Press Release – LACI and California Clean Energy Fund Announce Ten Finalists for the California Climate Cup

Ten cleantech startup companies to pitch game-changing technologies in Los Angeles, and move a step closer to pitching in front of world leaders at the Governor’s Global Climate Action Summit

LOS ANGELES, CA –– The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) and California Clean Energy Fund today announced ten finalists for the first-ever California Climate Cup, a global startup competition focused on seeking the next generation of technologies, business models, and platforms that will help megacities—as well as states and regions—accelerate reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and enhance resiliency in the face of climate change.

“We’re thrilled with the tremendous response of over 100 submissions for the California Climate Cup. We look forward to welcoming the 10 finalists to LA to highlight their innovative climate solutions for megacities. Thanks to all our sponsors for helping make the Cup possible,” said Matt Petersen, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. “The time to act on climate is now and these startups are leading the way to a smarter, more resilient, and cleaner future.”

“We’re excited to work with LACI to bring some of the world’s finest thinking and execution to address the electricity and mobility challenges facing megacities. May the games begin to see who is the best!” said Danny Kennedy, Managing Director of the California Clean Energy Fund.

The ten startups across three categories — Zero Emissions mobility and Goods Movement, Energy/ Transportation Nexus, Digital Solutions for Sustainable Cities — were narrowed down from more than 100 applicants from around the world. The finalists will pitch startups in Los Angeles on September 10th in front of a panel of high-level judges from the energy, transportation, and sustainable cities sectors including representatives from Itron Idea Labs, Edison International, BMW iVentures, and more.

Each startup will pitch its climate mitigation solution for a chance to win $25,000 and the opportunity to attend the Global Climate Action Summit and present before high-profile audiences in the days following the competition’s final round from September 11-14 in San Francisco.

The California Climate Cup also proudly announced support of its major sponsors including Edison International, Itron Idea Labs, PG&E, and LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP), as well as affiliate partners GreenBiz and C40.

Meet the California Climate Cup Finalists:

Zero Emissions Mobility and Goods Movement

Ampaire– Los Angeles, CA
Ampaire is designing and developing electric aircraft for the regional air travel market to meet demand for short-haul flights and solving two of the biggest problems in aviation – high operating costs and aviation’s impact on environment. By starting with retrofitting existing aircraft, Ampaire is taking a more efficient and effective approach than other companies in the space.

Evee– Sydney, Australia
Evee is a peer-to-peer electric vehicle (EV) sharing platform. It allows the offset of costs associated with owning an EV by offering it up for rent. Renters can hire those privately owned and conveniently located EVs at an affordable price wherever they travel.

Wheeli– New York, NY
Wheeli is the carpooling app for college students. They are building a national transportation network, and the initial nodes are college campuses. Wheeli considers itself the Airbnb for the empty car seats on the road.

Energy / Transportation Nexus Sponsored by Edison International

EnZinc Inc.– San Anselmo, CA
EnZinc is an engineering technology company focused on developing advanced high-performance green batteries based on zinc to power the twenty first century. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company applies aerospace and automotive engineering practices to energy storage development.

EP Tender– Paris, France
EP Tender is developing Batteries as a Service: a disruptive new paradigm with a modular approach and pay per use business model. A Tender is power bank, which is mounted on a small trailer, rented on demand and attached to EVs for long distance trips.

EVmatch– Santa Barbara, CA
EVmatch is a peer-to-peer network for electric vehicle (EV) charging that harnesses the power of sharing to immediately create more reliable charging options. Through EVmatch, individuals and business owners rent out their private charging stations, earning money and supporting EV drivers with reservable charging. EV drivers leverage the sharing economy to easily find, reserve, and pay for charging with a few quick clicks using the company’s web or mobile applications.

Digital Solutions for Sustainable Cities Sponsored by Itron Idea Labs

Aclima– San Francisco, CA
Aclima delivers hyperlocal air quality data and insights, at block-by-block resolution. They combine leading-edge sensor technology, climate science, enterprise software and machine learning to generate high-resolution maps of emissions across pollutants –– from CO2 and methane to particulate matter. Translating real-time data into environmental intelligence, Aclima transforms how we understand and manage our communities, cities, and industries to improve human and planetary health.

Ecomedes– Cape Coral, FL
Ecomedes is the software platform for the real estate, design, and construction industries for simplified product selection and purchasing. We connect buyers and suppliers by featuring the largest collection of curated, high-performance products that save money through reductions in energy, water and maintenance costs. Our platform helps create healthier more productive buildings for occupants and the planet.

LO3 Energy– Brooklyn, NY
LO3 Energy focuses on emerging decentralized business models and innovative technologies related to energy, cleantech. They build tools and develop projects that support and accelerate proliferation of the distributed energy, utilities and computation sharing economy of the future. LO3 has designed a scalable, multi-layered blockchain network to unlock this valuable data and enable these new markets – The Exergy System.

Solstice Energy Solutions– San Francisco, CA
Solstice Energy Solutions develops IoT and software to intelligently manage distributed energy resources. Its initial focus is on cities in emerging markets where unreliable grids have resulted in distributed energy landscapes, primarily diesel generators. Increasing integration of distributed solar and battery technology ultimately requires intelligence, flexibility and control.

About the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator

The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is a private non-profit organization creating an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation (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.

About California Clean Energy Fund

The California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF) connects capital to catalytic clean energy investments and ideas. They work across the entire lifecycle of clean energy development, commercialization and deployment. Since 2004, California Clean Energy Fund has leveraged $1.5 billion in investment, invested in over 100 clean energy enterprises, and launched industry leading centers for solution collaboration. Today, they are planning for rapid clean energy adoption, to build equity into the energy economy and to create new jobs in California, the United States and around the world. California Clean Energy Fund operates offices in Oakland, CA and Shanghai, China. Learn more at calcef.org.

Media Contact:
Shawn Dhanak
517-449-0402
sdhanak@laci.org