Cleantech Grants Power California Entrepreneurs

Cleantech Grants Power California Entrepreneurs

With CleanStart’s up and coming Leveraging Grant Class we wanted to look at why grant’s and public funds are important in the cleantech space. With bootstrapping only able to take a company so far, and venture capital funding difficult to obtain, where else can you look for support? Grant funding is another viable option for working capital to boost your company’s growth.

VC’s are hesitant to look at cleantech solutions and self-funding  a clean tech startup is difficult.  This is related to the economics of building hardware solutions, competing with mature solutions, and research and design.  The demand for sustainable solutions hasn’t slowed, just the ROI equation is not conducive for VC’s to invest early.  

California recognizes this problem and is investing aggressively in sustainability, offering grants through the California Energy Commision (CEC) and California Air Resources Board (CARB). Opportunities range from research and development to implementation. Many companies are intimidated by grants but they shouldn’t be. Grants may come with more scrutiny but they also afford greater support and later flexibility.  Take Terzo Power Systems, winner of 4 million in CEC grants.  While they have to work within the grant framework, they don’t have to leverage personal finances or give up portions of their company.

Opportunities like these continue to grow in California. CARB  is charged with protecting the public from the harmful effects of air pollution and developing programs and actions to fight climate change.  The Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32, requires CARB  to develop and implement measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One of these measures, the Cap and Trade program, generates revenue that must be used on projects to further reduce GHGs. At this event you will hear more about the California Climate Investments program, the Triennial Investment Plan, the application process, and how to have input into the type of projects to be funded over the next 3 years. Although the Legislature makes the final decision, CARB actively engages California businesses and communities to have a voice in how this money is spent.  Getting involved now supports future development in the state.

There are also grants like the recent CalSEED for CalCEF. Up to 600,000 dollar grants, these help with getting entrepreneur ideas from concept to reality and provide acceleration and incubation options. Sacramento based company Lucent Optics is a recipient of last years CalSEED Grant and has leveraged it to develop a new solution for lighting. The 2018 CalSEED Grants are selecting 25% of recipients from each CEC Innovations Cluster Region, and by doing so are attempting to put all regions on equal footing. The Sacramento area is included in the BlueTech Valley Cluster.  

Check out the CleanStart Grant Talk on March 1st with Mike Terzo, founder of Terzo Power, Ethan Hanohano of Grant Farm, and Ryan Huft of CARB.

Thomas Hall

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Thomas is the Executive Director of CleanStart. Thomas has a strong background in supporting small businesses, leadership, financial management and is proficient in working with nonprofits. He has a BS in Finance and a BA in Economics from California State University, Chico. Thomas has a passion for sustainability and a commitment to supporting non-profits in the region.

CleanStart Sponsors

Weintraub | Tobin, Moss Adams, River City Bank, GreenbergTraurig

BlueTech Valley, PowerSoft.biz, Revrnt, Synbyo, Califronia Mobility Center

Biomass Companies Adapt to Changing Market

Biomass Companies Adapt to Changing Market

At the upcoming Cleantech MeetUp on Feb. 27, two waste conversion companies (Origin Materials and Greyrock) will present who have managed to navigate the treacherous path from startup to near-profitability.  A little bit of background may illustrate why this is such a significant achievement.  In the 1980s and 90s, there was a lot of attention on and enthusiasm for waste conversion to electricity.  This region had an abundance of ag and forestry wastes and the prices offered for power were attractive.  Interest has waned in the past ten years for two reasons: .  First, waste conversion–usually through digestion or gasification–turned out to be a lot more finicky than expected.  A thousand things could upset the process and lead to low yields, downtime, and expensive retrofits to solve some problem.  Second, the drop in natural gas prices due to the abundant new supplies from fracking (from $12 per million BTU at the peak to $3 or less today) caused the price to tumble.  Increasingly, power at the margin was coming from natural gas-fired generators and power sellers had to meet or beat those prices.   But at those prices, few could cover their operating costs.

