Alliance for Climate Transition Welcomes 2026 Cleantech Open Northeast Cohort

BOSTON, MA, June 2, 2026 — The Boston-based Alliance for Climate Transition (ACT) today welcomed its 2026 Cleantech Open Northeast cohort: 30 startups from six states across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, all working to commercialize high-impact climate solutions. The companies span sectors including waste, information & communications technologies, water, agriculture, chemicals & advanced materials, transportation, energy efficiency, and green building. A full list is available here.

This year's cohort sets a record: 87% of the startups have at least one founder from an underrepresented community, including people of color, women, people with disabilities, and military veterans. (Application reviewers had no visibility into these characteristics.) Because climate change disproportionately affects underrepresented communities, this year's founders are well-positioned to address those disparities.

"The companies in this year's cohort represent the kind of innovation and entrepreneurship needed to build a more resilient, affordable, equitable, and competitive energy economy," said Trish Fields, Executive Director of ACT. "Innovation succeeds when entrepreneurs are connected not only to capital and customers, but to the broader ecosystem of policymakers, industry leaders, utilities, and strategic partners needed to help solutions scale."

"Communications, relationships, and grit—especially passion and perseverance—are the keys to success both during and after the accelerator. Our startups know that they need to prioritize solutions that are cost-effective as well as effective at improving the environment and solving customers' most pressing challenges. The entrepreneurs in this year's cohort are eager and ready to do what it takes," said Beth Zonis, Senior Director of Cleantech Open Northeast at ACT. 

The six-month accelerator launched May 28–29 with the Cleantech Open National Academy in Brooklyn, NY, where startups absorbed mini-MBA-style content on customer discovery, business modeling, fundraising, finance, legal topics, measuring GHG emissions reduction, and pitching, and heard from successful alumni Jeff Prosserman of Voltpost and Yidian Liu of PolyGone.

Over the coming months, the startups will refine their business models before pitching to judges in September for a share of $77,500 in cash prizes, including four $10,000 regional awards and specialty prizes in agriculture, carbon sequestration, and water. The program culminates on October 22 at the Global Forum Showcase and Awards Celebration, hosted by Greentown Labs in Somerville, MA, where graduating startups nationwide will meet investors, and the finalists will compete for the National Grand Prize.

About Cleantech Open Northeast 

A program of the Alliance for Climate Transition, Cleantech Open Northeast is the most active region of the world's oldest and largest cleantech accelerator. Since 2005, it has trained 681 early-stage startups, whose alumni have raised more than $2.1 billion, generated over $430 million in annual revenue, and employed over 7500 people. For more information, visit joinact.org/our-work/open-northeast.

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