New Funding Opportunities to Advance California’s Energy Innovation Ecosystem
California’s forward thinking energy policies are spurring a new wave of entrepreneurs and researchers to develop innovative new solutions for a cleaner, safer, more affordable, and more resilient electric grid. But, energy entrepreneurs often face technical and non-technical barriers during the path-to-market.
The goal of the funding opportunities from the California Energy Commission is to help accelerate the development and market adoption of promising new technologies and strategies. The three opportunities are:
1. Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur Development (SEED) Initiative: The Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur Development (SEED) Initiative will support early-stage clean energy technology concepts. This solicitation will select a contractor to provide the expertise needed to develop and
implement the initiative, which will support energy entrepreneurs and researchers at two levels:
Series A will support selected entrepreneurs and researchers to establish the technical feasibility of their promising energy technology concepts. Series A will include up to $150,000 in funds along with technical consulting and guidance. A minimum of $4 million of Series A support must go to projects from underrepresented groups.
Series B will provide entrepreneurs and researchers whose energy technology concepts show significant commercial promise with additional support, including up to $450,000 in follow-up funding, to further develop their innovations. Series A funding recipients are the only ones eligible for Series B support.
2. Regional Energy Innovation Clusters: This solicitation will fund projects to further advance market acceleration efforts through Regional Energy Innovation Clusters in California. These regional clusters will provide and coordinate key services, assistance, resources, and infrastructure needed by entrepreneurs and researchers in each region to successfully bring to market energy innovations. This solicitation will provide four regions (Central Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego) funds to create regional networks for entrepreneurs and researchers.
3. Connecting Emerging Energy Technologies and Strategies to Market Needs and Opportunities: This solicitation will fund proposals to provide market intelligence, analysis, and expertise that will support the commercial success of emerging energy technologies and strategies. This independent market analysis will inform various aspects of the EPIC Program to maximize the market impact of the program’s investments.
The Energy Commission is holding public pre-bid workshops throughout the state to discuss these solicitations. These workshops will guide applicants through the application process and offers the opportunity for stakeholders to ask questions. It is an opportunity to learn about the various programs network with other potential applicants to form collaborative teams.
Workshops will be held at the following locations:
September 15, 2015, 10:00 a.m.– 4:00 p.m.
Elihu M Harris State Building
1515 Clay Street, Room 2
Oakland, CA 94612
September, 16, 2015, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Hugh Burns State Building
2550 Mariposa Mall , Assembly Room Suite 1036
Fresno, CA 93721
September, 22, 2015, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Lynwood Bateman Hall
11330 Bullis Road, Banquet Room 1
Lynwood, CA 90262
More information available about the three solicitations can be found here: http://www.energy.ca.gov/contracts/epic.html#active
