Category: News Featured

LACI Produces 30,000 Face Shields for Essential Workers across Los Angeles

Posted on August 25, 2020 by - Home Featured, News Featured, Uncategorized, N-News, Blog

LACI Produces 30,000 Face Shields for Essential Workers across Los Angeles
Advanced Prototyping Center Supported With Key Partners to Increase Production

To help alleviate the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) Los Angeles area hospitals are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) has partnered with the Los Angeles Public Library’s Octavia Lab to prototype and produce face shields for essential healthcare workers.

Members of the public now have the opportunity to donate directly to LACI’s PPE efforts. Water and Power Community Credit Union (WPCCU) has generously created a public campaign in support of LACI’s efforts, and has offered to match the first $1,000 raised. All donations will directly cover the cost of materials and the manufacturing process. No amount is too small. Make a difference and donate now.

APC employees Lauritz David Jr. (left) and Nick Albert (right) inside the shop where they have produced over 30,000 face shields so far.

During the first phase of production, the innovative PPE was field-tested by doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and, with the generous support of Metabolic Studio and Snap Inc., over 10,000 reusable face shields were produced and distributed to Los Angeles County hospitals.

Support from the Octavia E. Butler Estate and Tieks allows LACI to significantly increase reusable face-shield production capacity in the Advanced Prototyping Center (APC), a $10M+ prototyping facility housed at LADWP’s La Kretz Innovation Campus in DTLA. Shields are distributed to LA County hospitals via Los Angeles Public Library and Greater Los Angeles Hospital Registry. This expanded program will generate an additional 20,000 face shields to be donated to Los Angeles County frontline medical workers fighting the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic. 


In collaboration with Los Angeles Public Library, the City of Baldwin Park, Goodwill of Southern California and Los Angeles County’s Youth@Work Program, youth aged 14 – 24 will assemble face shields produced by LACI. A program of LA County Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services (WDACS), Youth@Work places LA County youth in a paid job that leads to a long-term career pathway in high-growth, in-demand industries. To accompany shield production, LACI has designed an educational and colloquial series introducing youth to career opportunities in cleantech, including project management, industrial manufacturing and industrial design. 

As LACI CEO Matt Petersen shared earlier this year in an interview about the initiative, “our team was looking at things that we could help in the COVID crisis (given) we have $15 million dollars of equipment and software on the campus which normally cleantech entrepreneurs would be working on to figure out the (next) solution to the climate crisis.”

This initiative – convened and led by LACI – models how the  organization endeavors to forge collaborations between entrepreneurs, artists, philanthropy, government, and community leaders coming together for community action to tackle daunting challenges, whether it be the pandemic or the climate crisis. Going forward, it will serve as a model for effective community action and innovation in the face of daunting challenges, including climate change.

With special thanks to the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Economic Development Administration (EDA).

The Hill: Electrifying transportation will jumpstart the U.S. economy and protect public health

Posted on July 30, 2020 by - N-News, Blog, Home Featured, LACI News, News Featured

As our nation continues to reel from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that getting America back to work as safely and as quickly as possible is the key to surviving the current crisis and thriving in the future.

Stimulus measures under consideration in Congress have to be bold, sweeping and comprehensive if we want to create jobs, unleash innovation and protect public health as we try to restart the U.S. economy. In order to take on this once-in-a-generation cataclysm, we have to make a significant federal commitment to clean energy and zero emissions transportation.

LACI Partners With Pacoima Beautiful And Envoy To Launch Community EV Car-Share Program

Posted on July 14, 2020 by - Home Featured, LACI News, News Featured, Blog

“Pacoima Electro-Share” Pilot Part Of Initiative To Reduce Air Pollution, Increase Access To Zero-Emissions Mobility Across LA

LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) and Pacoima Beautiful along with Envoy, a LACI portfolio company, have launched a new electric vehicle (EV) community car-share program named Pacoima Electro-Share. The cars will be stationed at the community center inside the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles’ (HACLA) San Fernando Gardens housing development in Pacoima, providing direct and affordable access to EV’s provided by Nissan to local residents powered by a resilient charging solution using off-grid technology from Envision Solar.

Pacoima Electro-Share is now open to all Pacoima residents and is part of LACI’s Zero Emissions Mobility and Community Pilot Project Fund which is launching four zero-emissions mobility pilots around Los Angeles county this year. The fund is part of the ongoing work of LACI and the Transportation Electrification Partnership’s (TEP) efforts to bring investment, jobs, and the benefits of the green economy to underserved communities while reducing air pollution and increasing the use of zero-emission vehicles regionally.

The pilot program’s commitment to community includes affordable membership levels and community partner revenue share for Pacoima Beautiful. The fully off-grid solar and battery-powered charging station from Envision Solar will increase community resilience as well. The pilot is being made possible by a grant to LACI from the State of California with Nissan Leaf’s provided by Nissan, a member of TEP.

