☀ CleanStart August News: Reflecting on Spotlight Pitch + Clean Tech Updates

What's Happening in our Clean Tech Economy?

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Dear <<First Name>>,

Our featured company this month is Empower Energy, a breakthrough solar-storage products and services business. We also have them lined up for our Thursday, August 6 To Do. Additional To Do guests this month include ClipperCreek and New Energy Nexus/CalSEED. We hope you'll join us. Last month's inaugural Spotlight Pitch was a great success with nearly 75 participants checking out the presentations from four outstanding clean tech companies. We have a recap for you in this newsletter below. And lastly, we've rounded up the latest clean tech news in our region so you can stay up-to-date! All the details are below.

Upcoming Events

CleanStart To Do's
Held from 9:00-9:30 AM
Check our event listing for future guests.
Thu, Aug 6 Empower Energy
Tue, Aug 11 ClipperCreek
Thu, Aug 13 New Energy Nexus/CalSEED

Spotlight Pitch Highlights

Four Startups Demonstrate Advances in Inaugural Spotlight Pitch Event

On July 23, we had our inaugural quarterly pitchfest which featured four clean tech startups that are now or soon will be investment-ready. These companies have made remarkable progress in the past year: three have been funded with CEC grants and one is largely self-funded; all have significant market traction. Three were based on energy storage technologies, consistent with current investor interest in the topic.

The Spotlight Companies

Simpl Global (clip-on micro-storage behind PV panels)
RePurpose Energy (stationary storage using 2nd life EV batteries)
Terzo Power (hybrid drives for hydraulic equipment)
Stasis Group (off-peak cold storage within HVAC ducts to reduce energy use)

Learn more about the progress these companies have made in our blog post. And stay tuned -- we'll announce the date and companies for next quarter's Spotlight Pitch soon!

Featured Company: Empower Energy

New home storage device is more compact and powerful

Empower Energy in Davis has passed some important new milestones since we last visited with them in 2018. As you may recall, they have developed a smart battery system that does more than store energy and can manage power flows at the distribution level into and out of homes. Initially launched in Australia, they are gaining some major traction in the land Down Under. First, they are now certified as an electrical appliance in Australia which has opened the door to customer installations. Second, in 2019, the government in New South Wales announced a subsidy program for homeowners to install battery systems which is boosting sales for Empower. CEO Ezra Beeman is hopeful similar subsidies will be created in California, particularly with the new requirement that all new homes have rooftop PV installed. Now Empower’s biggest challenge is assembling the capital to begin manufacturing to meet the new demand for systems in Australia and the U.S. Continue reading on our Blog

Hear About it Live: Ezra will discuss his adventures at our CleanStart To Do session at 9 am on Thursday, August 6. RSVP here.

The Blog

Local E-bikes Tantalize Big Crowd

So Many Battery Breakthroughs

The Overlap Between Environmental Goals and Social Equity Goals

An Energy Career After College

CleanStart To Do with Jerremy Spillman of HANK

Funding

California Energy Commission Clean Energy and Technology Grant Programs
$9.5M EPIC solicitation just released

California Launches State Grants Portal

Cool California Funding Wizard

News

Sacramento to be test market for electric-car lease program
Sacramento Business Journal

SMUD may accelerate its zero-carbon goal to 2030
Sacramento Business Journal

Caltrans using old bottles to resurface Northern California highway in eco-friendly trial
The Sacramento Bee

Hunt & Sons begins selling clean diesel in Sacramento area
Sacramento Business Journal

Total Corporate Funding for Solar Sector Reaches $4.5 Billion in 1H 2020
Mercom Capital Group

Pacific Ethanol shares more than double value this week
Sacramento Business Journal

City of Sacramento Releases EV Strategy Progress Report
Sacramento City Express

CEC Renewable Energy Progress
California Energy Commission

Community Online Events

Tue at 10 AM thru 8/25 Lean Innovator Series Carlsen Center at Sac State & Capital Region SBDC

Wed at 6 PM thru 8/26 Virtual Entrepreneurship Toolkit Series Carlsen Center at Sac State

Every Wed at 9 AM 1 Million Cups Sacramento

8/20 at 11:30 AM Hybrid and Co-Located Resources in CAL ISO

Check the BlueTechValley Calendar for more events.

Funding Highlight

Solicitation From CEC on Advanced Plug Loads and Exterior Lighting
On July 28 the CEC released a solicitation for $9.5 million in R&D grants, with an application due date in September. Three topics are covered: Analyzing plug loads for devices not now covered by California efficiency standards to see if they should be included in the future; demonstrating the integration of smart plug load controls into building energy management systems; and demonstrating smart exterior lighting systems for low income/disadvantaged community homes. Details can be found here.

CleanStart Sponsors

Weintraub \| Tobin		BlueTech Valley	Moss Adams
	Hacker Lab	PowerSoft.biz

College of Engineering & Computer Science at Sacramento State

Thank You to Our Valuable Partners
AgStart, Area 52, AWWEE, BlueTechValley, Business Climate Leaders
California State University, Sacramento, Capital Region SBDC, ChicoStart
Davis Roots, Entrepreneurs Showcase, Green Drinks Sacramento, Momentum
StartupSac, Sierra Energy Research Park, Valley Vision, Tech Futures Group
UC Davis Engineering Student Startup Center, UC Davis Venture Catalyst
UC Davis Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

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