los Angeles region, with a long term economic impact of more than $587 million. Learn more at www.laci.org.
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NOTE: The Port of Los Angeles has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the development and operation of the charging facility. The RFP can be found at the Port of Los Angeles website. Proposals are due Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 3pm Pacific.
Founding Cohort Members Cities of Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Santa Monica to Be Joined by 5 to 7 Additional Cities
LACI’s Inaugural City Climate Innovation Challenge Helps Local Municipalities Accelerate Emission & Congestion Reduction Through Policy & Innovation Sandboxes, Funding & Other Resources
Los Angeles, CA – August 1, 2023 – The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), in partnership with Climate Mayors and C40, has launched the Zero Emissions Delivery (ZED) City Challenge to reduce emissions and congestion from the exploding e-commerce and goods movement sectors.
LACI’s inaugural City Climate Challenge will help the inaugural cohort of selected municipalities develop innovation sandboxes and select, deploy and scale zero emissions delivery technological, policy, and business model innovations.
Through targeted resources, collaboration and knowledge-sharing, this initiative aims to accelerate the move to zero emissions delivery to reduce emissions from the first mile (e.g., class 8 diesel drayage trucks) to last mile (e.g., medium duty delivery trucks) which predominantly impact low income, disadvantaged communities with disproportionate pollution and congestion. The rise of e-commerce has led to a significant increase in package deliveries in recent years, and is on track to increase by 36% by 2030, according to a report by the World Economic Forum. As a result, greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas are likely to increase by 32% and traffic congestion by 21%.
The ZED City Challenge invites expressions of interest from cities across the United States to join a facilitated multi-city cohort whose members will benefit from an impactful spectrum of services and support to advance zero emissions goods movement solutions within their cities, including staff and consultant guidance, crafting ‘sandboxes’ tailored to local context, selecting, deploying and scaling local ZED technology and policy priorities, participation in high level national and regional dialogue with related private and public sector leaders and partners, and eligibility for a portion of an initial $750,000 in pilot funding. This sandbox will serve as a testing ground for various methods of zero emissions delivery, including the deployment of e-cargo bikes for last-mile delivery, electric cars and vans, and medium, and heavy-duty electric drayage trucks; as well as implementation of zero emission curb management systems, and other innovative approaches. By embracing these alternatives, cities can not only mitigate the environmental impact of goods movement but also enhance public health and quality of life for their residents.
LACI has successfully launched a unique model for piloting and scaling startup solutions within cities, on multiple occasions, creating the nation’s first Zero Emissions Delivery Zone with the City of Santa Monica, and subsequently partnering with the Cities of Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh to secure a $3.7 million engagement DOE VTO grant to expand curb access initiatives. LACI has also led a series of initiatives, studies, and successful budget requests to accelerate the transition to zero emissions heavy-duty drayage trucks at the Ports of LA and Long Beach, with the region’s first public depot charging stations, with federal funding secured by LACI.
“Through the Zero Emissions Delivery City Challenge, we are taking LACI’s proven model and putting it forward to help cities innovate, deploy, and scale what works,” said Matt Petersen, CEO of LACI. “By working with cities to accelerate the move to zero emissions delivery vehicles and technologies, we can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion, and enhance the overall livability of urban environments.”
To kick-start the ZED City Challenge, LACI has released a Request for Information (RFI) to invite cities to express their interest in joining the pilot. Cities that are eager to become pioneers in sustainable transportation and delivery systems are strongly encouraged to apply and contribute to this groundbreaking initiative. The deadline for submissions is September 4, 2023.
Furthermore, cohort members will join a national network of city challenge participants, facilitating the sharing of insights, learnings, and innovative ideas. Regular convenings with key corporate and government stakeholders will stimulate collaborative problem-solving, leading to scalable solutions that can be implemented in various urban contexts.
The ZED City Challenge also provides participating cities with access to direct and shared resources. These resources include assistance in attracting funding, pilot grants for startup innovation, technical support, travel allowances for convenings, policy advocacy to scale solutions, scalable startup innovations, deployment support, data collection and management tools, and more. This comprehensive support system ensures that cities have the necessary tools and expertise to drive meaningful change.
