PALO ALTO, Calif., May 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- U.S.-based Incubatenergy Network and the international New Energy Nexus announced today an expansion of its collaborative efforts supporting cutting edge research and development of the next generation of efficient energy solutions. Last year, Incubatenergy and New Energy Nexus hosted the Accelerate Energy Summit in Shanghai, and today’s announcement expands the outreach effort by enabling stronger connections among global energy innovators and helping to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable energy economy.
“Innovation thrives in collaborative environments and that typically requires intense networking to commercialize workable technologies," said Beth Hartman, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) project manager for Incubatenergy. “Incubatenergy and New Energy Nexus focus on similar network building efforts, just in different regions of the world. This opportunity will enable more efficiency and stronger global connections through our coordinated activities.”
Incubatenergy was established by EPRI, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The Incubatenergy Network is now transitioning to focus on new collaboration opportunities, such as the one with New Energy Nexus and the previously announced collaboration with the European-based InnoEnergy, under the guidance of EPRI.
To date, members of the Incubatenergy Network have accelerated the development of about 500 venture-backed energy start-ups in wind, solar, storage, and transportation. Increased collaboration and innovation in the energy industry serves the public by fostering discovery that may provide new efficient ways of delivering safe, reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible electricity.
“Bringing Incubatenergy and New Energy Nexus closer together enables an increasingly comprehensive network,” said Hendrik Tiesinga, California Clean Energy Fund’s (CalCEF) program manager for New Energy Nexus. “Global connectivity of the energy start-up ecosystems is an important step toward a more sustainable, low emission economy.”
Founded in 2016 in Manila through a collaboration between CalCEF and the Asian Development Bank, New Energy Nexus is a network of energy incubators with members in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia supported by CalCEF. The organization’s goal is to support the next generation of energy entrepreneurs around the world. New Energy Nexus has spearheaded innovative start-up utility collaboration programs such as Free Electrons and recently launched Nexus South East Asia, an initiative to support energy start-up accelerators in the region.
This collaboration is helping to build a stronger central resource for connecting stakeholders across the energy industry, including incubators, entrepreneurs, utilities, investors, corporate partners, and other stakeholders.
A focus of this effort will be to bring an international group of energy innovators to the EPRI's Electrification 2018 conference August 20-23, 2018 in Long Beach, Calif.
About Incubatenergy Network:
The Incubatenergy Network is a consortium of clean energy focused incubators across the United States that have supported over 500 companies to date and have a significant future pipeline. The success of companies supported by Incubatenergy Network members is represented by their metrics, securing more than a $1 billion in funding and $330 million in revenue and created nearly 3,000 direct jobs, with over 500,000 clean energy jobs in the Midwest.
About New Energy Nexus:
New Energy Nexus is an ecosystem organization of entrepreneurs and investors making our clean energy transition a reality. The network includes 7,000+ entrepreneurs and 100+ outreach partners and accelerators in over 30 countries around the world. Through partners and programs, New Energy Nexus’s members support entrepreneurs through every stage from idea to scaling. Their partners include Incubatenergy, the Global Clean Tech Innovation Program, ADB’s China Clean Tech Nexus and the World Bank’s Climate Innovation Centers.
About EPRI:
The Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI, www.epri.com) conducts research and development relating to the generation, delivery, and use of electricity for the benefit of the public. An independent, nonprofit organization, EPRI brings together its scientists and engineers as well as experts from academia and industry to help address challenges in electricity, including reliability, efficiency, affordability, health, safety, and the environment. EPRI's members represent approximately 90 percent of the electricity generated and delivered in the United States, and international participation extends to more than 30 countries. EPRI's principal offices and laboratories are located in Palo Alto, Calif.; Charlotte, NC; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Lenox, Mass.
About CalCEF:
The California Clean Energy Fund has been accelerating clean energy innovation and startup ecosystems for more than a decade. Its vision is to create a 100%+ clean energy economy for the 100% by driving entrepreneurial innovation and building equity into the clean energy economy. We established the New Energy Nexus in 2016 to spread the work we have done in California supporting startups to markets that matter with incubators, accelerators, and funds. See www.energynexus.co or www.calcef.org
Media Contact:
For EPRI: Donald Cutler, dcutler@epri.com, 650-855-8709
For CalCEF: Hendrik Tiesinga, hendrik@calcef.org, 720-771-8925