Category: N-News

LACI Welcomes Cohort 5 of Innovators

LACI recently welcomed its fifth cohort of LACI Innovators—16 startup businesses seeking to change the world for the better. This year’s cohort includes companies that are innovating to make the power grid cleaner and work better; to move LA toward an electric transportation future; and to reduce waste in our environment.

Through Cohort 5 and those that came before, LACI empowers a new generation of entrepreneurs  to lead the 21st century cleantech economy. Through the LACI Innovators program, startup founders receive a free 12-month network access program for early-stage cleantech companies. Designed for companies based in Southern California, this program helps startups become more competitive, resilient, and environmentally sustainable.

The work of our startups is more important than ever in the face of a pandemic and climate crisis. These companies are on the front lines, implementing solutions that will improve public health and environmental outcomes while also creating new wealth in California communities.  

The cleantech innovation ecosystem in California is growing thanks in large part to the dedication of the California Energy Commission (CEC)  which has funded programs to nurture cleantech like the LACI Innovators Program over the past several years. This year we received 36 applications in total for the Innovators Program.

Please join us in welcoming LACI’s Innovators Program Cohort 5!

The full cohort is listed below: 

Advanced Energy Analytics

Advanced Energy Analytics have developed a software platform for utility companies, Interconnection Qualifier (IQ), that streamlines and automates the approval process that new technologies need to undergo to be used by utilities. The software reduces the processing time, provides cohesion among all utilities, and removes uncertainty associated with the process. 

BioZen Batteries, Inc.

BioZen Batteries develops advanced organic electrolytes for organic redox flow batteries (O-RBFs). Our technology is a key component in stationary battery storage that helps meet immediate needs in (1) modernizing the electric grid, (2) providing emergency back-up systems in the form of community micro-grids, and (3) various applications in off-grid storage.

ChargeNet

ChargeNet’s cloud-based Energy-as-a-Service platform integrates EV Fast Chargers, Solar, Energy Storage and Restaurant/Retail Point-of-Sale systems to stack value streams into one consolidated solution, built to scale for the EV and clean energy revolution. We use point-of-sale and other valuable data that provides highly accurate forecasting to optimize charging arrays, solar, and energy storage resulting in maximized returns for customers, partners and investors.

EV Life, LLC

EV Life is a web platform that makes it easier for people to drive an electric car than gas. It offers car shopping tools, charging & range calculators, and an EV Climate Loan that can save drivers $200 per month on financing.

Fil₂R

Fil₂R sells plastic reducing and sustainable water filtration devices for at home use. Their  first product is a Fil2R case reusable water filters compatible with existing water filter pitchers (BRITA and PUR).

GreenTek Packaging

Hemptensils(tm) is Greentek’s line of first-in-kind compostable plasticwares made from industrial hemp and corn byproducts. Designed to offset the 40 billion plastic utensils used annually in the US that is increasing due to the pandemic, it offers a solution for the millions of pounds of stalks being wasted in the recently federally legalized industrial hemp industry.

The Hurd Co

The Hurd Co produces Agrilose™, a cost-competitive, sustainable, fiber feedstock pulp made entirely from agricultural waste. This material can be used to make sustainable fabric.

TransforMAX by hybriData

hybriData addresses potential power losses and electrical faults caused by manual evaluation of power transformers by intelligently and actively monitoring the transformer. 

Lamar IoT Inc.

LAMAR is a cold chain logistics innovator that provides a hardware-software platform that leverages flexible electronic sensors and predictive analytics to identify and mitigate temperature condition excursion damages, increase supply chain efficiency, and decreasing costs due to supply chain waste processes in real-time.

MeterLeader

MeterLeader helps curb carbon emissions from electricity use and heating by leveraging real-time data and proven social science principles to motivate people to adopt energy efficient equipment and behaviors in their homes and buildings. Users can easily create and participate in customizable energy saving challenges that are integrated with real-time energy data.

Newbury Power Solutions LLC (note: website is not yet live)

Newbury Power Solutions’ FESS (Flywheel Energy Storage System/Solution) product aims to compete against residential and small commercial Li-ion battery storage products. Flywheels do not pose a risk of fire and are not adversely affected by temperature changes. They can operate at much wider temperature ranges and are not subject to limited cycling or power degradation over time.

ONYX POWER LLC

ONYX POWER builds rugged, portable, clean, and quiet power systems that act as substitutes and replacements for gas and diesel generators.

