LACI’s Incubation Cohort 3 Pilots Announced
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. 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 models to LACI and LACI’s EPIC Pilot Partners. As a result of that pitch session, each was paired with one EPIC Pilot Partner who provided pilot design and site guidance, technical advice, and financial assistance as needed.
Through the collaborative effort of LACI’s Incubation Pilots program, most of these startups have already experienced their first taste of success. Following is information on each startup and its respective achievements to date, within the program.
EPIC Pilot Partners who have agreed to be a site host and/or mentor for the 2022-2023 Pilot Phase of the Incubation Program include California Energy Commission (CEC), LA Metro, Pando Populus, Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), Edison International, LA County, Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP).
Pilot
Pilot Description
What they do: Delphire helps prevent or contain wildfires by providing actionable real-time information from remote locations.
Their successes from the program: Delphire was accepted into the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center’s Summer 2022 Milestone Makers cohort
Delphire was asked to speak at an On Demand webinar titled A Fire Safe Culture Continuum: Blending investment, technology and expertise to transition from reactiveness to a culture of wildfire safety.
Delphire secured grant funding for SBIR grant Phase 1, and applied for funding under Phase 2.
What they do: Testing demand forecasting software with or on the La Kretz Innovation Campus’ mobility microgrid
Their successes from the program: Energos was named on the 2022 Diamond List of impactful climate companies.
Energos is currently raising a $2-3M Seed Round.
What they do: Evolectric is a technology company that converts commercial gas-powered vehicles into electric ones — and gets them back on the street. Their approach reduces emissions and waste and accelerates deployment of zero emission vehicles.
Their successes from the program: Evolectric was accepted into the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center’s Summer 2022 Milestone Makers cohort.
Evolectric won the Circular World Challenge by AB InBev. They received the golden ticket to this year’s 100+ Accelerator cohort which guarantees a pilot with at least one of the Accelerator partners (AB InBev, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Colgate).
The Evolectric team was featured during the Schwarzenegger Institute’s 20th Anniversary celebration of AB1493, California’s Clean Car Standards, showcasing their mission and core technology.
The Evolectric team and truck was featured during the visit that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S Congressman Jimmy Gomez made to LACI to celebrate the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Evolectric was featured in the Climate Council article The North American clean tech companies driving the energy transition.
What they do: Deploy smart light switches, which encourage residents in affordable housing to reduce energy use at key times.
Their successes from the program: Flick developed a second generation wireless prototype device for trial and reached agreement with Southern CA Edison to support an expanded trial of their technology. They presented this to the Consulate General of Lithuania and Vice Minister of Energy during a visit to La Kretz Innovation Campus in late May.
What they do: Demonstrating scaled-down version of tech in a pool
Their successes from the program: Joule has made significant progress on the development of its proof of concept prototype and expects to be in pilot metrics mode by August.
What they do: MeterLeader gamifies saving energy in homes by using real-time utility data and behavior science principles. They help companies engage their employees in reducing carbon emissions at home and we help them report those reductions for ESG purposes. MeterLeader is like a Fitbit Corporate Wellness Program, but instead of steps we measure kWh, therms, and carbon emission reductions.
Their successes from the program: MeterLeader participated in the Stanley-Techstars Accelerator based in Baltimore, MD. They are currently working to execute 3 new Corporate Energy Challenge Pilots. MeterLeader also increased the number of utility data streams with which it can integrate, advancing from integrating with 3 electric and gas utilities to 12.
What they do: Validating business case by analyzing samples from CA desalination plants for saleable minerals
Their successes from the program: Olokun Minerals was named on the 2022 Diamond List of impactful climate companies.
Olukun Minerals finished its first round of lab samples for the EPIC pilot.
What they do: Zero waste design and manufacturing company focused on upcycling and repurposing cross-industry materials destined for landfill.
Their successes from the program: Rewilder produced 1,200 backpacks for the Summit of the Americas 2022.
Rewilder received media recognition in Shoutout LA and Association Now and was featured in a news segment on Spectrum TV.
Launched TEE2.0! in collaboration with UPRISERS, a new kind of t-shirt that creatively reuses existing tees. Currently testing a new upcycling process to generate material as an alternative to virgin fabric during LACI’s Pilot.
LACI looks forward to seeing startups in the DOE-funded EPIC Program Cohort 1 (LACI’s Incubation Cohort 3) grow and scale their companies with the goal of helping them secure their first customer and celebrate successful follow-on funding equity rounds. We also look forward to hosting the pilots and EPIC Pilot Partners at LACI’s Power Day event on October 6, 2022.