“These types of incentives for communities like Pacoima reinforces a growing desire and need to invest in clean energy transportation infrastructure projects that helps further advance our State’s goals to get approximately five million electric vehicles on the road by 2025,” said Assemblywoman Luz Rivas (D-Arleta).

“The launch of Pacoima Electro-Share shows that the tangible benefits of Los Angeles’ sustainability plans are reaching our communities. I’m proud to see HACLA partner with LACI to increase access to electric vehicles in an underserved area, making progress towards our collective goals to reduce air pollution and electrify transportation in the Valley,” said L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez (CD-7).

“Electro-share will be an important asset to the community especially for transit riders who will have a safer option to run errands and make it to medical appointments during the pandemic,” said Veronica Padilla, Executive Director of Pacoima Beautiful, a Valley-based environmental justice organization. “We are excited to have this program make electric vehicles visible and accessible in our communities. We hope this is the beginning of more EVs and more of the infrastructure needed to make EVs viable for us.”

“Envoy is committed to equitable and sustainable mobility for all. As a LACI portfolio company, we’re extremely excited to launch the first of two pilots we’re conducting together this year. In the last two years, Envoy has deployed in hundreds of communities across the socio-economic spectrum, and we thrilled to launch in Pacoima this month,” said Aric Ohana and Ori Sagie, co-founders of Envoy Technologies, a provider of shared on-demand, community-based electric vehicles 

“LACI is working with communities and entrepreneurs to bring mobility options that reduce air pollution and break down barriers to EVs for all Angelenos,” said Matt Petersen, President and CEO of LACI. “In order for Los Angeles to build a sustainable future, it will take programs like Pacoima Electro-Share to increase access to clean technologies and resilient solutions in communities that need it most.”

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ABOUT LACI

Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is creating an inclusive green economy for the people of Los Angeles by: unlocking innovation through 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. Learn more at alaincubator.org

ABOUT PACOIMA BEAUTIFUL

Pacoima Beautiful is a grassroots environmental justice organization that provides education, impacts public policy, and supports local arts and culture in order to promote a healthy and sustainable San Fernando Valley. Learn more at pacoimabeautiful.org

ABOUT ENVOY TECHNOLOGIES 

Envoy Technologies, a Culver City-based provider of turnkey electric vehicle-sharing services, offers on-demand vehicles where people live, work and stay (i.e. apartments, student housing, office campuses, co-working spaces, hotels). Envoy equips real estate owners and operators with a new and innovative way to enhance the lifestyle of their tenants, members and guests by providing mobility as an amenity. Envoy is a LACI portfolio company. Learn more at envoythere.com

 

MEDIA CONTACT

communications@laci.org

laci@sunshinesachs.com 

L.A. City Council Passes Resolution To Support Transportation Electrification Partnership’s Federal Stimulus Plan

Posted on July 1, 2020 by - LACI News, News Featured, Release

Proposal Lays Out National Infrastructure Plan To Electrify Transportation and Spur Job Creation

LOS ANGELES, CA  – A resolution introduced to the Los Angeles City Council by Councilmember Paul Koretz (D-District 5) passed on Wednesday, officially voicing support for the Transportation Electrification Partnership’s (TEP) federal stimulus proposal to create jobs, reduce air pollution, and build a resilient transportation infrastructure as cities reopen and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis across the U.S.

The proposal has been gaining momentum as a growing coalition of businesses and organizations representing 15 states this week sent a letter to Congress pointing to new job creation estimates amounting to 2.3 million U.S. jobs that could result from targeted investments in transportation electrification. The House Select Committee on Climate Crisis also unveiled an ambitious climate and clean energy proposal on Tuesday which reflects many of the coalition’s priorities as laid out in the original proposal sent in the Spring.

The resolution passed by the City Council on Wednesday was seconded by Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell (D-District 13).

“This proposal was put together by private- and public-sector leaders across Los Angeles and beyond with the scale required to seriously tackle the health and economic crisis we are facing,” said Matt Petersen, Chair of TEP and President and CEO of Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI). “The livelihoods of millions of Americans have been turned upside down, making it critical we create a truly inclusive green economy. I’m grateful the City Council sees that TEP’s plan achieves these goals, with social equity and environmental justice at its core.”

“LA has already proven that building infrastructure to electrify transportation creates economic and workforce opportunities for all Angelenos,” said Councilmember Koretz. “As people across the country work to climb out of the COVID recession, our leaders in Congress must provide a lift by adopting these visionary ideas proposed by a trailblazing group of businesses and government leaders.”

The TEP federal stimulus proposal sets out four important initiatives: zero-emissions vehicle manufacturing, assembly and adoption; zero-emissions infrastructure investments; commitments to public transit investments; and workforce development and job training–including pre-apprenticeship programs and state-approved joint labor-management apprenticeship programs, and support for startups and innovation, with priority given to those created by underrepresented founders.