Rewilder

Rewilder is a consumer goods company that specializes in products made out of post-industrial high-tech materials. Rewilder is building a platform for distribution called Rewilder ReSupply. The platform will give corporations, institutions, and independent businesses and designers access to upcycled high tech materials, creating a circular solution that decreases landfilled waste by introducing viable resources back into the supply chain.

Rhoman Aerospace

Rhoman Aerospace builds drone control systems that allow current electric vertical take-off and landing drones to fly farther with a single charge, and allow for new use cases to enable the commercial UAV of the future.

Rivieh

Rivieh is a smart living platform specifically designed for rental businesses. Their solution enables these businesses to offer tenants all the appeal of smart home tech minus the complexity and confusion.

Veloce Energy

Veloce Energy is developing technology to create intelligent, flexible, scalable grid edge energy networks. This IP creates solutions that address key barriers in EV charging infrastructure, distribution grid upgrades, and distributed generation connection. The first focused application is cost reduction in EV charging stations, by combining energy storage, intelligence, and streamlined installation systems with existing charger products. The second application focus is deferral or elimination of distribution grid upgrades.

Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena Utilities Join the Transportation Electrification Partnership

LACI is pleased to announce that the local utilities for the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena have joined the Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP) as part of the Advisory Group. The Partnership now includes over 30 members who have committed to working individually and collectively to achieve an additional 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution by the time Los Angeles welcomes the 2028 Olympics.

“We appreciate LACI’s interest in involving local electric utilities, like Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena Water and Power,” said Pasadena Water and Power Electrification Program Manager Mauricio Mejia. “No doubt this partnership will help to advance the adoption of transportation electrification and zero emission good movements in the Los Angeles region.”

Burbank Water and Power (BWP) electrical engineering associate Drew Kidd stated, “BWP is excited to join LACI’s Transportation Electrification Partnership and champion the adoption of electric vehicles and help clean the air in the Greater LA region. The City of Burbank is committed to reducing greenhouse gases and improving the air quality for Burbank and surrounding communities.”

“BWP’s transportation electrification program team looks forward to engaging with the innovative members of the Partnership to make a tangible difference in the quality of our environment,” Kidd said.

Glendale is looking forward to being involved with LACI’s Transportation Electrification Partnership’s advisory group,” said Glendale Water & Power General Manager Stephen M. Zurn.

“Our involvement will offer an opportunity for our City to demonstrate government leadership toward advancing EV infrastructure and increased EV integration in our surrounding communities. Glendale recognizes that the electrification of transportation is a crucial strategy towards achieving improved air quality and climate goals both locally and statewide. Glendale is eager to collaborate with the advisory team in achieving air quality and climate goals.”

The Partnership, alongside a coalition of 50 other organizations from 15 states, recently sent a letter to Congressional leaders asking for commitment to federal transportation electrification stimulus funding. The federal stimulus proposal of $150 billion would invest in zero emissions infrastructure that could create 2.3 million new jobs across the U.S., restart the economy, and ensure cleaner air.

“LACI is excited to work with these municipal utilities to advance the Partnership’s transportation electrification and zero emissions goods movement goals, as outlined in TEP’s Zero Emissions 2028 Roadmap,” said Matt Petersen, chair of TEP and CEO of LACI. 

LA CityView In-Depth Interview with LACI CEO Matt Petersen




LA CityView (Channel 35) program LA Currents recently featured an in-depth conversation with LACI CEO Matt Petersen discussing our various innovative programs and efforts to build an inclusive green economy for the city of Los Angeles. Watch the full interview above.

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

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

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.

New report: Cities could slash GHG emissions by an additional 35% through startup and corporation innovation, while helping create a $5 trillion market for cleantech solutions

The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator and C40 Cities, with support from PwC, call for enhanced city collaboration with startup entrepreneurs and corporate innovators to accelerate climate action and help secure a 1.5°C future

 MADRID, December 09, 2019—Cities that accelerate climate action by supporting cleantech startups and corporate innovation could supercharge urgent global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the worst impacts of the climate crisis. That’s the conclusion of a new report released today at the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain, by C40 Cities and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), with research support from PwC. The report’s recommendations and call to action offer cities a pathway to use innovation hubs or “melting pots” that better empower entrepreneurs to help secure a 1.5°C future.

 In their new report, Cleantech Cities: Accelerating Climate Action Through Startups and Corporate Innovation, C40, LACI and PwC estimate the potential of new technologies and disruptive innovation in cities by 2030 could surpass 1.3 GtCO2e in greenhouse gas reductions from buildings, transport and waste each year. That’s roughly a 35 percent enhancement to a 2°C emissions reduction pathway, with more immediate impact. Urban climate innovation is also estimated to create just over $5 trillion in new global investment opportunities by 2030, plus inclusive opportunities for job growth, public health improvements, and other co-benefits.

 Cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, and Vancouver, are already bright spots in the global effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, city governments are leading with bold policies and by removing barriers to climate innovation for startups and corporations. However, some cities struggle to get ahead of innovation and are often poorly equipped to foster new entrepreneurial solutions that would accelerate climate action. 

 Innovative businesses and cleantech startups possess huge potential to act on climate change by leveraging private-sector skills and investment that cities need. The rapid rise and commercialization of e-scooters as a last-mile mobility solution is just one example of ultra-high growth start-up innovation that can help reduce emissions. For every company like Bird or Lime, there is a pipeline of many more entrepreneurs and emerging technologies that are stuck navigating an uncertain ecosystem of support.

 To unlock the full potential of urban innovation and significantly accelerate climate action, C40, LACI and PwC are calling for closer coordination between all members of urban innovation ecosystems, including city governments, startups & corporate innovators, intermediaries (such as tech incubators and accelerators), academia, investors, citizens and communities. The report’s authors interviewed a range of city officials, innovators and ecosystem actors to inform three key recommendations that would drive innovation in advanced mobility solutions, intelligent energy systems, and more conscious consumption:

  1. Cities should invite, shape, and direct startup and corporate innovation to accelerate climate action. 
  2. Startups need guidance to help them find incubators or partners that work closely with cities and can help facilitate connections across the urban innovation ecosystem.
  3. A new platform and global partnership should be forged to help cities better work with startup and corporate innovation to accelerate climate action

The report also highlights 28 tools and instrumentsranging across tech clusters, startup support services, finance, market access, and pilot projectsthat enable innovation and scaling of urban climate innovation.

“Cities are where the future happens first. Throughout history they have been centres of innovation and accelerators of progress to tackle the greatest challenges facing humanity,” said Mark Watts, Executive Director, C40 Cities. “Today, there is no greater challenge we face than the growing climate crisis. Cities are major contributors to the emissions that are causing climate breakdown, but they are also where the solutions are being developed, tested and scaled up. By creating supportive policies and partnerships for those innovators and start-ups within their cities, C40 mayors can help drive even faster action towards securing the future we want.”

“As the City of L.A.’s first Chief Sustainability Officer and now working with startup entrepreneurs at LACI, I know firsthand how innovation can help cut carbon, improve people’s lives, and address inequity in every part of a city,” said Matt Petersen, CEO, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), and board chair of Climate Mayors. “Given the scope of the climate crisis, we’re calling on city leaders around the world to both set bold policy goals and empower cleantech startup entrepreneurs and corporate innovators. Taken together, these measures can help mayors realize an additional 35 percent reduction in GHGs and $5 trillion in economic potential.”

“We were struck by the speed at which high-growth businesses can accelerate climate action at city-level,” said Dan Dowling, Director, Cities & Urbanisation, PwC. “City governments are an essential catalyst in this and can play a leading role by unlocking barriers in the climate innovation and investment ecosystem so that action can be rapidly scaled in partnership with the private sector.” 

 

 

About C40 

C40 Cities connects 94 of the world’s greatest cities to take bold climate action, leading the way towards a healthier and more sustainable future. Representing 700+ million citizens and one quarter of the global economy, mayors of C40 cities are committed to delivering on the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement at the local level, as well as to cleaning the air we breathe. The current chair of C40’s steering committee is Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles; and three-term Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the Board. C40’s work is made possible by our three strategic funders: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and Realdania.

 About LACI 

The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), a private nonprofit organization, is creating an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation (through working with startups to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies), transforming markets (through partnerships 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. In the past seven years, LACI has helped 108 startups raise $221M in funding, $220M in revenue, create 1,750 jobs, and deliver more than $393M in long term economic value. Learn more at laci.org

 About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 157 countries with over 276,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

Our 800-strong global Sustainability and Climate Change practice facilitates leading action on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals. Our Cities & Urbanisation team supports both city and national governments to help address the challenges of rapid urbanisation and create more competitive, resilient and inclusive cities.

PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

© 2019 PwC. All rights reserved.

