Cleantech Open Northeast, the Northeast region of the world’s oldest and largest cleantech accelerator program, today announced its 2019 class of 35 startups developing clean technology solutions related to transportation, information and communications technology, energy, energy efficiency, agriculture, water, waste management, advanced materials, and more. Here is a full list of companies participating in the 2019 Cleantech Open Northeast accelerator.

“In this year’s cohort some companies have already raised significant funding, and there are quite a few that are running pilots,” said Cleantech Open Northeast Director Beth Zonis. “We just completed the Cleantech Open National Academy East in Boston. The entrepreneurs were a pleasure to work with; they understand the value of participating in the Cleantech Open accelerator, and they are very enthusiastic.

Alicia Barton, President and CEO, NYSERDA said, “With New York’s recent historic commitment to fully decarbonizing our economy by mid-century, we have no time to waste in advancing Governor Cuomo’s nation-leading clean energy plans. We need all innovators to participate in this ambitious transformation of our economy, so I am thrilled to see the exciting crop of New York companies participating in this year’s Cleantech Open Northeast to further accelerate their pace to developing the solutions we need to fight the climate crisis.”

“Massachusetts cleantech sector is well served by Cleantech Open Northeast, which provides essential support to our local entrepreneurs as they pursue solutions to our most pressing energy challenges,” said Massachusetts Clean Energy Center CEO Stephen Pike. “I am pleased to see that over a third of the companies participating in the 2019 Cleantech Business Accelerator are from Massachusetts, providing another boost to the thriving innovation sector here in the Commonwealth.”

Along with the 35 companies participating in this year's accelerator, Cleantech Open Northeast will be working with an additional three companies through the Company Development Program (CDP), which provides mentorship and curriculum to help early-stage companies prepare for participation in a future accelerator program.

Out of the 35 participating companies and three CDP teams, there are 13 from Massachusetts, nine from Canada, six from New York, four from Rhode Island, three from Pennsylvania, two from New Jersey, and one from Connecticut.

This year, the Canadian Consulate in New York is partnering with Cleantech Open Northeast to support Canadian cleantech startups, helping them raise funding and gain market traction in the US. This partnership furthers the shared objective of both the Consulate and Cleantech Open Northeast: to grow the green economy through innovation and Entrepreneurship. The Consulate will also assist companies on both sides of the border.

Cleantech Open Northeast works in conjunction with partner accelerators and incubators across the region. This year’s cohort includes teams who have previously participated in one of New York State’s proof-of-concept centers (PowerBridge NY) and a clean energy incubator (Clean Energy Business Incubator Program at Stony Brook University), which are administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Additional teams have participated in Massachusetts’ EforAll, IDEA, MassChallenge, MIT $100k, MIT Clean Energy Prize, MIT Energy Club, MIT Food & Agriculture Club, MIT Sandbox, MIT SOLVE, MIT Tata Center, MIT Waste Alliance, MIT Water Club and MIT Water Innovation Prize, Sloan Energy Club. The 2019 cohort includes companies that are currently based out of CEBIP, CIC, Greentown Labs, and Urban Future Lab.

Many of the startups are spinning out or have spun out of universities. These include: Boston University, Bridgewater State University, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Drexel University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Princeton University, Rhode Island School of Design, Stevens Institute, University of New Brunswick, and the University of Toronto.

Cleantech Open Northeast’s 2019 Cohort, which was selected from a pool of 91 applicants, represents all eight technology categories eligible to participate in Cleantech Open. The combined category of Agriculture, Water and Waste has the most companies. For the first year, the Transportation is in the top three in terms of number of companies represented in the cohort. This is really exciting, because in the US, 28% of energy consumption is in the transportation sector, according to the US Energy Information Administration. There are six companies in the Transportation category. There are five in Information and Communications Technology; four in Water; three in Waste; three in Energy Distribution; two in Energy Generation; two in Chemicals and Advanced Materials; two in Agriculture; one in Green Building; and one in Energy Efficiency.

Cleantech Open strives for diversity and inclusion among startups, as well as staff and volunteers. The 2019 cohort is quite diverse. There are nine teams led by women, 14 led by people of color, and four teams led by students.

The 2019 Cleantech Open Northeast accelerator officially began with the Cleantech Open National Academy East on June 10 and 11 in Boston. The academy is a rigorous two-day program during which companies heard from and interacted with leading cleantech business leaders, received specialized startup mentoring, began to refine their value propositions and business plans, and networked with each other and with the speakers and mentors. Throughout the accelerator, companies will be connected with mentors, they’ll access more entrepreneurship education, they’ll gain visibility and opportunities to access capital. Overall, they will develop vital resources to enable them launch and grow successful cleantech companies.

About Cleantech Open

Cleantech Open is the world’s oldest and largest cleantech accelerator and business plan competition. Our mission is to find, fund and foster entrepreneurs with big ideas that address today’s most urgent energy, environmental, and economic challenges. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, Cleantech Open provides the infrastructure, expertise, and strategic relationships that turn clever ideas into successful global cleantech companies. Over the past eight years, Cleantech Open has awarded over $5 million in cash and services. During that time, our 1,600 alumni companies have raised more than $1.2 billion in external funding. Fueled by a network of more than 2,000 volunteers, Cleantech Open unites the public and private sectors in a shared vision for making America’s cleantech sector a thriving economic engine. For more information, visit us at cleantechopen.org.

About NECEC

NECEC (Northeast Clean Energy Council & NECEC Institute) is the premier voice of businesses building a world-class clean energy hub in the Northeast, helping clean energy companies start, scale and succeed with our unique business, innovation, and policy leadership. NECEC is the Northeast regional affiliate for Cleantech Open, executing the Northeast accelerator and business plan competition and building the region’s innovation network with NECEC’s successor program for cleantech entrepreneurs, Navigate.