“We are moving along with the rest of the market—which is all about deployment,” current INProgram Manager Sarah Derdowski said. “One of the hardest challenges in the cleantech industry is overcoming that last ‘valley of death,’ which is adoption. The expansion allows us to help adopters as well as startups tackle some of their biggest barriers—we are connecting the dots from nascent startup technology all the way through adoption.
. “But it’s their great processes that set them apart. The lab provided us with a first-class way to take our software to the next level, and they coupled this with market references.”Kate Moore, current head of partnerships, innovation, and entrepreneurship for NREL, took on the role of the first program manager for IN“It started because Wells Fargo wanted to support the clean energy ecosystem,” Moore said.
According to Associate Laboratory Director for Innovation, Partnering, and Outreach Bill Farris, one meeting early in the creation of the program stood out even a decade later. “That just proves we’re betting on the right technologies,” Wells Fargo Chief Sustainability Officer Robyn Luhning said. “We’re also providing them with the expertise that they need to succeed. Pinpointing the secret sauce is difficult, but I think it hinges on harnessing NREL’s world-class expertise and facilities.”program. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NRELhelped the IEC create additional, similar programs, like the Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL , Chevron Studio, and more.
“It’s the right next step at the right time,” Radkin said. “When looking at program alumni, we knew we had to better leverage the bank’s relationships to try and expose others to this amazing clean energy technology. With all these corporations making 2030 and 2050 initiatives, the appetite is right.”