Press Release – Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator Celebrates Success of AIR Artist-in-Residence Program Launching Second Year Funding from the Durfee Foundation

Call for submissions open for a second year as AIR fosters innovation by supporting research-led artists to combat climate change

Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) today launched the second year of its Artist-in-Residence Program (AIR) by opening its application process for a new cohort of diverse artists. LACI is hosting a panel today with 2018 resident artists—Rebecca Bruno, Nova, Jiang, and Program Founder Debra Scacco— who will discuss how the residency impacted their art practice through exposure to the intellectual and mechanical resources housed at LACI.

AIR is a pioneering program at the intersection of art and the environmental sector.  The first of its kind at the LA Kretz Innovation Campus, AIR is made possible through generous support from the Durfee Foundation, a family foundation investing in extraordinary people and programs to improve the lives of those living in Los Angeles, and many others. The program continues to engage donors to meet its funding needs for the coming year.

AIR is designed to uniquely function within a clean technology incubator. Through a stipend, training and access to tools, and the opportunity to collaborate with members of LACI’s intellectual network, three artists are supported in the process of research, learning, and developing long-term ideas related to climate change. For research-based interdisciplinary artists, this is ideal. They have the opportunity to forge relationships with entrepreneurs, policy makers and leading thinkers while also having access to the Advanced Prototyping Center (APC). The APC provides artists with tools including a laser cutter, water jet, metal shop and more.

“We are so excited about AIR and the work of our second cohort of incredible artists–we are endeavoring to empower innovation by uniting the creative and cleantech communities to address environmental problems. Curiosity unites our artists and entrepreneurs to partner together to find breakthrough solutions to climate change,” said Matt Petersen, LACI’s CEO. “Complex issues cannot be approached from one perspective, and being a nexus of different mediums for problem-solving is core to LACI’s DNA.” Matt Petersen, President & CEO, LACI.

Today’s panel discussion will share how first year residents discussed innovative approaches to climate change. Through varying ways of working, each artist engaged with a deep study of humans in relation to their surrounding environments, highlighting agricultural regeneration, urban erasure, and city infrastructure.

  • Rebecca Bruno explored the link between agricultural systems and the choreographic process used in dance and performance art through her piece, Life Keeping Recipe for a Relic.
  • Nova Jiang focused on the relational cycles of urban blight and redevelopment, specifically as they affect neighborhood accessibility and diversity through her installation, Bunker, which commemorates the Los Angeles neighborhood of Bunker Hill.
  • Debra Scacco initiated the first phase of her long-term project, titled Future Tense, an installation that uses Los Angeles as a case study to investigate the relationship between city geographies, historic river courses and existing highway configurations.

“Artists are faced with multiple professional challenges: financial insecurity, being continually overstretched and limited access to resources being among the most common. I created AIR specifically to address these challenges. The program provides space for critical thinking, interdisciplinary dialogue and conceptual and material experimentation. We encourage artists to think, learn, and play; and facilitate opportunities to build relationships with leading minds in the environmental sector. My hope is in the not-so-distant future we start seeing public works about climate change appear throughout LA and beyond as a result of the support and introductions made during AIR.“ Debra Scacco, Founding Director of LACI’s AIR Program.

AIR is committed to reflecting the diversity of multi-cultural Los Angeles, and to enhancing opportunities of creative thinkers across the city. In addition to the residency itself, AIR hosts year-round creative programming. 2018 included artists’ studio visits for South LA teens, an artists’ talk featuring Carolina Caycedo, a site visit to a recycling facility and a range of professional development workshops with community partner Small Green Door. AIR’s free on-and-off campus programming benefits a diverse array of creative thinkers concerned with climate-related issues.

 

About AIR

AIR, the Artist-in-Residence Program at Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), empowers innovation by uniting the creative and cleantech communities in the shared aim of addressing global environmental problems.

Situated in the heart of Los Angeles’ Arts District, AIR enhances LACI’s innovation community by introducing research-led artists to a thriving environment: where entrepreneurs, engineers, organizations and policy makers collaborate, promote and support the development of clean technologies.

The benefits of the six-month residency include:
— $13,000 stipend
— Access to leading minds
— Training and access to prototyping equipment
— Community engagement at the interplay of technology, sustainability, and the arts

Artists in the program receive training and access to the Advanced Prototyping Center at the La Kretz Innovation Campus, owned by LADWP and managed by LACI. The Advanced Prototyping Center features an electronics lab, bio-chemistry lab, CNC center, water jet center, welding shop, 3D printing shop, use of premium CAD software, laser cutters, sand- blasting, large scale printing, an industrial sew shop and more.

In addition to the Residency Program, AIR offers free public programming focused on equity, collaboration, community building and empowering artists as agents of change.