For more information about the ZED City Challenge and to submit an expression of interest, please visit https://laci.smapply.org/prog/zed_citychallenge. To watch a recording of the ZED City Challenge informational webinar, please visit http://laci.la/zedrfi-webinar.
About LACI
Established in 2011 as an economic development initiative of the City of Los Angeles and LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP), LACI is creating an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation through startup incubation, transforming markets through catalytic partnerships, pilots and policies, and enhancing communities through green job training. Solutions are focused on zero emissions transportation, clean energy, and sustainable cities. LACI’s startup incubation programs provide curriculum, coaching, pilot funding, access to venture and debt funds, additional resources for underrepresented founders, paid interns, and other resources to scale emerging cleantech companies.
About Climate Mayors
Founded in 2014, Climate Mayors is a bipartisan, peer-to-peer network that has mobilized more than 750 U.S. mayors who demonstrate climate leadership through meaningful actions in their communities. Representing 48 states and nearly 60 million Americans, the Climate Mayors coalition reflects U.S. cities’ commitment to climate progress.
About C40
LACI recently welcomed its 6th Incubation Program cohort—12 startup businesses that are transforming the landscape of zero emissions transportation, clean energy and sustainable cities.
By empowering Cohort 6 and their predecessors, LACI helps grow a new generation of entrepreneurs to lead the 21st century cleantech economy. Admission into LACI’s Incubation Program unlocks a 2-year program for startups in Southern California, offering 4 months of acceleration through workshops and peer learning, diverse funding opportunities and access to LACI’s state of the art campus, $150K+ worth of perks and platforms, and joining a cleantech ecosystem of over 375 cleantech portfolio companies and alumni. LACI’s Incubation Program helps cleantech companies to become more competitive, resilient, environmentally sustainable, and scalable!
As the climate crisis continues to escalate, the work of our Incubator startups is more important than ever. Our current startups offer a beacon of hope for a sustainable future by addressing pressing environmental challenges such as depleted resources, pollution, climate changes, and waste management. LACI startups in this cohort focus on new recycling methods, food waste management and compliance, EV charging, cooling systems, and new forms of electric vehicles to combat fossil fuel pollution.
Cleantech startups like these not only mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions but are partners in building the green economy by fostering economic growth, creating green jobs, and cultivating a global ecosystem of sustainability.
This year LACI received 66 applications in total for Cohort 6 of LACI’s Incubation program – a record breaking turnout. As we continue to look to the future, applications for Incubation Cohort 7 and Innovators Cohort 8 are now open – more info can be found on the Incubation and Innovators page.
Please join us in welcoming LACI’s Incubation Program Cohort 6!
The full cohort is listed below:
Batteryze
Website: www.batteryze.com/
Batteryze is a predictive maintenance and revenue optimization platform for distributed battery storage systems with a focus on the $30 billion second-life EV batteries. By leveraging their proprietary digital twin and active testing models, they focus on the bankability of second-life batteries by monitoring state of health and accelerating battery asset monetization.
EV Safe Charge Inc.
Website: www.evsafecharge.com/
EV Safe Charge is a leading provider of flexible electric vehicle (EV) charging technology, providing end-to-end charging solutions to support the demands of the rapidly growing EV market. Their newest technology, ZiGGY, is a mobile EV-charging robot that features interactive, digital advertising screens. This is a major breakthrough in EV charging as it allows facilities, shopping and entertainment centers, hotels, fleet operators, airports and property owners to overcome the limitations of stationary EV chargers. They can provide cost-effective on demand charging without the need for costly electrical infrastructure. ZiGGY’s digital ad server can generate advertising revenue for the facility and display customized information.
Kerb-e Inc.
Website: kerb-e.com/
At Kerb-e, the goal is to make EV charging equitable and ubiquitous within cities by developing scalable products that fit on any street.
