A look back at Verge23, the leading climate tech event bringing together change-makers from business, government, and startups to accelerate solutions to address the climate crisis with SecondMuse's Scale For ClimateTech Team.
Written By: Elissa Bozhkov
On October 24th-26th, SecondMuse’s For ClimateTech team attended GreenBiz Group‘s #VERGE23, the leading climate tech event bringing together change-makers from business, government, and startups to accelerate solutions to address the climate crisis. More than 5000 professionals from around the world gathered to showcase innovative solutions around the Buildings, Carbon, Energy, Food, Startups, and Transport sectors and to engage in collaborative knowledge sharing through engaging breakout sessions and workshops, keynotes, networking events, and more.
The For ClimateTech team showcased its suite of programs at the Startup Pavilion and connected with past, current, and potential founders. Supported by NYSERDA and administered by SecondMuse and NextCorps, the For ClimateTech portfolio represents two accelerator programs:
Venture For ClimateTech (V4C) is a hybrid venture studio + accelerator sourcing the most promising ClimateTech innovators globally, offering them support until they are ready for first customers, pilot runs, and investment.
Scale For ClimateTech (S4C) reduces the risk, waste, and cost associated with getting a hardware product to market. S4C provides technical support throughout the manufacturing process so that founders have confidence in their path to market, make fewer mistakes, and are able to scale up production to meet demand.
13 For ClimateTech startups had the opportunity to demonstrate their technologies, connect with potential corporate partners and investors, and pitch on the Startup Pavilion stage. Additionally, several alumni or past Manufacturing Expertise-in-Residence (MEIR) participants from both Venture and Scale programs, including Mars Materials, Voltpost, it’s Electric, and ElectricFish made it to the VERGE’s 35 Climate Tech Startups to Watch list, presenting on the VERGE stage to thousands of business, government and thought leaders in the fast-pitch competition, Accelerate. S4C’s very own ElectricFish was awarded as winner of the Transport category and earned the distinction of being 1 of 6 overall startup finalists spanning all categories.
For ClimateTech company ElectricFish was in attendance at VERGE23
For ClimateTech company GreenPortfolio was in attendance at VERGE23
SecondMuse also hosted a morning session on October 26th called “Climate Co-investment: A Critical Vehicle for the Climate Tech Sector“. This event brought together like-minded investors and funders who are passionate about combating climate change to learn about a new climate co-investing mapping tool that will make the data and patterns of climate tech co-investment accessible and transparent. The co-investment tracker is a useful tool both for informing startups on tracking and accessing investment opportunities, and for investors to make strategic decisions on how to de-risk investment through co-investment.
The Climate Co-Investor Tracker is powered by Crunchbase investment data and supported by SecondMuse, NYSERDA, and ImpactAlpha. If you want to learn more about it, check it out here.
VERGE23 provided a fantastic opportunity for SecondMuse to re-connect with existing partners, such as Next Corps, and to build relationships with potential partners and especially to recruit companies for Scale for ClimateTech’s 2023-2024 cohort. Open now to climate tech hardware innovators globally, the application to join Cohort 5 is available here — apply by December 22nd, 2023 and share this opportunity to top innovators heading towards commercialization in key climate sectors, including transportation, buildings, grid, and industry!
