At the finals of the UCD Big Bang competition on May 23, Badaye Technologies won both the Clean Energy + Sustainability prize, and the Food + Ag prize, scooping up a total of $20,000.

CEO Ismael Mayanja came up with a simple, inexpensive device to process hand-harvested corn in Africa and efficiently remove waste chaff.  Their flagship product (SUNSULA) efficiently cleans maize in seconds and produces quality grain for safe and longer storage, easy processing into other foods, and healthy consumption.  The conventional method is to winnow the grain by hand, which leaves a lot of chaff in the product and lowers its value.  You can watch an animation of the product in action here.

Key points: 

• The Community Resource Project’s board of directors meeting was interrupted by a celebration for 15 women who completed electric vehicle job training, including immigrants and those seeking new career paths.
• The pilot program, funded by the California Energy Commission, aims to train nearly 100 Sacramento area residents, with a focus on immigrants, women, and youth from traditionally underserved communities.
• The training program involves classroom learning with virtual reality headsets followed by hands-on experience with smaller remote vehicles, with the goal of empowering participants to start their own businesses and contribute to the green tech solution for climate change.

A recent meeting of the Community Resource Project’s Board of Directors was interrupted by a little child dancing, smiling, and handing out diplomas as the 15 women who recently completed electric vehicle job training were congratulated.

Unique Pilot Program Targets Underserved Communities

The unique pilot program, funded by the California Energy Commission, is set to train nearly 100 Sacramento area residents to work with electric vehicles. The program aims to benefit traditionally underserved communities with focused recruiting of immigrants, women, and youth for class groupings that target specific groups for focused attention. 

The first graduating class was populated with immigrants from Afghanistan and Ukraine. The Women’s Cohort is the second to graduate. The 15 graduates included immigrants, two mother-and-daughter pairs, and other women seeking a new career path.

After four weeks of learning in a classroom with virtual reality headsets, the class moved to hands-on learning at the California Mobility Center. Rather than jumping straight to full-sized vehicles, the class started with smaller remote vehicles.

Positive Testimonials Highlight Program’s Impact

“I learned more about cars or vehicles than I could have ever fathomed from participating in this program. I learned how to put together a remote control car by assembling all of the parts,” wrote program participant Degrata Brown. “It was amazing to build something from scratch and see it become powered by an electric battery. I began to understand that we were working with something unseen or invisible, and that is energy. To me, understanding that component was incredible.”

Two additional class groups, each with about 20 students, are currently meeting. The fifth and last scheduled class group is set to start on June 19. 

Apply here:

Organizers said it is important to recognize the accomplishments of program graduates at the late May Community Resource Project meeting. 

“It was exciting to watch the participants celebrate their accomplishments,” said Gary Simon, chairman and founder of Clean Start. The hope is that the program will lead to real-life change for participants.

While private funding from venture capitalists and angel investors becomes increasingly scarce, entrepreneurs should not be disheartened. There are numerous avenues for non-dilutive funding that business founders can explore. A variety of grant programs are available, offering significant financial support to grow businesses without the need to give up equity. These programs provide the much-needed capital infusion that can help startups thrive in their formative years and beyond.

Exploring Grant Programs for Startups

Looking for a grant. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) offers a tool called the Funding Wizard to streamline the process of applying for grants for sustainability projects. Originally developed to encourage more applications for funds from the sale of cap-and-trade offsets, the tool has expanded to include a database of funding opportunities from local, state, and air quality agencies, as well as power utilities. The tool, which is continuously updated and improved, also offers modules to help calculate carbon footprint reductions and build solid project plans. Despite being focused on opportunities in California, it can be used widely if a connection to the state can be established.

There is also OpenGrants. OpenGrants is working to help companies find the right contacts in granting agencies and begin building positive relationships. OpenGrants offers a basic “freemium” service that will develop a profile of those seeking grants and matching them through an extensive database to what might be good candidates to approach. The idea is to offer a “no-regrets” entry point to encourage people to give OpenGrants a try.

The CalNEXT initiative is open again, looking to accelerate the development of emerging technologies that contribute to California’s decarbonization efforts. Managed by Energy Solutions, CalNEXT is funded by ratepayers of investor-owned utilities in the state. The initiative funds projects ranging from $20-400K, providing opportunities for energy-efficiency innovators to focus on impactful and marketable ideas. CalNEXT operates through “Technology Priority Maps” that detail desirable innovations across six technology groups. CalNEXT also assists in connecting companies to stakeholders that can further support demos and commercialization opportunities after project completion.