Adopting this proposal will result in: significant local investment in well-paying jobs and the adoption and spread of vital clean technologies; help with the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions; and generate revenues for vital government services.

TEP is an unprecedented partnership among local, regional, and state stakeholders — including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, L.A. Department of Water and Power, and others — convened by LACI to accelerate transportation electrification and zero emissions goods movement in the Greater L.A. region in advance of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The stimulus proposal sent to Congress this Spring includes a sweeping $150 billion infrastructure package that centers on the broad electrification of transportation and industry with a principal focus on job creation.

Learn more about the TEP’s federal stimulus proposal at laci.org/tepstimulus  

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MEDIA CONTACT

Anthony Reyes, LACI

anthony@laci.org 

laci@sunshinesachs.com 

National Coalition Pushes $150 Billion Federal Stimulus Proposal That Could Create 2.3 Million U.S. Jobs

Posted on June 29, 2020 by - Home Featured, LACI News, News Featured, Release

UPDATE (3/30/21): The national coalition supporting the TEP stimulus proposal has now grown to over 100 organizations representing 18 states. On March 30, 2021, the coalition sent a letter to the new Biden Administration updating the White House and relevant agencies on the proposals and voicing support for President Biden’s American Jobs Plan which is in line with the coalition’s priorities. Please read the updated letter here and the updated proposal here. 

 

Businesses and Organizations Representing 14 States Urge Congressional Leadership to Restart Economy Through Investments in Transportation Electrification

LOS ANGELES, CA – A growing national coalition of cleantech companies and organizations representing business, labor, and startup innovation has joined the call for the Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP)‘s $150 billion federal stimulus proposal, urging Congress to make unprecedented investments in the nation’s transportation infrastructure in direct response to the economic and health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Spearheaded by TEP & the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), the national coalition currently represents leaders from 14 states and DC calling for zero emissions vehicle manufacturing and innovation, infrastructure deployment, public and active transit, job training, high-quality workforce standards, and support for related startups and small business, prioritizing those started by underrepresented founders.

With the U.S. House of Representatives set to vote on stimulus measures this week, the national coalition sent a letter on Monday to promote new findings showing that TEP’s proposal could create up to 2.3 million jobs across the U.S.. The research from economic advisory firm HR&A estimates that the proposed $150 billion in stimulus investment would boost employment in all sectors, with 1.4 million jobs expected to build out our nation’s zero emissions transportation infrastructure alone.

“Distributed proportionally across the US in targeted communities, this type of investment is critical to providing immediate economic stimulus and job creation, as well as to creating a foundation for future economic development while creating more resilient communities,” the letter says. 

“This growing national coalition understands that tackling the health and economic crisis requires bold action that reimagines our economy and restores the livelihoods of millions of Americans,” said Matt Petersen, chair of TEP and President and CEO of LACI. “The $150 billion proposal can clean our air, unleash our nation’s diverse startup entrepreneurs, put over 2 million Americans to work in high-quality jobs, and help the U.S. lead the world in clean energy and mobility manufacturing.” 

LACI convenes TEP, which is an unprecedented regional collaboration to accelerate transportation electrification and zero emissions goods movement when the world arrives in Southern California for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games (see TEP Roadmap 2.0).

The national coalition’s letter reinforces TEP’s April 27th proposal which focuses on national job creation, startup innovation, clean air, and high-quality job standards and safety certification. The TEP federal stimulus proposal calls for:

  • $25 billion investment in the assembly and adoption of electric and zero emissions vehicles along with supply chain development (e.g., producing domestic lithium for batteries, etc.);
  • $85 billion for EV charging and related infrastructure investment;
  • $25 billion for zero emissions public transit, active transit and safe streets;
  • $12.5 billion for workforce development, safety standards and job training; and
  • $2.5 billion in innovation ecosystems for cleantech startups and related small businesses, prioritizing those created by underrepresented founders.

Read the full national coalition letter to Congressional leaders and the job creation estimates on Medium. 

Full original proposal can be found here.

About LACI

LACI is creating an inclusive green economy by: unlocking innovation through 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 its Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LACI is recognized as one of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI. Learn more at laci.org

About TEP

The Transportation Electrification Partnership (the Partnership) is an unprecedented multi-year partnership among local, regional, and state stakeholders to accelerate transportation electrification and zero emissions goods movement in the Greater Los Angeles region (LA) in advance of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The TEP Leadership Group includes Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti, Southern California Edison, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, County of Los Angeles, California Air Resources Board, LA Metro; the TEP Advisory Group includes BMW Group, Itron, PCS Energy, Engie Impact, Audi of America, Nissan Group of North America, Proterra, BYD Motors, IBEW 11/NECA, and many others. 

