The Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator (MEIA) is excited to announce that the 2022 Climate Tech Pre-Accelerator, sponsored by the Butz Foundation, and presented with the support of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech), the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute (MEI2), and the Johns Hopkins University Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI), will be run virtually by MEIA from May 31 through July 26, 2022.

The Climate Tech Pre-Accelerator is an opportunity for faculty, students and researchers at any Maryland-based research institution or federal laboratory or early-stage Maryland businesses to explore the potential markets for their inventions.  The Pre-Accelerator targets technologies that have been demonstrated in laboratory environments (TRL 1,2,3), but where the market application is unclear.  The Pre-Accelerator helps answer the question, “Can this technology be turned into a business?”

Participants get matched with industry-specific mentors to perform customer discovery and develop their business model canvas. The Customer Discovery curriculum will be taught by Dan Kunitz, Executive Director of the DC NSF I-Corps Node.

The Climate Tech Pre-Accelerator is primarily focused on hardware and software technology products that will have positive environmental benefits such as reducing green house gases or reducing pollution. The program is sector-agnostic.

This part-time program runs approximately May 31 through July 26 with weekly meetings.  Each participant should dedicate about 5 hours of work per week to the program.

Applications are due on April 30, 2022. Follow this link for more information, and to learn how to apply.