4 local startups received funding from Exelon’s Climate Change Investment Initiative

Four local startups working with environmental technology have been selected as part of a group of 10 companies that are sharing $1 million in funding from Exelon’s Climate Change Investment Initiative.

The Chicago-based energy service provider launched this initiative with the focus to support and invest in new technologies addressing climate change. This is the inaugural year for the Climate Change Investment Initiative, which is pledging to invest $20 million overall. The Exelon Foundation, the company’s nonprofit philanthropic arm, manages it.

“Now more than ever, it’s become clear that real, fundamental change often comes from taking action at the local level,” said Chris Gould, Exelon’s SVP of corporate strategy and chief innovation and sustainability officer, in a statement. “We purposely designed the initiative to support early-stage, often-overlooked startups with the potential to make a meaningful, on-the-ground impact on our communities’ climate goals, health and environment.”

Of 120 companies to apply for funding from the initiative, 28 were invited to pitch to Exelon and 10 startups were ultimately selected for the inaugural cohort. Exelon reported that 50% of the selected startups are minority or women-owned businesses and 60% projects are focused on greenhouse gas mitigation.

Here are the four local ventures that were selected (with descriptions from a press release):

• Amidus Resilience — A D. C.-based startup that designs, develops and delivers solar and battery storage solutions for affordable housing communities
• ATP-MD — A Maryland-based startup using two patented and cost-effective processes that generate multiple environmental benefits using specially-bred, non-invasive plants (bio-crops) and their resulting biomass
• Dynamhex — A Baltimore-based developer of a software platform leveraging complex energy consumption data that enables close collaboration among a range of city, community and utility stakeholders to achieve local carbon-reduction goals
• New Ecology — With offices in Baltimore, Boston and Wilmington, Delaware, this company has developed a remote monitoring and optimization system to improve the performance of buildings with central boilers.

Each of the 10 startups were awarded $100,000. As part of the application process, startups had to demonstrate how their products and solutions could potential advance state and local sustainability goals. Selected startups can tap Exelon’s internal innovation program for guidance as they advance their technologies.

The $20 million initiative comes from the Exelon Foundation’s commitment to invest $10 million over 10 years to startups working on climate change. Exelon Corporation plans to match those funds with up to $10 million of in-kind services, including mentoring, business plan structure, providing help to meet regulatory requirements and more.

Applications are already open for the next round of funding from the initiative.