Category: In The News

Statement from Transportation Electrification Partnership on Governor Newsom’s Proposed 2022-2023 Budget

Posted on January 11, 2022 by - Main, In The News, Top Menu, N-GS15, N-LKIC, Home Featured, LACI News, News Featured, N-News, Link Out, Blog, N-LACI-Events

LOS ANGELES, CA – “On behalf of the Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP), I applaud and thank Governor Newsom for including $6.1 billion for zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure investments in his budget proposal, with a focus on providing greater access to and benefits from the transition to zero-emission vehicles to low-income communities that are disproportionately burdened by pollution. These investments are critical to achieving TEP’s bold 2028 targets for the LA region, and statewide goals for 2035 and beyond. 

We are pleased to see proposed funding for zero-emission vehicle purchases by low-income consumers, expansion of charging infrastructure in low-income neighborhoods, zero-emission mobility community pilots, electric transit and school bus purchases, zero-emission heavy-duty trucks and infrastructure, port electrification, as well as funding for active transportation projects such as bicycle and pedestrian safety programs, among others.

As the budget process progresses, LACI and TEP look forward to working with the Newsom Administration and Legislature to support these proposed investments and to develop a pathway to increase the funding for accelerating the electrification of California’s goods movement sector. 

Thanks to Governor Newsom’s leadership, California will fund investments to purchase 1,000 zero emission trucks along with supporting infrastructure. However, in order to transition the tens of thousands of diesel trucks serving California’s ports, we encourage the Governor and Legislature to dedicate a total of $3.35 billion in the 2022 budget towards the state’s transition to zero-emission drayage trucks and charging infrastructure, including $100 million zero-emission early action pilot projects in key transportation freight corridors like the I-710 freeway.

We believe the time is now for the State of California to fully embrace its unique role in making bold “market maker” investments that will create good jobs, advance equity, and result in deep reductions in air and climate pollution. We look forward to working with the Administration and Legislature to further develop the state budget to achieve these goals.


Matt Petersen
President & CEO, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
Chair, Transportation Electrification Partnership

 

ABOUT TEP
The Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP) is an unprecedented regional public-private collaboration to accelerate deep reductions in climate and air pollution by the time of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games by pursuing bold targets, pilots, initiatives, and policies that are equity-driven, create quality jobs, and grow the economy.

Current members include:
Leadership Group: Mayor Garcetti, CARB, County of Los Angeles, LADWP, LA Metro, Southern California Edison, LACI

Advisory Group: Audi of America, BMW Group, Nissan North America, PCS Energy, BYD Motors, Normal Now sponsored by Electrify America, Greenlots, Itron, Proterra, AMPLY Power, Burbank Water & Power, Clean Power Alliance, Culver City, East Bay Community Energy, Glendale Water & Power, Inglewood, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 11 / National Electrical Contractors Association Los Angeles County, Metrolink, Pasadena Water & Power, Santa Monica, Southern California Public Power Authority, Tesla, Waymo


ABOUT LACI
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 is recognized as one of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI. As of Q2, 2021, LACI has helped 281 portfolio companies raise $636 million in funding and create over 2,300 jobs in the Los Angeles region, with a projected 5-year economic impact on the Los Angeles region of more than $520 million. Learn more at laci.org

LACI CEO Comments On COP26 UN Climate Talks and Passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package

Posted on November 12, 2021 by - Home Featured, LACI News, News Featured, In The News, N-News, Blog, N-LACI-Events

LACI CEO COMMENTS ON COP26 UN CLIMATE TALKS, BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE, AND  INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT (IIJA)

Los Angeles, November 12, 2021 – Upon return from the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP) Chair and Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) CEO Matt Petersen released the following statement in response to COP26 negotiations and President Biden’s  Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to be signed Monday: 

“Having just returned from COP26, it is obvious that the outcomes in the negotiating rooms have not yet matched the urgency demanded by the climate crisis. However, there have been many important outcomes at COP 26 that are worth celebrating, including: the US-China pledge yesterday to commit to hold global temperatures increase to 1.5 degrees C, a joint pledge to end deforestation by 2030 and achieve carbon-free electricity in the US by 2035; the commitment by an alliance of dozens of nations, cities and states––including Los Angeles and California––and companies to phase out internal combustion engines; the $130 trillion Global Finance Pledge; and the Global Methane Pledge led by the US and the EU.

Certainly the energy on the streets of Glasgow was full of optimism—as I joined an estimated 25,000 young and old alike marching for bold climate action, I felt a rise of hope and a sense of urgency. Inside the official climate talks I spoke at the official US Pavilion and joined the Deputy Secretary of Energy Dave Turk and NREL officials to call for a $1 billion cleantech city innovation fund while pushing for commitments to transportation electrification to improve mobility for disadvantaged communities and reducing air and climate pollution. LACI’s commitment is represented by our unique model and creation of our $50 million in climate innovation funds.

