Deadline: 23 February 2025
Cleantech to Market (C2M) in its 17th year of accelerating climate tech commercialization, is accepting applications for promising climate tech startups and their innovations in low-carbon energy, green chemistry, food, and water technologies (covering both mitigation and adaptation) for its fall 2025 cohort.
For the selected startups, most of which are in the TRL 3-6 range (prototype to pilot), C2M will carefully assemble and manage interdisciplinary teams of 4-6 UC Berkeley graduate students. These teams will work over 16 weeks (from late August through early December 2025) to identify the most viable initial markets, potential customers and partners, business models, funding opportunities, and related strategies. They will also conduct techno-economic analyses, evaluate the competitive landscape, and deliver additional critical insights to support commercialization efforts.
What is Cleantech to Market (C2M)?
- C2M is a Program that supports or has been associated with leading accelerators, incubators, and government programs, including DOE’s ARPA-E, Cleantech Open, Activate, California Energy Commission-supported initiatives like New Energy Nexus/CalSEED, Southern California Energy Innovation Network (SCEIN), Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), Bluetech Valley, and Cleantech San Diego, as well as top-tier universities and national labs like UC Berkeley, Berkeley Lab, Stanford, MIT, and many others. Many of the C2M-supported entrepreneurs have also taken advantage of programs like the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps™) program.
How does C2M work?
- C2M first selects a cohort of innovations that have strong potential for climate tech commercialization. C2M then hand selects commercialization teams comprising top UC Berkeley graduate students from over 20 programs, including business, engineering, science, law, policy, and the Energy and Resources Group. C2M supports the teams with professionals who bring deep subject matter expertise (e.g., renewable energy, clean water, green chemistry, early-stage venture development). These professionals guide the students as speakers, mentors and key contacts (each team interviews approximately 40 relevant industry contacts). Brian Steel, Ana Martinez, and Bill Shelander lead the C2M process, contributing a combined 100+ years of experience in climate tech, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Program Benefits
- Each project receives approximately 1,000 hours of free commercialization assessment. Your C2M team will prepare a customized commercialization study of your innovation and recommended pathways to market along with related presentation slides. Both are finalized in December, and you may use them for any purpose including grant applications and discussions with investors. Your team will present their findings and recommendations at C2M’s annual summit. In addition to showcasing your innovation within the C2M network, founders have valued the rare opportunity to see someone else present their technology. This lets them “stand in the shoes of an investor” and gain a more objective view of their own endeavors.
For more information, visit University of California, Berkeley.