It was a time for a shift in strategy for those who could manage it.  One way was to switch to making a product more valuable than power.  Origin Materials took that approach and focused on industrial petrochemicals, principally those used in the production of plastics.  It helped that buyers were starting to look  for such chemicals from renewable sources, not from oil.  Greyrock Energy has taken a similar approach, with one more twist.  They switched to the manufacture of zero-sulfur, clean diesel fuel.  While wholesale diesel prices slumped when oil went to $24 per barrel, it is now back to $60 per barrel and wholesale prices rebounded.  The additional twist for Greyrock was in switching from using gasified ag wastes to feed their units to using natural gas that was otherwise wasted through flaring.  As a result, their operating costs went way down–and they avoided the finicky waste gasification step.  They might in the future re-connect to ag and other wastes as a source for making their clean diesel, but Greyrock’s shift in strategy has allowed them to get into production and fine tune the diesel process.  The strategy shift has been essential to keeping both companies viable.

At a future MeetUp, we will hear from a third company–Sierra Energy–which has taken the approach of making the gasification step less of a hassle .  They do this through a much less gentle conversion process, but one which has better yields and can handle a wide range of wastes. They too are about to put their first plant into full production.

There are other survivors along with a number of casualties in this sector of our cleantech economy, but it is significant that for one reason or another the area has managed to become a hub for waste conversion technology companies.

It should be a very interesting discussion on Feb. 27 and we hope you can join us.

Thomas Hall

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gary Simon is the Chair of CleanStarts Board. A seasoned energy executive and entrepreneur with 45 years of experience in business, government, and non-profits.

CalSEED offers up to $600,000 to early stage startups!

CalSEED offers up to $600,000 to early stage startups!

Here’s a funding source for early stage startups that provides some great opportunities.  The California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF) will begin accepting applications for the California Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur Development (CalSEED) program this week. CalSEED offers upto $600,000 in funding for high potential entrepreneurs who are passionate about clean tech and working on very early stage new energy ideas. This is part of a $1.6 Million dollar grant through CalCEF and the CEC. Innovations from CalSEED grants, including hardware, materials science, software-based applications and design solutions, will propel California leadership in building a clean energy future.

Last year Sacramento based Start up Lucent Optics was selected as a winner and presented at the EPIC forum last week.  They are using the grant to fund development of their light diffuser. Check out Epic Symposium Recap.

CalSEED is one of several initiatives funded by the California Energy Commission to advance energy innovation. With the VC model for clean tech broken public sector investment is one of the best was to stimulate the cleantech economy. Don’t miss tomorrow’s CalSEED event on the 28th floor of 801 K Street, being put on by CleanStart Partners The Grant Farm and BlueTech Valley.

Thomas Hall

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Thomas is the Executive Director of CleanStart. Thomas has a strong background in supporting small businesses, leadership, financial management and is proficient in working with nonprofits. He has a BS in Finance and a BA in Economics from California State University, Chico. Thomas has a passion for sustainability and a commitment to supporting non-profits in the region.

CleanStart Sponsors

Weintraub | Tobin, Moss Adams, River City Bank, GreenbergTraurig

BlueTech Valley, PowerSoft.biz, Revrnt, Synbyo, Califronia Mobility Center

Solar Roof Dynamics

Solar Roof Dynamics

What is the most important characteristic of a successful venture? Many believe it is the team’s fit. Being able to work together to build a successful business is key, and Solar Roof Dynamics (SRD) is building a team to handle the roller coaster of solar. Home solar is an industry that has had many ups and downs but is here to stay. We were a few minutes early at our first visit and several employees put aside their tasks and offered to help us while we were waiting. Even Willow, SRD’s office mascot dog, stopped her daily activities to greet us with a wagging tail.

In a conversation with Aaron Nitzkin, CEO and Founder at Solar Roof Dynamics, we enjoyed hearing the stories about his entrepreneurial journey and how he started the company from an idea phase. During his decade of professional experience companies including Dow Chemical and Petersen Dean, Aaron discovered an opportunity in the solar roofing space and jumped at the chance to found Solar Roof Dynamics in Davis, California in 2013.

