CSU Energy Institute awarded $1 million from Department of Energy to support innovation accelerator
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Jennifer Dimas
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Colorado State University’s Energy Institute will receive $1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to support energy innovation and commercialization in Colorado and the region. The award is part of the DOE’s Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC).
The funding, announced jointly by Colorado state lawmakers, will help CSU create the Rockies/Plains Energy Accelerator for Commercializing Hardtech (REACH), in collaboration with Innosphere Ventures, the Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory, and 22 other committed ecosystem partners. REACH is tailored to the specific needs of the Rocky Mountains Great Plains region – an area spanning over 40% of the lower continental United States and producing 25% of the nation’s energy
“Colorado’s innovation ecosystem is well-poised for acceleration to meet the need for clean, low-carbon technologies in order to meet the nation’s ambitious climate goals,” said Bryan Willson, executive director of the CSU Energy Institute. “The REACH accelerator will allow us to work with early-stage companies to help transition their technologies into viable businesses that can help meet these goals.”
Executing a growth strategy
Innosphere and CSU will plan, develop, and execute a growth strategy for energy innovation clusters throughout the region in partnership with public, private, nonprofit, and higher education partners, and with support from the Collaboratory – Colorado’s inter-institutional partnership among CSU, University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado School of Mines and the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
“Taking the energy hardtech innovation model developed by CSU and Innosphere over the past decade to support early-stage founders is very significant from a regional collaboration standpoint,” said Mike Freeman, CEO of Innosphere Ventures. “We’re excited to work with leading research universities in the U.S. mountain plains region to support their mission of advancing economic development and innovation.”
About EPIC funding program
EPIC is a $10 million funding opportunity created by the DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions to underscore the importance of regional clusters, which increase the productivity of area companies, drive the direction and pace of innovation, and stimulate the formation of new businesses, further reinforcing the cluster itself. CSU is one of 10 recipients of the EPIC funding award.