Wells Fargo Adds 10 Clean-Tech Startups to Innovation Incubator

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., January 11, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced it has selected the third round of clean technology startup companies to join the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²), a five-year, $10 million program which helps advance energy efficiency by accelerating sustainable commercial-building technologies. The 10 early-stage companies in Round 3 will each receive up to $250,000 in cash and in-kind technical assistance to advance their technologies and an opportunity to beta test within Wells Fargo’s real estate footprint. Launched in 2014, IN² is funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and co-administered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

The 10 early-stage companies include a diverse mix of technologies designed to advance energy and water efficiency through HVAC system innovation, building management and controls software, advanced lighting, water-data technologies and more. They join 10 other companies selected for IN² in prior rounds, bringing the total to 20 early stage companies now participating in the highly selective program.    

In addition to receiving non-dilutive funding from the Wells Fargo Foundation, IN² participants receive financial and technical consultation from a network of experts, as well as research and testing support at NREL’s world-class facility in Golden, Colo. Clean-tech startups participating in IN² will have their technologies validated at NREL’s facilities, and many will follow the lab validation with beta testing at select Wells Fargo locations. The real-world beta testing is a signature component of the IN² program and an important validation exercise for startups to learn how their technologies will perform and integrate with other systems.

“As an organization managing nearly 100 million square feet of real estate, we know that efficiency matters, and we are pleased that our efforts to build and foster an ecosystem that accelerates the commercialization of clean technologies for commercial buildings is bearing fruit,” said Ashley Grosh, vice president and IN² co-lead for Wells Fargo. “Companies from rounds one and two have achieved significant milestones on their way to the commercial marketplace.  We are pleased to add this third round of innovators to IN² and expect the momentum we’ve seen to date continue across the program.”

The 10 clean technology startups joining Round 3 of the IN² program are:

• Transformative Wave:(Kent, Wash/Boulder, Colo.) HVAC, light, and battery storage retrofit kit for commercial buildings

• Software Motor Corporation: (Sunnyvale, Calif.) Super high-efficiency Internet-enabled motor for HVAC applications

• PowerFlex Systems: (Los Altos, Calif.) Adaptive EV charging network for demand response and renewable integration

• Maalka: (New York, N.Y.) Open modeling platform for managing large scale building sustainability initiatives

• Geli: (San Francisco, Calif.) Software platform to design, automate, and manage energy storage systems

• APANA: (Bellingham, Wash.) C&II smart water management systems using IoT and prescriptive analytics

• EdgePower: (Aspen, Colo.) Cloud-hosted energy simulation application for analyzing and enhancing building performance

• Ibis Networks: (Honolulu, Hawaii) Plug load management for the enterprise.

• J2 Innovations: (Chino, Calif.) Building automation and operating system for connecting and controlling devices

“IN² continues to attract high quality applicants and companies, and is proving out the model that we had envisioned; participating companies have been acquired by successful clean-technology corporations, received follow-on funding, and beta demonstrations are underway within the program,” said Richard Adams, Director of NREL’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. “We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to advance these early stage technologies as well as to offer real-world test conditions in order to optimize their potential for success in the market.”

The IN² program is part of Wells Fargo’s 2020 Corporate Social Responsibility Commitments, which include commitments to accelerate the transition to a lower carbon economy and provide $65 million to environmentally-focused nonprofits and innovative projects that are delivering social, economic and environmental impact. IN² would not be possible without the collaboration and partnership of its 44 Channel Partners across the U.S., which include universities, business plan competitions and other clean technology accelerators.  These Channel Partners provide a pipeline of early stage, high quality startup company referrals to IN².

Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator Channel Partners include:

• ACRE |Urban Future Lab / Powerbridge
  NYU Tandon School of EngineeringôBrooklyn, N.Y.

• Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) | Washington, D.C.

• Cal-Tech, Flow Program | Los Angeles, Calif.

• Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, Penn.

• Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland

• Clean Energy Trust | Chicago, Ill.

• Cleantech Group | San Francisco. Calif.

• Cleantech Open | Redwood City, Calif.

• Coachella Valley Economic Partnership | Palm Springs, Calif.

• Colorado State University Energy Institute | Fort Collins, Colo.

• Energy Excelerator | Honolulu, Hawaii

• Fraunhofer CSE TechBridge Program | Boston, Mass.

• Green Town Labs | Boston, Mass.

• Imagine H20, Inc. | San Francisco, Calif.

• Innosphere | Denver, Colo.

• Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator | Los Angeles, Calif.

• MassChallenge | Boston, Mass.

• MIT Energy Club | Cambridge, Mass.

• Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC) Institute | Boston, Mass.

• NextEnergy Center | Detroit, Mich.

• Northwestern University | Evanston, Ill.

• Oregon BEST | Portland, Ore.

• Portland State University | Portland, Ore.

• Prospect SV | San Jose, Calif.

• Purdue University | West Lafayette, Ind.

• Rice University Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship | Houston, Texas

• Stanford, TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy | Stanford, Calif.

• Sustainable Startups | Salt Lake City, Utah

• Telluride Venture Accelerator | Telluride, Colo.

• Texas A&M University, Research Valley Partnership | College Station, Texas

• Texas State University | San Marcos, Texas

• The Water Council | Milwaukee, Wis.

• UC Berkeley, Cleantech 2 Market (C2M)| Berkeley, Calif.

• UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center (EEC) | Davis, Calif.

• UC Irvine | Irvine, Calif.

• UC San Diego | San Diego, Calif.

• University of Colorado | Boulder, Colo.

• University of Denver | Denver, Colo.

• University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, Mich.

• UNC Charlotte | Charlotte, N.C.

• UT Austin, Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) l Austin, Texas

• UT Austin, McCombs Business School Texas Venture Labs| Austin, Texas

• University of Washington Foster School of Business | Seattle, Wash.

• University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, Wis.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,600 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 269,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 27 on Fortune’s 2016 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. In 2015, Wells Fargo donated $281.3 million to 16,300 nonprofits, ranking No. 3 on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s rankings of the top corporate cash philanthropists. Wells Fargo team members volunteered 1.86 million hours in 2015, serving more than 40,000 nonprofits. Wells Fargo’s corporate social responsibility efforts are focused on three priorities: economic empowerment in underserved communities, environmental sustainability, and advancing diversity and social inclusion. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

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