Two members of climate tech accelerator DeltaClimeVT’s latest cohort have scored pilot projects with utilities in Vermont.

Pittsburgh-based Grid Fruit will use what it says is untapped data to help small grocery and general stores in Vermont reduce peak load.

Green Mountain Power (GMP) picked Grid Fruit for the pilot, which will see the young company partner with previous DeltaClimeVT graduate Dynamic Organics of Putney, Vt., said Geoff Robertson, director of business assistance for Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF).

Dynamic is already working with GMP on a flexible load management program, Robertson said during a For ClimateTech webinar Tuesday. Together, the companies will deploy Grid Fruit’s AI software to small stores “to help them with time-of-use rates and shaving the peak effectively,” he said.

Bridgewater, Mass.-based wind turbine manufacturer Advanced Renewable Concept Industries also won a pilot project with Burlington Electric Department in Vermont to demonstrate its vertical axis turbine design. The municipal utility plans to deploy one of the turbines, which Robertson says are expensive, on a building roof to understand the benefits of the design.

“Burlington doesn’t have that much space for big solar arrays, so the electric department was looking to augment the solar they already have,” he said.

The two pilots are perfect examples of the outcomes DeltaClimeVT expects from its accelerator program, according to Robertson.

“We look for the utilities to find enough value in these companies that they can help the utilities and Vermont reach their climate goals,” he said.

Seven companies won a place in the business accelerator’s Energy 2021 cohort in May with technologies that address the energy transition. DeltaClimeVT has completed five rounds so far and is planning to launch its sixth in December.

The accelerator, which is administered by VSJF and sponsored by a group of Vermont utilities and energy companies, targets companies that already have traction in terms of financing and customer base, Robertson said. They also focus on hardware and software solutions in the energy space that can help the utilities solve problems in their markets.

Program participants work through a curriculum provided by ecosVC and have access to corporate mentors. In addition, investor mentors work with the companies at the end of the program to help them understand what investors are looking for and create useful pitches.

“The holy grail at the end of the program is for the companies to get a pilot,” Robertson said.

Scale For ClimateTech

New York-based climate tech accelerator For ClimateTech launched its Scale program for hardware manufacturing on Tuesday, said Shelby Thompson, senior program manager.

SecondMuse administers the program with support from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to help startups and innovators that can move the needle on New York’s aggressive emission-reduction targets.

The program goal is to reduce the risk and costs associated with bringing hardware technologies to market through access to resources, funding opportunities and mentors, Thompson said. Participants also have access to a network that will connect them with local manufacturers to establish production. They also learn how to measure the emissions-reduction potential of their technologies.

“The urgency for us is to find those things that are going to make the biggest impact relative to greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mike Riedlinger, managing director of Scale For ClimateTech.

Applications for the new program round are due Sept. 13, and the program administrator will select participants in October.

Scale For ClimateTech’s sister program, Venture For ClimateTech, selected its first cohort this year. Participants receive access to resources to help launch a company based on climate solutions. The first round will end this fall, Thompson said, with a new round of recruiting to begin early in 2022.