Home - Innovation Incubator (IN2)

ADVANCING TECHNOLOGIES FOR SMART AND CONNECTED COMMUNITIES

The Wells Fargo 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 Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (Danforth Center).

To date, 25 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 $103 million in follow-on funding from external sources

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Since joining IN², 4 portfolio companies have seen successful exits in the form of mergers or acquisitions

BETA DEMONSTRATIONS

5 portfolio companies have beta demonstrations at Wells Fargo or NREL with 2 additional pilot projects in the near future

OUR INVESTMENTS GO FAR

IN² companies raise nearly $17 dollars in external follow-on funding for every $1 awarded.

OUR PORTFOLIO COMPANIES

Global Green recognizes the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator, IN²

40+ Channel Partners refer early-stage companies to the program, and provide critical business mentoring and support to IN² portfolio companies

FEATURED PORTFOLIO COMPANIES

simuwatt

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

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

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

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.

Software Motor Company

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.

SPEEDING CLEAN ENERGY AND AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGIES TO MARKET

VALIDATING TECHNOLOGIES IN WORLD-CLASS FACILITIES

FOSTERING A ROBUST ECOSYSTEM