Southern California Energy Innovation Network

Benchmark Labs: Combines grid level weather forecasting data with site-based IoT sensors, and uses proprietary AI software to provide precise asset-located weather forecasting to optimize renewable energy generation and maximize financial benefits.

ChangeAerial: A SaaS startup providing software tools which leverage its patented Repeat Station Imaging (RSI ©) and AI change analysis technologies to automate drone-based inspection and monitoring of electric utility and other infrastructure assets. Their end-to-end approach and use of novel deep learning algorithms to exploit time-sequential images delivers more efficient, precise asset monitoring to improve performance, increase value and elevate customer satisfaction, compared to single-time, manual and AI-based approaches currently offered by competitive drone software platforms.

CleanSpark (graduate): Offers software, products, and services that support the optimized design and operation of distributed energy and microgrid projects. Their microgrid optimizer software performs in-depth simulation of multi-DER solutions based on economics, energy security, and sustainability, while their microgrid controller operates distributed assets in real-time to deliver those modeled outcomes once the system is installed.

GridWrap Inc.: This cleantech women owned enterprise is commercializing a patented novel technology that will structurally strengthen grid lines by using advanced hybrid composite materials. GridWrap’s Composite WiRe Wrap™ increases ampacity, the power capacity of existing grid lines, and extends lifespan while also addressing thermal sagging, with NO downtime and minimal capital investment. This is a key requirement for achieving safe, resilient and reliable 100% renewable energy goals.

Ivy Energy (graduate): A platform designed to help multifamily real estate investors increase their property values and secure additional monthly revenue while reducing tenant energy expenses. The company makes solar lucrative for multi-meter properties with shared roof space.

Kitu Systems (graduate): A comprehensive portfolio of communication solutions that enable coordination at scale of distributed energy resources (DER) with grid management systems. Kitu delivers EV charging and DER management services to residential and commercial customers, IEEE 2030.5 software to smart inverter and EVSE device manufacturers, and DERMS and aggregation services to utility customers.

Qubitekk (graduate): The US critical infrastructure is facing ever increasing cybersecurity threats and attacks. Qubitekk provides state-of-the-art cybersecurity protection for critical energy infrastructure using an unbreakable physics-based solution called the Quantum DataLoc transceiver. This product can be easily added into existing utility operations to reduce the cost and complexity of managing security keys.

VECKTA: As the energy transition market platform, VECKTA integrates the world’s most advanced tools, processes, and stakeholders in an end-to-end marketplace to simplify and accelerate the development of onsite energy systems and microgrid projects. VECKTA empowers commercial and industrial businesses to quickly and cost-effectively baseline their energy situation today, customize a solution specific to their needs (cost, reliability, and/or emissions), and then seamlessly engage and contract the best equipment, services, and capital providers in the market to finance, deploy, and monitor their assets sustainably and profitably.

XENDEE (graduate): XENDEE is lead by an award-winning team which has created a patented microgrid assessment and design software platform that simultaneously co-optimizes the techno-economic performance and power flow analysis of proposed energy resilience projects.

Aquacycl (graduate): Aquacycl provides the only technology for treatment of high-strength organic wastewater without dilution. Aquacycl’s BETT™ systems eliminate primary sludge, offer net-neutral energy operations and guarantee permit compliance at operational costs that are 50%-95% lower than incumbent processes.

Chilldyne (graduate): A leak-proof liquid cooling technology for data centers that uses a patented negative pressure design to save 20-40% on electricity costs and enables up to 10x higher density computing than traditional air-cooled systems.

Community Energy Labs: An AI-powered building control solution for building operators who find it complex, frustrating ,and very expensive to meet building energy goals. Community Energy Labs charges a low, one-time fee for a quick and painless installation and an annual subscription to autonomously predict and efficiently control how and when existing building equipment is operating so that more of it is powered by renewables. This model offers building owners higher levels of energy savings, lower carbon and up-front cost, and faster returns than traditional building management systems.

Conectric: An inexpensive wireless mesh sensor network + open API software platform that autonomously delivers rich data to create smart buildings and save operating costs without complicated IT commissioning and at 3x cheaper than existing solutions.

Correlate (graduate): Offers an innovative energy program subscription called FacilityBid that helps small- and mid-sized businesses save energy. For only $99 per month, Correlate develops, implements, and manages an onsite energy program that creates positive cash flow, easily, and automatically.