Here in the US on Monday, the President will sign the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which provides important funding including: $2.5B for zero-emission school buses, $1.5B for zero-emissions transit buses, $2.25B for port infrastructure—key for the LA region given 40% of the nation’s goods come through our two ports making goods movement the largest single source of air pollution in our region, $6.1B for battery manufacturing, and $7.5B for public EV charging. These investments, passed by Congress, represent an important down payment in our climate future with an infrastructure package that includes a portion of the $150 billion stimulus transportation electrification proposal that LACI and our 100 plus member coalition of automakers, business organizations and cleantech incubators from 18 states originally put forward in April 2020.  

Yet we can and must do more. We have an opportunity and an obligation to accelerate our transition to zero-emission cars, trucks, and buses, today––especially for low-income communities and communities of color who are disproportionately impacted by transportation pollution. On behalf of our coalition, I urge Congress to quickly adopt the Build it Back Better Act to ensure that our nation makes the additional investments needed to reduce emissions, create green jobs, and make the U.S. the leader in the move to equitable zero-emissions mobility, goods movement solutions, and public transit.”

As LACI identified in the December 2019 “Cleantech Cities” report, cities around the globe can create a $5 trillion market and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by removing barriers to funding for startups. Based on the strategies identified in the report, LACI’s Transportation Electrification Partnership partnered with the City of Santa Monica to invite corporate and startup innovations to work together to create the US’ first Zero Emissions Delivery Zone pilot in Santa Monica. During COP26, Petersen called for a $1 billion cleantech cities pilot fund to support similar initiatives across the globe, alongside Actor Brian Cox, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Caroline Choi of Southern California Edison, Spencer Reeder of Audi, and former California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols. LACI’s announcement on the call to action can be found here.

Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator Launches First In Nation Cleantech Loan Fund To Accelerate Equitable Climate Action

Posted on June 8, 2021 by - Home Featured, LACI News, News Featured, In The News

New LACI Fund to Provide an Affordable Alternative to Venture Capital For Startups; By Not Requiring Personal Collateral or Credit Scores, LACI Aims to Help Underrepresented Founders in Particular Overcome Historical, Institutional Barriers to Access to Capital

The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) announced the launch of their nationwide LACI Cleantech Debt Fund, a first-of-its-kind green loan program to scale early stage cleantech startups and accelerate equitable climate action. 

The $6 million fund will provide loans of $25,000 to $250,000 to an estimated 100 early-stage startups over five years, providing a non-dilutive alternative to venture capital for companies that need financing to support their first customer orders or working capital to scale their businesses. LACI endeavors to help underrepresented founders–in particular female, Black, and Brown founders–overcome some of the institutional and historical barriers they face in accessing capital to grow their business. Unlike most traditional bank loans, the LACI Cleantech Debt Fund will not require founders’ personal collateral or their personal credit scores in underwriting.

LACI created the Cleantech Debt Fund in partnership with anchor investors Sobrato Philanthropies and Homecoming Capital, who are aligned in their missions to support more entrepreneurial innovation to address climate challenges. Additionally, the Wells Fargo Foundation is providing a grant to cover initial operating costs and loan loss reserves.

“To help cleantech startups move at the speed and scale needed to meet the climate crisis, we created the LACI Cleantech Debt Fund as a new tool to give early stage cleantech founders a timely, affordable alternative to expensive venture capital and slow moving bank debt,” said LACI CEO Matt Petersen. “The LACI Cleantech Debt Fund will also help reduce barriers to capital for underserved founders from historically underrepresented communities–too many founders cannot access traditional bank financing as they lack adequate personal assets, or the personal networks needed to secure early stage investment.”

“We need lots of approaches to innovation to address our current climate challenges, and we’re excited to partner with LACI to fill a capital gap that will enable more companies, from more regions and founder backgrounds, to access investment for their growing businesses.” said Victoria Fram of Sobrato Philanthropies and Pat Arnold of Homecoming Capital. “LACI along with Greentown Labs, Evergreen Climate Innovations, and New Energy Nexus are well-positioned to source a diversified pipeline of entrepreneurial solutions, and we’re glad to partner with them as co-investors.”

“To scale a company like ours and keep creating jobs, you need funding that isn’t easily acquired by minority owned businesses,” said Josh Aviv, CEO and Co-Founder of SparkCharge, a portfolio company of both LACI and Greentown Labs, which received an initial loan from the LACI pilot debt fund. “LACI’s Cleantech Debt Fund helps level the playing field, reducing the financial risks and truly enabling businesses to thrive. They are incredible partners who understand the challenges startups face.”

“We are excited to have the Wells Fargo grant play a catalytic role in attracting other sources of capital to the new LACI Cleantech Debt Fund,” said Ramsay Huntley, Climate and Innovation Strategy Lead at Wells Fargo. “So many businesses will benefit from LACI’s commitment to climate equity and their ability to identify companies ready for greater investment. This fund represents a shared belief that entrepreneurs motivated by climate action have the power to make an impact even early in their business journey.”