By utilizing the company’s strong experience in the space, SRD has built a Signature Dealer Network to provide top-notch solar solutions to professional roofing contractors. The company’s unique approach to solar roofing significantly eases customers’ concerns on work quality while helping contractors to improve their profits; SRD begins with training roofing contractors in solar installation, and then matching up customers with contractors after ensuring a high-level of confidence in the roofers. Today, SRD has expanded to a team of twelve and has established strong business relationships with global first-class OEMs such as LG Solar and GAF.  

The Future

Aaron knows the solar path has always been a bumpy road leaving the business sensitive to government policies and cost-benefit imbalance. However, the recent advancement of battery storage has improved solar reliability while enabling consumers to save more on energy expenses.

Less than 12 hours after our conversation, the Trump administration announced a 30% tariff on solar panels and cells imported to the U.S in an effort to create jobs and bolster the industry domestically. The Solar Energy Industries Association followed with a comment that the tariffs would cause 23,000 installers, engineers and project managers to lose their jobs as billions of dollars in planned investment evaporates.

The impact of the solar tariff remains unclear. Check out Aaron article in the Davis Enterprise.   A long-term trend toward increased consumer awareness of environmental benefits of solar will continue, but the new economics will change the attractiveness of solar installations in the short term.  Aaron and others will have to face this new bump in the road and be as creative as ever.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Qidong is a CleanStart Associate who follows new technologies that can connect with his passion for sustainability, education and economic empowerment. Helping CleanStart and clean tech startups in the Sacramento Region, he is looking to help positively impact the world. He recently graduated from UC San Diego and has a B.S. in Managerial Economics. His multicultural background helps companies approach problems from new perspective.in the region.

Highlighting Our Greatest Challenges & Opportunities – EPIC 2018

Highlighting Our Greatest Challenges & Opportunities – EPIC 2018

“It’s not often your study gets interrupted by the thing you are studying,” started Dr. Larry Dale during a breakout session at the 2018 EPIC Symposium held this last Wednesday at the Sacramento Convention center.  Dr. Dale had been studying the impact of wildfires on the transmission and distribution grid when last fall’s havoc broke out in Southern California.

Fires, earthquakes, and don’t forget rising oceans, are all on the horizon for CA in this climate changing world; luckily California has several ongoing efforts to make the grid more resistant to catastrophic events. Check out Blue Lake Rancheria’s Microgrid presented by Energy Director Jana Ganion, the developing utility owned community Microgrid at Borrego Springs presented by Chief Engineer Dr. Tom Bialek, and Eos Energy Storage, a diverse storage technology to promote higher resiliency presented by VP of Sales Jim Morgenson. All the panelists highlighted their tools and successes against the threat of extreme weather events, and moreover reminded us that increased awareness of the need to enhance the power grid resiliency is critical now more than ever.

Beyond power system resilience, EPIC tackled a number of clean energy innovation topics inclusive of highly efficient buildings, battery storage for grid operations, accurate forecasting for the modern grid, and how all these solutions can be scaled to benefit disadvantaged communities and low-income customers.

New incubators and accelerators are popping up to meet these challenges and encourage clean energy innovation. Blue Tech Valley (BTV) is a prime example of this and the first major movement to accelerate entrepreneurship in the San Joaquin Valley.  Panelist Dr. David Zoldoske of California University Fresno stated that the hurdle for agriculture is “shining a light on our challenges” and  “educating Silicon Valley”.  Agriculture Tech is a billion dollar industry and huge opportunity for clean energy innovation, however the modern entrepreneur must adapt to the different paces of the farming world in order to be effective.

EPIC’s 2018 symposium highlighted some of California’s greatest clean energy opportunities and challenges in the coming decades. The conversation caught CleanStart’s attention, and with a turn out three times that of the previous year, we weren’t the only ones.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kate is a recent graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and has a strong background in entrepreneurship and global politics. After helping launch an AgTech startup on the central coast, Kate is back in her hometown looking to take her experience into the world of Cleantech and help grow the Sacramento region.