Highlighting Startup Grants

The Business journal recently highlighted grants for startups in general.

Visa Everywhere Initiative: Startups can win up to $70,000 at the TechCrunch Disrupt event. The North American region winner competes against global startups for an additional $50,000. Deadline: June 26, 2023.

Venmo Small Business Grant: Offers $10,000, professional consulting services, and promotional opportunities. Application deadline not yet announced.

WomensNet’s Grants: Provides several grants, including a monthly $10,000 Amber Grant and a quarterly Startup Grant for businesses with less than $10,000 in revenue. Deadlines: Amber grants are monthly, Startup Grants are quarterly.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Top Small Business Awards: Offers a $25,000 cash prize for startups with fewer than 250 employees or gross revenues of less than $20 million. Deadline: July 7, 2023.

LegalZoom’s Fast Break for Small Business: In partnership with the NBA, WNBA, and NBA G League, offers $10,000

Networking Events and Team-Building Opportunities

And be on the lookout for RocketFund, CalSEED, and CEC Epic Opportunities. And if you are looking to build a team, join CleanStart’s networking events. The next informal one is June 22 at Lucid Winery on R Street downtown.

Hey there! I’m Sahil, a college student at UC Davis, studying Statistics and Economics. Campus life has been fascinating for me, as I’ve been involved in a couple of awesome clubs. One of them is being Davis Financial Analyst Society, where I’ve sharpened my analytical skills, networked with many dozens of influential people, and become an excellent leader. I also hold a leadership position in Blockchain at Davis, through which I explored the potential of blockchain technology in different industries.

When I’m not hitting the books or attending club meetings, you’ll most likely find me at the gym. I’m a powerlifter and love the thrill of pushing myself to new limits. It’s a great way to unwind and stay fit amidst the demands of college life.

Speaking of passions, I’m absolutely fascinated by startups. The energy and innovation they bring to the table captivate me. That’s why I’m thrilled to be a part of Cleanstart’s team as a data analyst and make a difference in the world of cleantech!

One of the flaws in the “hydrogen economy” argument is that it takes so much more energy to make “green” hydrogen through electrolysis than the hydrogen contains. That part of the equation may have changed with a new technology from Australian company Hysata that has been getting some serious funding. On top of an initial raise of about US$10 million, they added US$40 million in late 2022 and were granted $14 million in 2023 from a government fund for advancing hydrogen technologies. They are not close to having a commercial unit in the immediate future, but they continue to make progress.

Looking at hydrogen as a way to store electrical energy, the main question has been how much energy one gets back for a unit of energy input—the round-trip efficiency. The main competitor is a battery, which, in the best case, returns 85% of the energy it stores. The round trip in the case of hydrogen is a bit more complicated. There are losses along a long chain of steps, from using the electricity to split water to compressing and shipping the hydrogen to converting it back into electricity with a fuel cell. The sum of all the losses along this chain results in only 25–35% of the original energy input being returned. The two biggest losses are in the electrolysis step and the fuel cell step. The fuel cell step is usually about 60% efficient, with some hopes of pushing that to 65%.  The electrolyzer step has been 55 to 75% efficient.  

Source: Hysata

As a result, the impact of what Hysata has done is not likely to make a huge difference in the competition in the auto market between battery EVs and FCEVs but instead will make “green steel” and “green chemicals” replacing those derived from petroleum much more competitive. It will also have a big impact on the economics of making carbon-neutral fuels from recaptured carbon dioxide and water, which could be a game changer in creating “drop-in” net-zero carbon fuels to displace petroleum.

What Hysata’s new technology has done is push the electrolyzer efficiency above 90%, with the possibility that it could be as high as 95%. Said another way, electrolyzers have been taking 52.5 to 71 kWh to produce a kilogram of hydrogen from water, and that kilogram contains 39.4 kWh of energy.  The Hysata technology could reduce the energy input to 41.5 kWh. Hysata has achieved this leap in efficiency by rethinking the whole setup for electrolysis. Instead of plunging electrodes into a bath of water, Hysata uses membranes to move tiny amounts of water up to the electrodes by capillary action. Apparently, eliminating the formation of bubbles at the electrodes markedly reduces the resistance in the electrolysis cell.  

