Meet Three Climatetech Startups That Are Changing the World

Dear Friends of Greentown Labs,

Climatetech entrepreneurs—their solutions, their stories, and their tireless efforts to build a decarbonized, resilient world—are the heart of everything we do here at Greentown. And we know they’re why you so eagerly engage with our community, by attending events, piloting their technologies, and so much more.

So let’s check in with some Greentown members.

DrinKicks is transforming—and decarbonizing—sneaker culture with plant-leather shoes and education. With a team motto of “from the fridge to the closet,” DrinKicks is turning food waste and recycled materials into shoes with 89 percent lower carbon emissions than their cow-leather counterparts. Learn how the startup is educating people on circularity, merging climate-conscious fashion with sneaker culture, and elevating Black and Brown individuals’ involvement in the sustainability movement.

frakktal’s biobased alternative to PVC is ready to revolutionize the built environment. Harmful to both people and the planet, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a synthetic plastic polymer made from fossil fuels that forms one of the most common types of plastics. Founder jhana porter’s on a mission not only to replace PVC, but to inspire people to think critically about circularity. Check out how frakktal’s bringing its polymers made from agricultural overages to the buildings industry, which utilizes 70 percent of the PVC produced each year.

Plankton Data is leveraging granular carbon data for near-term emissions reduction. Founders Robin Goswami and Sandeep Roy bring their decades of experience in the energy, chemicals, and mining industries to Planckton Data, a startup focused on helping asset-heavy companies understand and manage their carbon footprint, with the ultimate aim of achieving net-zero carbon emissions. Here’s how they’re creating action out of data.

These startups are changing the world—and they’re just three of our community of over 200 members. Want to meet Greentown entrepreneurs, learn about their solutions, and see how you can support them? 

• Investors: get connected with our world-changing entrepreneurs.
• Corporates: explore partnering with Greentown and our startups.
• Industry experts: mentor a startup.
• Job seekers: work at one of our startups—there’s a place for you, no matter your background or skill set.
• Other climate champions: attend an event so you can learn about more ways to engage with our member companies and the climatetech ecosystem.

As always, thank you for your commitment to climate action!

Warmly,
The Greentown Labs Team

What does climate action look like? Climatetech startups receiving funding, winning awards, deploying their tech around the world, and more! Read a roundup of our members’ recent milestones here and check out some highlights below:

• Peak Power, a provider of energy-optimization software and services, raised a $35M round led by Greenbacker Capital Management.
• Medley Thermal is deploying its electric boiler system at Jay Peak Resort, in “one of the largest standalone carbon-reduction projects in Vermont’s history.”
• Ohmium signed an agreement with E4Efficiency to provide green hydrogen as a substitute for methane in E4Efficiency’s regasification terminal in Spain.
• CeraPhi Energy entered an agreement with Weatherford to integrate digitalization services into the former’s geothermal technologies.
• Alloy Enterprises closed a $26M oversubscribed Series A for its novel manufacturing method that’s revolutionizing the making of aluminum parts.
• Greentown alum Advent Technologies and Greentown partner BASF signed a joint development agreement to establish an end-to-end supply chain for hydrogen fuel cell systems. 
• Active Surfaces, an ACCEL participant, won $25,000 from the New Climate Ventures Sustainability Investment Prize at the 2023 Rice Business Plan Competition. It also won the grand prize and audience choice award at the MIT $100K LAUNCH Competition.

We announced this week that we are building a wet lab at Greentown Houston, in collaboration with the Ion District and Rice Management Company! As we plan this new lab space, we want insights from startups and the energy transition ecosystem: what would YOU like to see in a wet lab? Dedicated fume hoods? Reverse osmosis deionized water? Hazardous waste management? Read the announcement and submit your feedback here.

May 25: Greentown Houston + BCG X Pitch Day [Greentown Houston]
Join Greentown Houston and BCG X for a pitch competition featuring Greentown startups that are raising their pre-seed and seed rounds.

June 8: EnergyBar: Go Energize 2023 Kickoff [Greentown Boston]
At this EnergyBar, attendees will hear lightning pitches from finalists building environmental and digital solutions for responsible development in offshore wind industry and celebrate the kickoff of Go Energize 2023, a Greentown Go startup-corporate partnerships accelerator program with Vineyard Wind and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. The event will include a fireside chat with Open Ocean Robotics, which participated in a previous Greentown Go program with Vineyard Wind. 

June 15: Investor Speaker Series: Celebrating Identity in Angel Investing [Greentown Houston]
At this installment of our Investor Speaker Series, we’re celebrating the intersection of Pride Month, Juneteenth, and efforts to create an equitable fundraising landscape, featuring representatives from several angel investing groups that prioritize and celebrate founders’ unique identities.

June 15: Transition-AI: Boston [Ecosystem Event]
Post Script Media’s inaugural conference will explore where AI is already proving its value for electric utilities, renewable energy optimization, EV charging solutions, and virtual power plants, while promising critical new capabilities for the flexibility and efficiency of our electricity system.

June 22: Scaling Clean Tech | Operators and Investors [Greentown Boston]
We’re excited to host this event from The Steele Group, featuring a discussion with leaders from TDK Ventures, Ascend Elements, AM Batteries, VEIR, and Greentown member Sublime Systems about the challenges and opportunities of scaling cleantech companies, in Massachusetts and beyond.

June 28: Transition on Tap x The Technology Partnership (TTP) [Greentown Houston]
Join us at Greentown Houston for next month’s Transition On Tap, sponsored by TTP, to network with the energy transition ecosystem.

Aug. 3: EnergyBar: Summer Rooftop Party [Greentown Boston]
Our popular rooftop networking returns in August—celebrate the summer and join us for a night of networking with entrepreneurs, corporates, investors, students, and friends of climatetech!

Nov. 1-2: Greentown Labs Climatetech Summit [Greentown Houston + Greentown Boston]
For our biggest event of the year, we’re inviting you, your colleagues, and all the climate champions in your life into our Houston, TX and Boston, MA incubators for a day of hands-on exploration with our 200+ startups and their climatetech solutions; keynotes and sessions featuring leaders across climatetech, finance, policy, and justice; and networking with industry trailblazers.

Greentown Go Make 2023 with Shell is accepting startup applications through Aug. 4! This startup-corporate partnerships accelerator aims to enable a circular, net-zero economy by advancing solutions for carbon utilization, storage, and traceability.

Selected startups will engage leadership from Shell to explore potential partnership outcomes, receive a $15,000 stipend, benefit from extensive mentorship and networking opportunities, and more. Learn more and apply here!

• Director of Partnerships (Boston, MA)
• Front Desk Coordinator (Boston, MA)
• Manager of Partnerships (Houston, TX)

May is both Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month and Jewish American Heritage Month! We’ve been celebrating by honoring AAPI and Jewish leaders, historical figures, and organizations that have taken bold climate action. Check out some we’ve shouted out here and here, and see a special spotlight on our incredible team member Denise Hagen here! 

• Welcome to our newest Terawatt Partner, Emerson! Learn how our partnership will support Greentown startups.
• United has joined Greentown as a Gigawatt Partner, and is generously donating flights to founders participating in ACCEL, our accelerator with Browning the Green Space that supports BIPOC-led climatetech startups.

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