Casten Helps Secure Over $900,000 for Energy Startups in the Midwest
Downers Grove, IL — Today, U.S. Congressman Sean Casten announced that the Midwest Regional Innovation Partnership, a project by Clean Energy Trust, Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Technological University, mHUB, and Spark Innovation Center, was selected for an award of over $900,000 from the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC). The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT).
"Having begun my clean energy career in the private sector, I'm proud to have helped secure federal grant funding for energy startups in the Midwest, which will help hundreds of small businesses and create manufacturing jobs across the region" said Rep. Sean Casten. "We have an urgent need for investment in energy innovation here in the Midwest, and this project takes a crucial step to develop technologies needed for robust clean, cheap energy essential to fighting climate change, growing our economy, and creating jobs."
"As a businessman and energy entrepreneur, Rep. Sean Casten understands the importance of advancing climate innovation - his support was instrumental in us receiving this award,"said Erik Birkerts, CEO at Clean Energy Trust. "This new regional partnership aims to address the nation's urgent need for energy innovation while creating well-paying manufacturing jobs that will drive the Midwest region's economic recovery."
The Midwest Regional Innovation Partnership focuses on energy innovation and creating manufacturing jobs to drive economic recovery in the Midwest. Two of the DOE's Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Programs, Chain Reaction Innovations based at Argonne National Laboratory and Innovation Crossroads based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will serve as project affiliates, along with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
The partnership will integrate and support both new and existing programs for venture acceleration of energy hardware startups in the Midwest. The partners plan to support more than 360 startups and small businesses via the tailored programs, which include both virtual and in-person events, sector-specific curriculum, mentorship, prototyping resources, and connections with industry. Beneficiaries of the program will be a diverse array of Midwest founders from across the region, including those from universities, low-income communities, and urban areas.
By developing a regional cluster of unified, accessible, best-in-class innovation resources, the Midwest Regional Innovation Partnership will increase the commercialization of energy hardware technologies to reduce energy consumption and emissions while increasing domestic manufacturing, creating U.S. intellectual property, and creating well-paying jobs in the Midwest.