Be sure to join us to discuss alternate carbon-neutral fuels at our MeetUp on November 30. Save the date.

It’s pretty clear that the pace of EV charger installation is too slow right now to meet the goals the state has set. Part of the problem is the permitting process as well as the queue to get a large enough utility connection. Part of it is escalating costs. Part of it is just having enough installation capacity. This is keeping “range anxiety” top of mind for those considering buying an EV.

At the same time, there are tens of thousands of home chargers that go unused most of the time. It seems like there should be a way to marry the opportunity to the problem and get a solution. That is just what a new company called WhereEV saw and is trying to figure out how to exploit.

WhereEV recently pitched its idea at the campus-wide start-up pitch competition put on by the Carlsen Center at SacState. They won the top prize and got a check for $1500.

WhereEV is the brainchild of Joshua Maddox and Enrique Alcacer. It’s an appealing and simple idea: connect home-based chargers and EV drivers looking for that quick 25-mile shot in order to get home—and willing to part with $5-10 to get peace of mind.

That simplicity could be deceptive. It turns out that there are a lot of details. Will homeowners be scared of dealing with a random stranger at their door? Will drivers be reluctant to use this informal setup? How will they be charged? How do they know the amount is fair? What payment network can they use that is simple and does not require disclosure of bank information? Is this an opportunity, realistically, only for those with Level 2 chargers?

Josh and Enrique have some pretty good answers right now and need a place to start. They are looking to get 25 people to participate and let their location be advertised on the WhereEV app. They know there needs to be verification of both hosts and users. They know they need to cover the liabilities involved. And they need ways to ensure it is a good experience. Businesses like this survive on good reviews.

Their goal is to have hosts able to earn about $1,000 per year and return about $50 each per year to WhereEV. Want to learn more? Here is a short presentation they put together, or visit them at www.whereev.app.

Ag Gen Co-Founders Rosh Ho and Amir Salehzadeh were awarded $20,000 in April for winning the Circular Economy Innovation Competition at the Sac State’s Carlsen Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The Western Placer Waste Management Authority sponsored the competition to rally innovators, researchers, or entrepreneurs looking to turn waste into repurposed value and eliminate it from landfills. There were four finalists that pitched their ideas to a five-person panel. Ag Gen’s idea of using organic material in the waste to grow protein-rich insect larvae that could be made into animal feed came out on top. Ag Gen is already using this process and selling its animal feed locally.
“We were blown away by the creativity demonstrated in these finalists,” said Eric Oddo, WPWMA Program Manager. “Additionally, their understanding and passion for supporting a local circular economy will be incredible for fostering future economic growth and environmental sustainability in our region.”
Congratulations to Rosh and Amir for persistently taking their idea to this next level.

Amir and Rosh are standing to the left and right of Cameron Law as the winners of the Circular Economy challenge.

“How can generative AI programs transform your operations and create new opportunities for growth in your business and stay ahead?”

That was one of the topics we batted around last night at our Networking PowerUp at Lucid Winery on R Street next to the Fox and Goose.  The consensus was that it would affect practically everything a business does.  Clearly, we need a longer discussion on this.  

Rather than a panel discussion on a particular topic, last night we figured it was time for primarily a social event.  And it did have an innovation theme.  Lucid Winery is pioneering a set of “wine-beers”.  Hard to describe, but very good.  We had a mead, a Pilsner, a Shandy, and a cider.  They also create premium wines in the traditional way.  It certainly did work to get the conversation going.  

We saw old friends that we missed for months and made a number of new friends.  It went so well we are going to do it again sometime.  We liked the location—wine barrels and stacks of old books.  Awesome.  We wanted to attract some of you from the state buildings.  We had some from the CEC and the Secretary of State’s office.  But we want to see dozens more.  And there are more of the “wine-beers” we want to try.

Be on the lookout for our next networking PowerUp, whether downtown or at some other location.  We provide food and drink.  Last night proved we are all starved for human contact.  We went over our planned 8 pm close because people were still having fun. 

Be sure to get on our mailing list so you know when these events are held.