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April 2022
Win-Win: Prize Competitions Drive U.S. Clean Energy Entrepreneurship
NREL customizes competitions for DOE technology offices—solar, water, buildings, geothermal, and others—to meet industry needs. American-Made is a pillar of DOE's activities, incentivizing U.S. entrepreneurs to strengthen American leadership in energy innovation and domestic manufacturing.
News Release: 2022 NREL Industry Growth Forum Awards Cleantech Innovators
NREL gave awards to five top cleantech innovators at the 2022 NREL Industry Growth Forum (IGF) on April 13-14, 2022.
December 2021
NREL Launches New Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program, West Gate
Every day, game-changing technologies are introduced that could more easily transition the world to a clean energy future. However, few entrepreneurs have the resources to develop promising new technologies into successful cleantech startups.
November 2021
American-Made Solar Prize Round 4 Winners Move Quickly From Ideas to Prototypes
On Sept. 16, DOE announced the winners of the fourth round of the Solar Prize. AeroShield Materials from Boston, Massachusetts, and the r&d lab from Petaluma, California, each received $500,000 to continue developing and commercializing their products and an additional $75,000 in vouchers redeemable for technical support.
October 2021
Introducing the Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator
An exciting new initiative has been created by DOE and NREL to catalyze the development of cybersecurity solutions for the nation's clean energy grid of the future. The Clean Energy Cybersecurity Accelerator brings together federal infrastructure and expertise, asset owners in the energy sector, and technology innovators in a way that has not yet been done before.
September 2021
Billion Dollar Breakthrough: The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator Reaches New Milestone
The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2), managed by NREL, has reached a milestone: Its portfolio of startup companies has raised more than $1.1 billion in external funding since joining IN2. This translates to the companies raising $95 for every dollar invested in them by the Wells Fargo Foundation.
July 2021
Emerson Acquisition of 7AC Propels NREL HVAC Technology to Market
In November 2020, multinational powerhouse Emerson acquired a startup company, 7AC. It was a big deal in the world of cleantech startups—a fairy-tale ending for a startup company whose technology had made it to the HVAC commercial market.
May 2021
Industry Growth Forum Creates Impact in Virtual Setting for Second Straight Year
Even in its 26th year, amidst a pandemic, the NREL Industry Growth Forum--the premiere cleantech commercialization-acceleration event that aligns promising, preselected startups with venture capitalists looking for their next great investment--set new records.
April 2021
Ten Innovative Teams Emerge Victorious in Round 4 of the American-Made Solar Prize
On April 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy announced 10 finalist teams that are moving forward in the American-Made Solar Prize Round 4 competition.
Energy I-Corps Just Keeps Growing
"We've put all this investment into energy technologies, and now we want to guide those innovations from the lab into the marketplace," said Shelly Curtiss, Energy-I-Corps program manager, on the program's rapid growth.
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Last Updated May 5, 2025