Popion Mobility
Website: www.popionmobility.com/
Popion solves the range anxiety and infrastructure challenge for electric trucks. Popion solves the range and uptime dilemma for EV truck and bus fleets with battery swapping stations that are customized and optimized to each fleet. The outcome is a solution with radically improved utilization and total cost of operation (TCO) with limitless scalability.
Stak Mobility
Website: www.stakmobility.com/
Stak Mobility is scaling EV charging in cities to catalyze the transition to EV fleets and individual EV ownership. They combine vertical automation, mobile self-service, and EV charging to increase charging infrastructure while reducing the vehicle footprint and CO2 emissions.
XOTO
Website: xotoinc.com/
XOTO is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of self-stabilizing electric vehicles for urban use. They have developed a new category of Light Urban Vehicle (LUV) that removes many of the barriers to entry for new riders. Their vehicles offer all the benefits of an electric motorcycle in a safer, more affordable, and easier to use format, and they do not require an M1 license to operate on public roads or specialized charging infrastructure. XOTO’s goal is to democratize the use of EVs by providing lighter, environmentally friendly, and sustainable alternatives to traditional, energy-demanding vehicles with 5 or more seats, which can be cumbersome and inconvenient to use in urban environments. They aim to make getting around in the city a more enjoyable and efficient experience for everyone.
Molecule Systems
Website: www.moleculesystems.com/
Molecule Systems is an Energy Automation Platform that utilizes a revolutionary edge framework that combines No-Code and AI to eliminate the time, cost and risk associated with traditional software development – delivering project tailored software at scale. The platform is flexible and scalable, catering to both project-level and enterprise-scale requirements. Molecule Systems is committed to accelerating the energy transition through automation and providing an intuitive and powerful platform to drive innovation, efficiency, and cost savings
Wayside, Inc.
Website: waysideenergy.com/
Wayside, having graduated from a previous cohort of Innovators into this round of those accepted into Incubation, is giving communities the tools they need to build a future they’re proud of. We are doing this through our immersion cooling based energy storage systems that are safer, more reliable, recyclable, and highly manufacturable to meet the scale needed to reach a fully renewable energy sector.
ThermoShade
Website: www.getthermoshade.com/
ThermoShade, also having moved from the Innovators program into Incubation, is an outdoor cooling company. They aim to make our public spaces more comfortable for people to work, learn, and play—and to make our cities more resilient to climate change. ThermoShade is developing a passive cooling panel that can be retrofitted to outdoor spaces, creating a shady environment that feels up to 20°F cooler than a basic awning, without using any electricity or water.
Website: www.dyrt.co/
Dyrt is a food waste management platform that provides visibility and simplicity for large-scale producers of food waste while simultaneously bringing compliance to an evolving regulatory environment.
Encora
Website: www.encora.co/
Encora is a reusable container and inventory management technology for closed loop scenarios. Our patent pending technology utilizes SaaS, smart collection bins and has advanced data reporting capabilities for reuse, environmental impact and customer ROI.
Lasso Loop
Website: www.lassoloop.com/
Lasso is a recycling system centered around a compact ‘recycling robot’ that recognizes, accepts or declines, cleans, and processes used recyclable materials into high-purity manufacture-ready products. This decentralized system substantially reduces emissions, increases efficiency, can financially benefit stakeholders (citizens and cities), and most importantly, ensures that 100% of materials are recycled.
In October 2021, LACI welcomed eight promising cleantech startups to its first Incubation Cohort Pilots program funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) EPIC Program. Each of the participating startups received $20,000 to design and deploy small-scale pilots to demonstrate their technologies and hone their business models. Startups pitched their business concepts and pilot ideas to LACI and LACI’s EPIC Pilot Partners, including LADWP, HACLA, Pando Populus, LA Metro, LA County, Edison International, CSU Dominguez Hills, and the City of LA. As a result of that pitch session, each startup was paired with one EPIC Pilot Partner who provided pilot design and site guidance, technical advice, and mentorship as needed.
