Elemental Excelerator Awarding Tech Startups up to $1 Million

Elemental Excelerator, a Hawai‘i-grown nonprofit tech accelerator, is now accepting applications to provide up to $1 million to startup companies addressing the world’s biggest environmental and infrastructure challenges. Companies from anywhere in the world working with technologies for energy, mobility, agriculture, water and circular economy are eligible.

To apply, startups must have secured Seed-to-Series C funding, employ at least two full-time employees and have a working prototype or business model that:

• Increases adoption of renewable energy and reduces energy sector greenhouse gas emissions;
• Improves food resiliency and slows emissions associated with the agricultural sector;
• Addresses water stress and scarcity and increases access to clean water;
• Reduces emissions from air, ground and sea transportation, and increases availability of mobility options;
• Fosters a circular economy and reduces global constraints on natural resources.

Elemental will award five to 20 growth-stage startups with up to $1 million each during the 2019 award season.

“To protect our planet, we must accelerate the deployment of technologies that deliver sustainable solutions quickly and at scale,” said Elemental CEO Dawn Lippert. “We’re looking for promising startups with talented founders and leadership teams to tackle the most pressing environmental challenges.”

Elemental is accepting applications for three tracks:

1. Demonstration: Up to $1 million for scalable project deployments in Hawai‘i and Asia-Pacific;
2. Equity & Access: Up to $1 million for companies expanding access to clean innovations for disadvantaged communities in California;
3. Go-to-Market: Up to $100,000 for companies in search of product/market fit.

Elemental’s portfolio consists of startup companies focused on commercialization, including Opus 12 and Zero Mass Water. Opus 12 is piloting carbon-capture technology with the world’s biggest emitters; Zero Mass Water uses technology to make drinking water from sunlight and air.

“Zero Mass Water has installed our SOURCE Hydropanels across 18 countries,” said Cody Friesen, founder and CEO of Zero Mass Water. “As we scaled internationally, we turned to Elemental to co-design and co-fund a project we’re now deploying in Western Australia in a joint venture with an Aboriginal community. Elemental’s team, funding, network and world-class community of entrepreneurs have been instrumental in helping us scale faster.”

So far, Elemental has funded 59 projects. Thirty-six are in Hawai‘i and include companies like Kunoa Cattle Company, Blue Planet Energy, Ibis Networks, SmartYields, Pono Island Capital, in2lytics and Shifted Energy.

Since 2013, Elemental says it has allocated more than $30 million to 82 companies and funded 59 demonstration projects in Hawai‘i, California and the Asia-Pacific region. Six of these companies have been acquired.