Deadline Date: January 16, 2026
The DeltaClimeVT business accelerator, supported by Vermont’s sustainability and climate innovation ecosystem, invites startup and seed-stage ventures to join its Energy2026 Challenge to advance grid resilience and greenhouse gas reduction.
The focus areas of the opportunity are climate economy innovation across multiple industries, enhance grid resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decarbonizing buildings, transportation, heating, and industrial processes through electrification, thermal energy networks, renewables, and flexible load management, help lower electricity costs for Vermont ratepayers, adopt renewable energy, smart building, and EV technologies, advance Vermont’s Comprehensive Energy Plan (90% renewables by 2050) and Burlington’s Net Zero by 2030 goals, and eligibility includes companies in Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Energy Management, Geothermal, Energy Sector, Energy Storage, EV Charging, DER (Distributed Energy Resource), Load Management that are incorporated, prototype, users or paying users stage, Seed, Series A or Series B, have raised funding or not, currently raising or not raising funds, have revenue or not.
The DeltaClimeVT accelerator is a Vermont-based program that supports ventures building climate-focused solutions across various industries. As a leader in sustainability, Vermont connects participants with a broad network of climate economy experts, offering one of the most advantageous environments for founders developing climate-positive technologies.
The program consists of three immersive sprints designed to help companies refine their vision and strategy while accelerating growth. By the end of the accelerator, participants graduate with refined business plans, strengthened investor readiness, and enhanced potential to scale their solutions within Vermont and globally.
The Energy2026 Challenge welcomes a competitively selected cohort of businesses ready to deploy solutions that contribute to a resilient grid and greenhouse gas reduction. The tenth DeltaClimeVT Energy & Climate Accelerator places an emphasis on supporting an equitable zero-carbon future by enabling direct collaboration with Vermont utilities and facilitating deployment of renewable energy, smart building and electric vehicle innovations.
This accelerator provides founders the opportunity to work hands-on with utilities to align innovations with the state’s climate roadmap. By pairing entrepreneurial talent with Vermont’s commitment to sustainability, the program aims to advance key statewide goals including 90 percent renewables by 2050 and Burlington’s Net Zero by 2030 ambition.
For more information, visit DeltaClimeVT.