Enersion: Offers a trigeneration unit that produces on-site cooling, heating, and electricity with energy savings and zero greenhouse gas emissions. The core cooling technology uses nano-porous material to directly convert low-grade heat into cooling, and is integrated with localized power generation systems to provide clean energy sources at low costs.

Eversun: Developed the revolutionary eTower – an integrated portable utility system combining solar power, energy storage, communications, and lighting into one rapidly deployable platform. In under 60 seconds, the eTower’s telescoping mast elevates LEDs, cameras, and data networks up to 23 feet in the air to provide connectivity anywhere for emergency responders, the military, the construction industry, and others. Onboard lithium batteries and integrated solar provide renewable power day and night, replacing incumbent GHG-emitting portable utility towers reducing operating expenses by up to 80%, and abating 20-80k pounds of annual CO2 emissions per unit. 

General Engineering & Research (GE&R): A differentiated low-temperature cooling technology based on magnetic refrigeration that is lower-cost and more energy efficient than current technologies for cooling and storing cryogenic liquids.

Harvest Thermal: Manufactures smart, ultra-efficient, and affordable space conditioning and hot water systems. A Harvest Thermal system slashes emissions from heating and hot water by 90% compared to gas equipment, and 50% compared to a standard heat pump system, while reducing customer bills by up to 40%.

Helicoid: Commercializing a helicoidal structural design that will make all composite material products even lighter, stronger, more impact resistant, and more energy efficient while enabling a lower overall manufacturing cost. Helicoid’s beachhead market is wind turbine blades.

HNO Hydrogen Generators: Developed a breakthrough innovation in hydrogen fuel cell technology that can drastically reduce global emissions in any internal combustion engine as a retrofit upgrade while lowering operating costs. Their hydrogen system is a major near term solution to immediately reduce global diesel exhaust gas emissions.

Limelight Steel: Invented a zero-emissions process to convert iron ore into steel products. Their patent pending process reduces the energy required to produce a ton of steel by over 40% and paves a path towards abundant clean steel.

Luciant: Developing state-of-the-art ceramic based phosphors for advanced lighting applications that can deliver a 750% increase in light output per specified area/volume over conventional polymer phosphors.

Occuspace (graduate): Provides a novel solution for reporting minute-by-minute indoor occupancy data that gives building owners the information they need to reduce total energy consumption by 10-20%, optimize space management, and improve the occupant experience.

Carbon Blade: Carbon Blade is a containerized, distributed, direct-air-capture (DAC) carbon dioxide removal (CDR) system that is powered by renewable energy and can be deployed wherever there is ageological disposal solution or where commercial/industrial usage is possible.

HelioVolta: HelioVolta is in the process of scaling adoption of their SolarGrade™ software platform that is a cloud-based fieldwork management software paired with a mobile app, designed and built by real-world solar professionals to increase asset quality and performance while delivering 30% labor cost reduction for solar field work technicians and significantly reducing the risk of fire.

Ocean Motion Technologies: Developing the Air-Energy Ocean Nexus (AEON) device, which can convert ocean wave energy to compressed air for power generation and energy storage.

Primo Energy (graduate): Designs and manufactures small, lightweight hybrid wind/solar systems that harvest energy in resource-constrained environments. Their flagship product is a flower-shaped energy platform called the EnergiPlant, which is an ideal solution for parks, universities, and business campuses looking for remotely-powered hubs with USB ports, LED lights, camera systems, 5G capabilities, and more.

Solarflux: Solarflux is the developer of the FOCUS, a parabolic dish concentrator – the most efficient (>70% annual average) concentrating solar power (CSP) technology – designed to deliver low cost, zero emission thermal energy for a wide range of use cases, including industrial process heat, space heating and cooling, power generation, and desalination.

Uprise Energy: A 10 kW wind turbine that fits in a shipping container and sets up in one hour to produce clean, affordable electricity. The machine is most efficient in low wind speeds, allowing it to be conveniently located near customers that have historically relied on diesel generators for power.

Innovasion Labs PINC: Developing a proprietary, disruptive energy storage technology, based upon remolding the 200-year old traditional geometry of a battery, that results in profound performance improvements in terms of cycle life, energy density, and charge times.