AIR is now accepting applications for three new resident artists, with the six-month residency to begin May/June.

To Apply: https://laincubator.org/air2019call/

Eligibility: Professional Los Angeles based artists from all backgrounds and of all disciplines are encouraged to apply.

For more information visit: https://laincubator.org/air/

 

About LACI

The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is a private nonprofit organization creating an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation (through working with startups to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies), transforming markets (through partnerships 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. In the past six years, LACI has helped 73 portfolio companies raise $184M in funding, $220M in revenue, create 1,700 jobs, and deliver more than $379M in long term economic value. Learn more at laci.org.

For more information, please visit https://laci.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook @LACIncubator.

 

Media Contact

Claire Totten
Mercury for Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
Cell: (805) 901-0447
Ctotten@mercuryllc.com

AIR Presents (Dis)Location

Enjoy selected findings by Beatriz Jaramillo, Elana Mann and Brittany Ransom created while artists-in-residence at Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI).

(Dis)Location
January 23 – February 2, 2020

Royale Projects
432 Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013 (Entrance on Seaton between 4th & 5th)
Open Thursday – Sunday, 12PM – 5PM

Opening Reception
Thursday, January 23, 2020
5PM – 8PM

Panel Discussion
Sunday, Jan 26, 2020
3PM – 5PM

Contact
AIR@laci.org

(Dis)Location presents selected findings by Beatriz Jaramillo, Elana Mann and Brittany Ransom created while artists-in-residence at Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI). Through diverse media and approaches, each artist engages in a deep study of place, highlighting the loss of Los Angeles wetlands, one path towards mitigating toxic manufacturing, and tree-destroying beetles that substantially contribute to the spread of wild fires.   A bridge between land and water, wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Their sponge-like ability to absorb and release water creates a natural filtration system, and protects against extreme weather events. However, in order to filter water and mitigate damaging climate events, wetlands require space to breathe.

Early photographs of Los Angeles evidence thousands of acres of wetlands, with key areas stretching from mid-city to South LA, and the entirety of Marina Del Rey. Up to 95% of this natural habitat is now lost to urban development; and with this, we lose the potential to capture blue carbon, house diverse ecosystems, and recharge underground aquifers. In In Between: Los Angeles Wetlands, Beatriz Jaramillo explores the contradiction between continual urban expansion and nurturing this vital natural resource. Through research at Ballona Wetlands, Jaramillo has created a series of works in engraved aluminum and porcelain juxtaposing the serenity of the wetlands with hard edge representations of the urban infrastructure that contribute to their demise. With each wetlands area positioned within 5% of the frame, the work establishes a picture of just how much we have lost.

Elana Mann’s Dark Victory discusses the life cycle of petroleum-based black pigment, found in everything from tires to water bottles; and a possible solution in LACI portfolio company Nature Coatings. Originally presented at CicLAvia: Heart of LA Celebrating UCLA 100, the work is a collaboration with Nature Coatings, a company who  transform wood waste into high performing black pigment. Mann worked with Nature Coatings to create paint from their non-toxic pigment; and invited CicLAvia guests to make prints using this paint and the bicycle as a mobile printing press. In (Dis)Location, Mann presents documentation of this public engagement about the lineage and impact of everyday products, and ways we can improve our own carbon footprint.

Another unlikely Southern California dislocator is a tiny pest you have likely never seen. One of the most destructive wildfire seasons in California history (2018) was due in large part to swarms of silent architects no bigger than a grain of rice. Referred to by a Columbia University study as “one of the world’s most aggressive tree-killing insects,” bark beetles thrive in drought. They burrow in bark, building armies by laying eggs throughout the tree’s living tissue. While healthy trees create a resin that drowns paths and pushes the beetles out, drought-stricken trees have no capacity to do so. As the tress hollow, they become kindling for the spread of devastating wildfires. Bark beetles have killed more than 27 million trees in the greater Los Angeles area alone. As the beetles eat their way through trees, they leave behind perfectly preserved lines that resemble complex city systems. These lines are the subject of Parallel Pathways, a series of works by Brittany Ransom that study the immense impact bark beetles have on the future landscape of California. Pointing to specific places of flow, obstruction, and planned versus haphazard pathways, the bark beetle’s paths are recreated in reference to our own human building patterns and possible self destruction.

Also on view at Royale Projects:
Joel Otterson: Among Others
Jen Aitken: 3, 4½, 7½, 12

With special thanks to Royale Projects for their ongoing support of AIR.