Over the course of the six to twelve month pilot program, LACI startups Delphire, Energos, Evolectric, Flick, Humble, Joule, MeterLeader, Olokun Minerals, Rewilder, and SolarFi, successfully submitted pilot proposals, defined KPI’s, and executed pilots that lead to valuable learnings and validation demonstrations. Upon the completion of their pilots, LACI was thrilled to learn what each startup drew from their pilot experience to better understand what obstacles led to pivots in their technologies or partner engagements that turned into customer purchase orders.
All businesses that successfully completed the pilot phase were eligible to compete for a final bonus prize. With support of the DOE EPIC Program, LACI provided additional pilot funding through the DOE EPIC Extraordinary Prize, in which the recipients of the Prize were awarded an additional $40,000 to further support their Incubation Pilot projects and partner engagements.
The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, in collaboration with the DOE EPIC Program and EPIC partners, are excited to announce that Humble and Rewilder are the recipients of this extraordinary prize, each receiving $40K to further scale and grow their companies.
Congratulations to Amit Runchal and Scott Pourroy of Humble, and to Stephanie Choi and Jenny Silbert of Rewilder!
What they do: Humble makes and rents tough, user-friendly electric carts, specifically designed for entertainment production. The Humble Cart is a motorized, clean electric cart, engineered to move thousands of pounds of equipment on a multi-day shoot.
Pilot Goal: Testing new product features (daisy-chaining, telematics, remote monitoring – based on customer pain points) in a new software platform environment, facilitating communication to end users across a variety of devices to provide a case study for multiple studios in the customer pipeline, immediately increasing revenue.
Key Learnings: Check out Humble Final Pilot Results!
What they do: Rewilder is a zero waste design and manufacturing company focused on upcycling and repurposing cross-industry materials destined for landfill.
Pilot Goal: Test a new upcycling process – “Blank Slating” – which involves various techniques and interventions cutting layers of discarded fabric (i.e. old t-shirts) to make a “new” upcycled fabric that is comparable in treatment and performance to virgin fabric.
The Pilot is essential to determine how to reduce labor time and cost of production and will allow them to gain key insights on material inputs, process costs and production techniques, and validate commercial interest with the case study.
Key Learnings: Check out Rewilder’s Final Pilot results!
LACI’s First Fund Invested in 17 Early-Stage Cleantech Startups with 29% of Investments in Women Founders and 12% in Black or Brown Founders–In 2022, Less than 2% of All U.S. Venture Capital Was in Invested in Women Founders, 1% in Black Founders, and 2% in Latinx Founders
Los Angeles, CA – March 14, 2023 – The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) today announced initial investments from the newly launched LACI Impact Fund II (LIF II) in two women founded start-ups: Repurpose, whose mission is to eliminate plastic pollution with its sustainable tableware; and ChargerHelp!, the nation’s only on-demand repair service for electric vehicle charging stations. LIF II has set out to raise $30 million in total capital to invest in startups active across all of LACI’s programs–initial investors, or limited partners (LPs), include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Melony and Adam Lewis, and others.
The announcement also follows the successful deployment of LACI’s first fund, or LACI Impact Fund I (LIF I), which invested in 17 cleantech startups. Of the 17 investments, 29% percent of startups are led by a woman founder, and 12% by a Black or Brown founder. In 2022, less than 2% of all U.S. venture capital was invested in female founders, 1% in Black founders, and less than 2% for all Latinx founders.. .
“Given the urgency of the climate crisis as well as the institutional and historical barriers to accessing capital for underrepresented founders, LACI is leaning in to scale our startups’ solutions here in Los Angeles and beyond,” said Matt Petersen, LACI’s CEO. “Our mission is clear, and to create an inclusive green economy we need to invest in underrepresented women, Black, and brown startup founders to overcome the huge barriers to equitable access to capital.”
“One of the keys to tackling climate change is empowering and supporting underrepresented cleantech founders through the lens of gender and racial equity,” said Melony and Adam Lewis. “Given the organization is addressing the climate crisis and equity—two of the fundamental challenges facing our society today—together, we are thrilled to be investors in LACI’s second fund.”