RedoxBlox: A cleantech company with thermochemical energy storage technology for decarbonization, capable of providing heat and electricity when coupled with a power block (gas, or steam turbine). This unique technology is easily scaled, low cost, and is a drop-in replacement for natural gas in almost every case.

SiLi-Ion: Produces “drop-in”additives based on advanced graphite-infused silicon nanomaterials that immediately elevate Li-ion battery performance. SiLi–Ion‘s products are designed to ensure seamless integration into the current battery manufacturing process, and increase the energy density of commercial lithium ion batteries.

Smartville: Developing an innovative battery reconditioning process that returns used electric vehicle battery packs to a consistent and uniform state-of-health in order to provide low-cost, easy-to-integrate, and reliable stationary energy storage solutions to customers.

South 8 Technologies (graduate): A breakthrough electrolyte chemistry for next-generation rechargeable lithium batteries that serves a wider operating temperature range of ‑80 to +60°C, provides 80% greater energy density, and increases safety all at a 30% cheaper cost. This battery innovation is designed to power new aerospace and military technologies and serve the growing markets of all-weather grid storage, electric vehicles, and high-atmosphere drones.

 

Tyfast: Developing the longest-lasting, fast charging high-energy lithium batteries for high-duty cycle and autonomous applications that operate 24/7. Tyfast aims to deliver battery cells with an extended 20,000 cycle life, an ultrafast three-minute charging capability, and enhanced safety over conventional lithium batteries.

UCAP Power (graduate): A global provider of ultracapacitor-based power solutions across a wide range of renewable markets. Ultracapacitor systems use sustainable based products offering a long-lasting source of reliable high-power energy storage that can help eliminate lead-acid and other hazardous materials in batteries. UCAP Power’s acquisition of Maxwell Technologies ultracapacitor manufacturing capabilities and one of the largest patent and product portfolios in the industry makes UCAP Power the clear leader in the segment.

UNIGRID develops advanced sodium ion batteries that lower cost by 50% and overcome supply chain challenges of lithium ion based energy storage technologies. UNIGRID’s anode innovation increases the energy densities of sodium ion batteries by a factor of 2x and eliminates fire safety hazards of conventional batteries, offering competitive advantages in the light e-mobility and distributed stationary storage markets. 

VLI-EV (graduate): A one-stop sustainable and renewable energy solutions provider that offers proprietary controls software and high power, super long life battery energy storage systems (new and recycled battery modules) with up to 25 year warranties. These systems reduce customer energy and peak demand charge costs by 20-40%, as well as CO2 emissions.

Enel X – formerly eMotorWerks (graduate): An intelligent EV charging station manufacturer (JuiceBox) and owner and operator of JuiceNet, an IoT platform for the smart management of EV charging and other distributed energy storage facilities. Acquired by EnerNOC/Enel.

KIGT: KIGT manufactures interactive vehicle-to-grid EV charging stations (220 and 440 Volt options) that feature on-board billing with card swipe and the ability to manage surge pricing and power throttling in real-time during peak demand response events.

NeoCharge (graduate): NeoCharge is eliminating barriers to electric vehicle adoption and making it convenient to own an EV. Their first product is an inexpensive and intelligent 240-volt splitter that allows EV owners to use an existing 240-volt appliance outlet to fast charge their cars and save thousands of dollars in avoided charging station and electrician costs.

Nuvve (graduate): A vehicle-to-grid (V2G) software platform that enables any EV battery to generate, store and sell unused energy back to the electric grid in a bi-directional manner.

Paired Power: Paired Power develops and delivers innovative products that pair solar energy with EV charging, energy storage, and the grid. Their patented technology delivers 100% clean solar power directly into electric vehicles.

ReJoule: ReJoule’s battery diagnostics platform helps automakers and fleet owners maximize the value of their electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This patent-pending technology is fast, non-invasive, and can provide insights on how to optimize the battery’s life cycle. ReJoule’s platform will enable a step-change in the world’s understanding of how batteries perform and enable EV owners to get the maximum lifetime mileage from their vehicles.

Xtelligent: Xtelligent is developing the traffic signal network of tomorrow. By integrating cutting-edge algorithm research with innovative sensing and learning capabilities, Xtelligent is working towards improving road network capacity by 50%+ at a 20x cost reduction. This is estimated to improve transportation efficiency by 20%+ while also enabling scaling of connected, automated, and electric vehicles.