The Partnership

As a founding member of the Heartland Climate Tech Partnership, Centrepolis Accelerator is proud to partner with Evergreen Climate Innovations, mHub, and Spark Innovation Center to advance the commercialization of innovative climate tech and clean energy businesses across the Greater Midwest Region. Project affiliates include the Chain Reaction Innovations Entrepreneurship program at Argonne National Laboratory, the Innovation Crossroads program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Our Goals

The partnership will help support and accelerate climate tech and clean energy startups in the Greater Midwest. The partners plan to support more than 360 startups and small businesses via tailored programs, including virtual and in-person events, sector-specific curriculum, accelerator programs, mentorship, prototyping resources, and connections within the renewable energy industry.

Beneficiaries of the program will be a diverse array of Midwest entrepreneurs 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 Heartland Climate Tech Partnership will:

Increase the commercialization of climate tech and clean energy technologies
Reduce energy consumption and emissions while increasing domestic manufacturing
Create U.S. intellectual property and well-paying jobs in the Greater Midwest

Energy Program for
Innovation Clusters

In 2021, the Heartland Climate Tech Partnership received over $900,000 in funding from the Department of Energy's Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC). EPIC is a $10 million funding opportunity created by the Department of Energy's Office of Technology Transitions to harness regional ingenuity and resources, commercialize clean energy technologies, and stimulate new business development.

“I was proud to support the Heartland Climate Tech Partnership and its partners' request for this Department of Energy grant, which has the potential to grow the innovation ecosystem in the Midwest. This federal funding will increase the rate of technology commercialization in the region and help companies create more high-tech domestic jobs.”

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Illinois

Heartland Climate Tech

The Partnership

Our Goals

Energy Program for
Innovation Clusters

Accelerator

C3 Accelerator

Investment

Evergreen Climate Innovations accepts applications for investment on an ongoing basis

Partners

Project Affiliates

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