“We’re very excited to partner with LACI to drive business expansion and create green jobs, ” said Lauren Gropper, CEO and co-Founder of Repurpose. “Our company believes climate justice is social justice, and being aligned with an organization like LACI, one that believes in the same mission, is very rewarding. As we expand rapidly, having access to capital and other programs to support bringing our idea to life is paramount.”
“We are excited about the continued partnership with Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator,” said Kameale C. Terry, CEO and co-founder of ChargerHelp. “Their investment will help us further expand our technology offering for EVSE reliability and uptime, as well as continue to create new green jobs.”
LIF I–whose investment advisory committee included a representative of Emerson Collective as well as a representative of the Annenberg Foundation–co-invested alongside venture firms such as ArcTern, Aligned Climate Capital, Energy Impact Partners, Trucks VC, Kapor Capital & Mark Cuban Companies. After the investment from LIF I, many of the 17 startups have gone on to raise significant subsequent rounds totalling over $300 million including Repurpose, ChargerHelp!, and:
In June of last year, LACI launched a national Cleantech Debt Fund, a $6M first-of-its-kind green loan program. The fund addresses institutional barriers that prohibit underrepresented founders from accessing debt capital and maintaining company ownership. Of the 13 companies receiving initial loans, 33 percent of companies have a woman founder or co-founder, and 83 percent of the companies have a founder or co-founder who identifies as Black or Latinx/ The LACI Cleantech Debt Fund deploys loans across the portfolios of LACI as well as partner incubators Greentown Labs, New Energy Nexus, and Evergreen Climate Innovations.
LACI’s other notable programs include the Transportation Electrification Partnership which is working to achieve bold targets by the time of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, green jobs training programs which places graduates in LACI startups and partner organizations, and the Women in Cleantech initiative, which has collectively supported 120 women founders growing their businesses.
About Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is creating an inclusive green economy for the people of Los Angeles by unlocking innovation by; working with startups to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies; transforming markets through catalytic partnerships with policymakers, innovators, and private sector leaders in transportation, energy, and sustainable cities; and enhancing communities through workforce development, pilots, and other programs. Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LACI has been recognized as one of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI Global. LACI has helped 375 portfolio companies raise over $1 billion in funding, generated $323 million in revenue, and created 2,565 jobs throughout the Los Angeles region, with a long term economic impact of more than $733 million. Learn more at www.laci.org.
Blueprint Will Identify Where EV Charging Network is Needed to Support Battery Electric Trucks
to Decarbonize Goods Movement and Reduce Disproportionate Pollution in Frontline Communities
(LOS ANGELES) – The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is one of seven recipients nationwide of
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding to accelerate the creation of zero emission vehicle corridors by
expanding critical charging infrastructure to support the growing fleet of medium- and heavy-duty electric
vehicles and reduce the disproportionate air pollution burdening frontline communities from goods
movement.
Given that goods movement is the single largest source of air pollution in Greater LA, LACI’s
Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP) set a target of 40% of all short haul drayage trucks to be
zero emissions and 60% of all medium-duty delivery trucks to be electric by the time of the 2028 Olympic
and Paralympic Games. The grant DOE awarded LACI will fund work that lays the groundwork for
achievement of that goal.
In a DOE news release announcing the $688,850 award to LACI, Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said, “A clean transportation sector requires vast investments across the entire industry, including to decarbonize the trucks that move our goods and building more charging ports to get those trucks from coast to coast. President Biden’s historic clean energy laws are making it possible for us to get more EVs on the road by expanding charging infrastructure into underserved communities, while reducing range and cost anxiety among drivers who want to go electric.”
“As we pointed out in our clean trucks for clean air campaign last year, goods movement is critical to California’s prosperity, and yet in aggregate is also the single largest source of air pollution in Greater LA, disproportionately impacting frontline communities near ports, freeways, and warehouses,” said LACI’s President and CEO Matt Petersen. “With this DOE grant, LACI and our TEP members will create a strategy for the deployment of infrastructure to ensure the charging network addresses the diverse needs of medium- and heavy-duty truck drivers and operators while meeting critical equity and environmental justice priorities.”
