California Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur Development (CalSEED)
$700,000
About the Program
Administered by New Energy Nexus, CalSEED is one of several initiatives funded by the California Energy Commission EPIC program to advance energy innovation. CalSEED grants of up to $700,000 are awarded to early-stage clean energy entrepreneurs to accelerate California’s clean energy goals.
What We Offer
CalSEED supports early-stage entrepreneurs in developing technologies that meet clean energy generation, efficiency, or storage needs while considering energy equity, ensuring these technologies serve California’s most vulnerable populations. As the first step in California’s innovation pipeline, the program incubates energy concepts and readies them for investment and deployment by providing:
- Targeted professional development services including mentorship with seasoned professionals, legal counsel, expert guidance, and training to support technology refinements, market development, and commercialization.
- Direct, non-dilutive grant-based funding to advance clean energy innovations to commercialization ($200K for Concept Awards, and a $500K Prototype Award to winners of the annual Business Plan Competition).
- Access to Cleantech Open and a network of Regional Energy Innovations Clusters.
- Enhanced access to private capital.
Equity In, Equity Out
Equity-in: We aim to be an inclusive community, so all Californians can participate in the development and implementation of clean energy innovations. This includes small businesses, as well as women, people of color, LGBTIAQ+, rural, veteran, and people from low-income or under-resourced communities.
Equity-out: We also encourage entrepreneurs to develop equitable energy solutions that positively impact our most vulnerable populations.
Applicants will be asked to identify how, when scaled, the proposed technology could:
- Create economic opportunities.
- Increase access to clean energy solutions.
- Decrease pollution burden.
- Be deployed in a disadvantaged community and/or low-income community.
- Improve the resiliency and reliability of electricity service impacted by extreme weather-related events (ex. wildfires).
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