The Innovation Incubator (IN2) is a technology incubator and platform funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and co-administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). IN2 helps speed the path to market for early-stage clean energy and agriculture technologies by providing funding and technical assistance that leverages the capabilities, facilities, equipment and deep expertise at NREL and the Danforth Plant Science Center.
To date, 20 portfolio companies have each received up to $250,000 in technical assistance and project related support
Almost $700,000 in follow-on funding from IN2 has been distributed to date
40+ Channel Partners refer early-stage companies to the program and provide critical business mentoring and support
IN2 portfolio companies have gone on to raise $89.5 million in follow-on funding from external sources
Since joining IN2, 4 portfolio companies have seen successful exits in the form of mergers or acquisitions
5 portfolio companies have beta demonstrations at Wells Fargo or NREL with 2 additional pilot projects in the near future
IN2 companies raise nearly $15 dollars in external follow-on funding for every $1 awarded.
40+ Channel Partners refer early-stage companies to the program, and provide critical business mentoring and support to IN2 portfolio companies
A web- and tablet-based application for conducting energy audits and analysis that result in 20-40% energy savings, the simuwatt platform allows for rapid identification of energy-efficiency measures through energy modeling. simuwatt allows any building owner to improve their building’s efficiency at a lower cost by providing the tools to make informed decisions on the best retrofit opportunities rapidly and at a lower cost.
Go Electric provides the first integrated solution for uninterruptible power, energy storage, energy efficiency, and automated energy asset synchronization and optimization. The company is developing a customer side of the metered microgrid solution, LYNC DR®, which is based on an uninterruptible power supply technology that automatically and instantly synchronizes with the grid, providing continuous power and automatic demand response functionality to a commercial building.
LiquidCool Solutions has developed a total immersion electronics cooling technology with the potential to offer 40% energy savings and significant cost savings compared to other air-cooling technologies. A safe and easy-to-maintain dielectric fluid is pumped directly into the server enclosure to cool electronic components while protecting them from environmental contaminants. The expected energy savings will not only drastically reduce costs for data centers but also allow the same computing capacity to be achieved in smaller spaces.
PowerFlex Systems develops, deploys and manages large-scale adaptive charging networks that enable mass charging and a greener building. Their adaptive electric vehicle (EV) charging technology provides a target charging capacity at 40% lower infrastructure and operating costs, reducing the carbon footprint of a building by tracking renewable generation and demand response signals from the grid.
In order to address issues caused by traditional HVAC motors, Software Motor Company (SMC) seeks to create the world’s highest efficiency internet-connected smart motor for HVAC applications. The motor uses a patented high-rotor pole “switched reluctance” design, allowing building owners to change the motor operating characteristics in real time, demonstrating 30-90% potential energy savings.