LACI’s successful DOE application is entitled First to Last Mile: Creating an Integrated Goods Movement Charging Network around the I-710 Corridor. To support the electrification of drayage and delivery trucks, LACI will create a detailed regional investment plan for innovative infrastructure solutions at industrial facilities and commercial zones along critical freight arteries feeding into I-710 freeway. This regional plan will leverage existing goods movement real estate assets (e.g. ports, warehouses, distribution centers, retail locations) to provide charging for different supply chain fleets that can expand the proportion of duty cycles completed by a battery-electric truck, and prepare local city governments to most effectively and efficiently site and permit the needed charging infrastructure.
LACI’s investment blueprint, including specific infrastructure deployments accompanied by vetted business models, will be shared with energy service providers and investors looking to lay the foundation for battery powered electric trucks in Southern California.
“We are grateful that the DOE recognized LACI and TEP’s leadership to accelerate the move toward zero emissions goods movement,” continued Petersen. “This transition is vital to the future to the economy of Southern California as well as the health of communities of color along the I-710 and other goods movement corridors by reducing the burden of toxic and cancer-causing emissions from diesel trucks.”
LACI’s application to DOE was based on the work of TEP and its members over the last 5 years, including a 2018 RFI released by LACI in partnership with the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the California Air Resources Board, and California Energy Commission. Based on the responses to the RFI from private sector leaders, LACI and TEP have focused on bringing charging for zero emissions to the ports and along the ‘I-710 corridor. Last year, LACI along with the Mayors of LA and Long Beach successfully advocated for an additional $100 million for zero emissions drayage truck fueling infrastructure to be included in the California state budget.
LACI’s partners in the DOE-funded work are University of California Riverside College of Engineering – Center for Environmental Research and Technology (UC-Riverside CE-CERT), East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, and Gateway Cities Council of Governments (COG), with support from the City of Los Angeles and the LA Clean Cities Coalition (LACCC), and aided by Partner Fleets and Energy Service Provider and Community Advisory Groups. LACI will also collaborate with TEP members such as Southern California Edison (SCE), Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP), and others in this award.
The news of LACI’s grant was part of a larger DOE announcement of $7.4 million to fund seven projects that will accelerate creation of zero emissions vehicle corridors that expand the nation’s zero emissions truck charging infrastructure in 23 states.
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ABOUT
Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is creating an inclusive green economy for the people of Los Angeles by unlocking innovation by working with startups to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies, transforming markets through partnerships with policymakers, innovators, and market leaders in transportation, energy, and sustainable cities, and enhancing communities through workforce development, pilots, and other programs. Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LACI has been recognized as one of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI Global. LACI has helped 375 portfolio companies raise over $1 billion in funding, generated $323 million in revenue, and created 2,565 jobs throughout the Los Angeles region, with a long term economic impact of more than $733 million. Learn more at www.laci.org.
Statement By Matt Petersen, President and CEO of Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI):
The Los Angeles CleanTech Incubator thanks Rep. Nanette Barragán for successfully advocating for the inclusion of language directing the US DOE to fund an innovative electric-vehicle-sharing program for public housing residents in the 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill. The language directs the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to prioritize providing grants and technical assistance to public housing agencies to establish EV car-sharing programs for their residents. The goal is to ensure equity in the rollout of clean electric transportation by creating opportunities for disadvantaged residents and people of color to participate in the transformation now, and reap the benefits of cleaner air and advanced technology.
This language was based on the bill Rep. Barragán introduced in 2022: H.R. 6662, the EVs for All Act, which provides $50 million each year for 10 years to expand access to EVs for public housing residents. The bill idea was based on LACI’s successful pilot EV car-sharing program at HACLA’s Rancho San Pedro public housing project in Barragán’s San Pedro district. Residents paid $3/hour to use two dedicated EVs located at the project. The San Pedro pilot program is continuing alongside LACI’s recently launched e-Bike loan program, Good2Go.
Matt Petersen,
President and CEO of Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
© Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, All Rights Reserved 2019.