 

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MEDIA CONTACTS

Anthony Reyes – LACI

anthony@laci.org

Sunshine Sachs

laci@sunshinesachs.com

Investing in clean transportation technologies can help put California back to work

Posted on June 25, 2020 by - LACI News, News Featured, Home Featured

California is taking its first steps on the path toward recovery. Thanks to bold and swift state and local leadership, we have avoided what could have been a much worse public health catastrophe. Now, as we begin to slowly reopen our communities, we must apply that same leadership to a robust economic recovery that puts our state, businesses, and workers on a stronger footing than when the pandemic began.

3 diverse cleantech entrepreneurs: ‘will you value other experiences?’

Posted on June 23, 2020 by - LACI News, News Featured

As Electrek previously reported, the $5 million Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) Impact Fund launched on January 15. LACI is working to eradicate monoculturalism in cleantech startups by bringing on its most diverse cohort yet in spring 2020. More than 50% of participating founders are of color, and nearly 40% are women. We hear from three of those founders in the LACI spring cohort below.

How racism manifests in clean energy

Posted on June 22, 2020 by - Home Featured, LACI News, News Featured

As our institutions strain under the uprising in cities across the country, I’ve been struggling to comprehend the depth of racism in America.

I understand why these moments of police violence, the senseless destruction of black bodies caught on tape, would spark a fire that rages across this country. I also know that the tinder has been building for generations and is about so much more than this one horrific moment. Every sector plays a part. Including clean energy.

It’s no secret that there are grave inequities in clean energy. In the spirit of this moment, I turned the microscope on my own sector to ask, how does racism manifest in clean energy?

Santa Monica to Pilot Zero Emissions Delivery Zones

Posted on June 22, 2020 by - Home Featured, News Featured

The city of Santa Monica’s main business district has been chosen as the pilot for the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator’s new Neighborhood Zero Emissions Delivery Zone. The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) has put out an RFI (request for information) to companies far and wide who may have the technological solutions they need to solve this challenge. It’s one of the first tools in their Transportation Electrification Partnership, which you must have read about here.

Apply to submit your product, service, or startup (if it’s at the Market Access Program phase in the firm’s growth) by June 29, 2020!

LACI reflects on the Black Lives Matter movement

Posted on June 19, 2020 by - LACI News, News Featured

A group of protestors gather to march through the streets of Los Angeles, California

The murder of George Floyd and the righteous uprising this latest tragedy sparked across the United States and around the world has been an inflection point for all of us.  Our team at LACI has also spent a lot of time reflecting, as well as engaging in conversation and action.

With our mission of creating an inclusive green economy, equity and racial justice are central to our organization’s purpose. Whether it is our programs to empower startup founders, support local small businesses who want to increase their impact, or train individuals to be part of the green workforce, we recognize and prioritize recruiting and supporting underrepresented communities. Other LACI programs deploying zero-emissions mobility solutions in disadvantaged communities and accelerating the move to transportation electrification and clean energy will create a cleaner future in neighborhoods that have long suffered from severe air pollution.

We know that Black lives matter, they have always mattered. But after many candid conversations, all of us at LACI agree there is more we can do to tackle institutional and systemic racism.

A few weeks ago, LACI decided to honor Juneteenth as a paid holiday this year and going forward for all of our employees this important milestone in U.S. history. To encourage civic engagement, we are giving our team members two paid days a year for volunteering and community work. We are making sure our teams have the resources they need for their wellbeing during these challenging times, and started a modest yet staff-directed fund to collectively support the intersectional work of key organizations. We are also fortifying our organization’s foundational values of diversity, equity, and inclusion by bringing in outside experts to evaluate our own practices.

These are small yet important steps we have taken as an organization that takes pride in the diversity of our team, and we are focused on supporting the movement for racial equality in all aspects of society beyond our downtown campus.

At this moment, it’s hard to keep the push for climate action front of mind yet we are also reminded of the need to be relentless in tackling the inextricable links between inequality and the environment, of the importance of pursuing racial justice and climate justice together. As my friend and marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson reminded us recently in the Washington Post, we all need to and must do more on both fronts together:

“So, to white people who care about maintaining a habitable planet, I need you to become actively anti-racist. I need you to understand that our racial inequality crisis is intertwined with our climate crisis. If we don’t work on both, we will succeed at neither.”

There is so much more work we need to do individually and together, and LACI will redouble our existing efforts and explore new ways to uproot racism in our communities and our environment, to increase access to capital and markets for underrepresented founders, and ensure everyone can be part of the growing green economy in which Los Angeles and California are leading the way.

Whether you use this Juneteenth to rest or rise up, celebrate or contemplate, know that LACI will always be in the fight for freedom with you in the pursuit of racial and environmental justice.

Sincerely,


Matt