Invested In Climate

Piloting through the valley of death with NREL, NineDot & Community Energy Lab, Ep #57

Jun 20, 2023

46:01

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Valley of Death? It’s the phase of development that often kills off startups before they can reach scale. One key challenge is needing to test and refine their technology and gain true validation.

For a few lucky startups, this is where the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator comes in to help them develop pilots that provide the insights and credible third-party endorsement needed to grow their technology. The incubator is part of the Department of Energy-backed National Renewable Energy Lab, an institution that’s central to the United State’s investment in renewable energy.

Today, we’re joined by Trish Cozart, the Director of NREL's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, who oversees the Incubator. And, we’re also joined by the founders of two startups that recently participated in the lab: Adam Cohen from NineDot Energy and Tanya Barham from Community Energy Labs. We talk about what makes the incubator unique, how it’s helped these two companies, what they’re aiming to achieve and much more. Enjoy!

In today’s episode, we cover:

[3:15] National Renewable Energy Laboratory & the role it plays
[5:01] Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator & the types of companies it supports
[7:07] Tracking growth after participation in the Incubator
[7:29] Advice for companies that need to get through the Valley of Death
[9:01] Community Energy Labs, the problem it’s aiming to solve & what led Tanya to start the company
[11:09] NineDot Energy, the problem it’s aiming to solve & Adam’s founding story
[13:32] Tanya’s experience with the Incubator & differences in the NREL experience
[17:39] Adam’s experience with the Incubator: focuses & outcomes
[19:55] Trish on the support offered by the Incubator
[22:07] Energy storage & why its important, especially in New York
[24:03] How is NineDot different
[25:45] NineDot’s partnerships & learnings
[28:15] NineDot’s overall traction & current measurements
[29:23] What are community buildings & why focus on them
[34:56] Community Energy Lab’s technology & what makes it different
[39:40] Community Energy Lab’s overall traction & achievements so far
[42:04] New cohorts for the Incubator & what to expect for the future
[43:04] NineDot’s role & what is needed to get there
[43:58] What the future looks like for Community Energy Labs