“The scaled-up LACI Cleantech Debt Fund is paramount to giving our founders choices across the full capital stack, with debt on the one hand via this innovative fund and equity via the LACI Impact Fund on the other,” said LACI SVP Alex Mitchell.

LACI is also partnering with a limited network of leading incubation organizations whose portfolio companies will be eligible to qualify for loans from the Cleantech Debt Fund, including Greentown Labs (Boston, MA & Houston, TX), Evergreen Climate Innovations (Chicago, IL), and New Energy Nexus (Oakland, CA & New York, NY). LACI selected Impact investment firm Mission Driven Finance of San Diego, California to assist with loan origination and servicing, as well as supporting underwriting. Mastercard’s Racial Justice Pro Bono Program–which is a part of Mastercard’s In Solidarity initiative to drive racial equity and create equal opportunities for all–consulted on the Fund model.

After LACI conducted US DOE-funded research validating the need for early stage lending for cleantech startups, the organization piloted the debt fund concept–capitalized by a Wells Fargo Foundation grant–by underwriting loans totalling more than $300,000 to nine startups. The pilot debt fund has had zero defaults and no late payments, and included loans to SparkCharge, Envoy, and others (see below for examples). LACI first shared their DOE-funded research and commitment to creating a national cleantech debt fund at the Clinton Foundation economic conference in November 2019.

The LACI Cleantech Debt Fund joins the LACI Impact Fund I and non-dilutive pilot funds as capital for which LACI incubated startups are eligible to apply. After nine quarters of investing, the $5 million LACI Impact Fund I is nearly 100% deployed and has made equity investments in 15 LACI startups. The LACI Impact Fund empowers LACI founders to grow their early-stage cleantech companies, including ChargerHelp! CEO Kameale Terry which has gone on to build a nationwide network responsible for maintaining 30,000 EV charging stations while ensuring their technicians earn a minimum of $30 per hour with a guaranteed 40-hour work week. LACI is now out to market in raising LACI Impact Fund II.

Sample LACI Pilot Cleantech Debt Fund Recipients

Initial LACI’s pilot debt fund loans to startups include:

SparkCharge:  SparkCharge received a $40,000 low-interest loan for their on-demand mobile electric vehicle charging solutions. The company leveraged the funds to help scale operations, hire 40 employees, including a graduate of LACI’s Green Jobs Workforce Training Program, and develop the Roadie Portable EV Charging System. The loan from LACI’s Debt Fund also enabled SparkCharge to raise nearly $24 million in additional capital through equity and debt funding. On March 1, 2022, after the recent launch of SparkCharge’s Currently app, Kia America and Currently announced a partnership that provides EV owners with on-demand concierge service, allowing them to charge their EVs when and where they want.

Envoy: Envoy, a provider of shared, on-demand, community-based EV’s, also leveraged the LACI Debt Fund to grow their business. LACI selected Envoy to operate a pilot community car-share program for residents of the Housing Authority of City of Los Angeles’ (HACLA) Rancho San Pedro public housing complex. The program not only delivered the benefits of electric vehicles and mobility to this historically underserved community, LACI used the pilot as a model for the EVs For All Act introduced by Congresswoman Nanette Díaz Barragán (CA-44). Barragán worked closely with LACI to develop the Act. If passed, the bill will establish a $50 million annual grant program at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to support EV car sharing and charging stations, community education and outreach, and other services for public housing residents to increase access to mobility solutions in transportation deserts.

About LACI

The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is creating an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation through helping scale cleantech startups, transforming markets through catalytic partnerships like the Transportation Electrification Partnership, and enhancing communities through green workforce training and pilots. Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Water & Power (LADWP) in 2011, LACI is recognized as one of the top 10 innovative business incubators in the world by UBI. To date, LACI has supported 315 startup companies that have secured more than $695 million in funding, generated more than $308 million in revenue, and helped to create an estimated 2,480 jobs with a long-term projected economic impact of more than $555 million.

About Sobrato Philanthropies

Sobrato Philanthropies’ investment in LACI’s Cleantech Debt Fund was committed by John A. Sobrato. Sobrato Philanthropies’ mission is to partner with communities to meet immediate needs, address systemic barriers, and pursue social justice to build a more equitable and sustainable world. Guided by the business philosophy and personal values of the Sobrato family, three generations engage in grantmaking, advocacy, impact investing, and collaborative efforts to create impact locally and around the world.

About Homecoming Capital

Homecoming Capital is a climate-focused investment firm that invests in businesses that decarbonize the economy as they grow. Homecoming’s investments span North America and Europe and support businesses driving decarbonization of the energy, transportation, industrial, and agricultural sectors. For more information, please visit www.homecomingcapital.com.