Through the three phases of the prize, teams have the chance to win part of the $8.42 million prize pool to fund their ongoing activities that address local challenges in clean energy, energy efficiency, manufacturing, materials, and transportation. Successful competitors will demonstrate a strong track record of building trust and strengthening relationships and partnerships within their communities. The Community Energy Innovation Prize is made up of three tracks, each with distinct focus areas, over three phases:

• Clean Energy Ecosystem Track.
• Manufacturing Ecosystem Track.
• Vehicles Ecosystem Track.

The Rice Alliance, the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) and TEX-E are partnering for the annual Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition at CERAWeek, set to take place in the Innovation Agora in the George R. Brown Convention Center on March 12, 2025 with a special Pitch Preview event (free to attend) on March 11 at the Ion Houston. The Energy Venture Day and Pitch Competition features pitches from more than 40 energy ventures driving efficiency and advancements toward the energy transition. The fast-paced competition is designed to connect energy startups with venture capitalists, corporate innovation groups, industry leaders, academics, and service providers.

Smart Futures Lab offers an invaluable opportunity for growth in the tech space through a free incubator and accelerator program. Open to new majority tech founders, professionals, and students, looking to develop and scale their smart city innovation solutions. The Incubator Program caters to tech startups in the early stages of development, whether they are ideating, designing, or testing their products. The Accelerator Program is for mature companies looking to scale, build government partnerships, refine their business model, and find funding investors.

Launch your electrifying journey into the future of innovation! Join the world’s largest multi-sector commercialization program for emerging deep technologies. Pitch your groundbreaking innovations and connect with top-tier corporate, investment, military and federal leaders for partnering, licensing and investment opportunities. Whether you’re a startup, university TTO, federal lab, or federal awardee, seize the moment. Submit your commercially viable innovation now and connect with the largest gathering of tech-scouts and funding offices worldwide.

The E-Team Program, part of the VentureWell Accelerator, supports student ventures as you embark down the path you’re likely to take as an innovator and entrepreneur. We help you advance your invention through a powerful mix of up to $25,000 in grant funding, entrepreneurship training, mentorship by dedicated staff, national recognition, and networking with peers and industry experts.

This is a competitive grant solicitation. The California Energy Commission’s (CEC’s) Clean Transportation Program announces the availability of up to $10,000,000 in grant funds for projects that will deploy fast electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure for the public.

The Fourth Revolution Awards celebrates regional manufacturing for its leadership and innovation as the industry stands on the brink of a new technological revolution.
Winners Receive: Two 3-month shared workspace memberships to mHUB; Visibility across mHUB’s network of more than 50,000 manufacturing and innovation stakeholders; Opportunities to connect with local industry leaders; Bespoke marketing promotional video.

ACCEL is here to bolster you as you develop critical climatetech solutions by offering access to funding, networking connections, resources, and opportunities that structural inequities put out of reach. We embrace intersectionality and look forward to you bringing your full self to the program. This year-long program combines acceleration with a curated curriculum, incubation through Greentown Labs membership, and extensive mentorship from Greentown and Browning the Green Space (BGS)’s networks of industry experts. Greentown and BGS know the climatetech industry must change the status quo to equitably position you to lead startups that will address climate change, support the development of diverse workforces, and fiercely advocate for the deployment of clean technologies in historically underserved communities. For Year 3 of the ACCEL program, we’re seeking applications from innovative startups at TRL 2-4 with founding and executive teams that are primarily made up of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) leaders who are developing climate solutions for the agriculture, buildings, electricity, manufacturing, resiliency + adaptation, and transportation sectors.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Phase I Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. NOAA Phase I SBIR awards provide up to $190,000 to fund a six month period of performance for conducting feasibility and proof of concept research. The tentative award start date for the FY25 competition is August 1, 2025. NOAA encourages proposals from qualified small businesses for highly innovative technologies with strong commercial potential that fit within NOAA’s mission areas.

The SBIR/STTR Programs Office works collaboratively with 13 program offices throughout the DOE. Each DOE program office considers its high priority research needs and program mission, as well as the Department’s goals for the program in developing research topics.  The specific research topics selected for the SBIR and STTR programs are developed by DOE technical program managers. DOE offers more than sixty technical topics and 250 subtopics, spanning research areas that support the DOE mission in Energy Production, Energy Use, Fundamental Energy Sciences, Environmental Management, and Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation.

The IGF builds on decades of technical expertise and market analysis accumulated at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the nation’s only federal lab dedicated to renewable energy and energy efficiency research. We are strongly committed to our mission of connecting cutting-edge startups with motivated investors. Presenting companies are chosen from applicants vetted by a selection committee of more than 150 climate tech and cleantech investors and industry experts. This rigorous screening process provides beneficial feedback to startups that apply. The top 40 companies are invited to present.