YOUR HUB FOR CLEANTECH SUPPORT
The Southern Tier Clean Energy Incubator (SCI) has supported over 56 startups from across the world, offering a unique ecosystem of innovators. One of six NYSERDA-funded incubators, SCI leverages connections, mentors, and lab space to provide members the tools needed to build a successful startup or grow an existing venture.
Members
in economic impact created by members
International Startups
Critical Resources
New York State is fast becoming a hub for clean energy research and business. Headquartered in Binghamton, NY’s Koffman Incubator, the Southern Tier Clean Energy Incubator (SCI) program advances climate-tech companies through key facilities, expertise and connections. SCI welcomes in-state, out of state as well as international members who wish to grow with a world-class set of resources supporting their progress.
Program Benefits:
Who SCI is for
Ideal applicants should be working on a venture in the clean energy, cleantech, or climatetech areas. This is broadly categorized as ventures seeking to reduce or remediate carbon emissions either directly or indirectly. Applicants should have interest in receiving mentorship and utilizing the pivotal resources offered by the program. Interest in New York State presence (via an office, hiring, manufacturing or sales) is highly encouraged.
How to Join
Join a welcoming ecosystem of 25+ cleantech startups receiving hands-on mentorship and support. Interested applicants should connect with program administrator Emma Smith, or through the Koffman Incubator contact form. Consult the F.A.Q at the bottom of this page for information on costs and the application process. The SCI team is eager to hear what you are working on and look forward to connecting.
Dedicated Team Members.
The Clean Energy Incubator team has extensive experience and connections in the cleantech field and work with members one-on-one to guide progress and advance innovation.
Michael Jagielski
Program Director
Emma Smith
Program Administrator
emmas@binghamton.edu
Support Team
Marketing, Mentorship, More
Michael (Mike) Jagielski is a seasoned business executive and technology entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience working with CEO’s of companies ranging from SMB to Fortune 100. Mike was previously with Micatu Inc., which was the “grand prize winner” of the inaugural 76West Clean Energy Competition and served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer for the last 8 years. Mike is considered an SME (Subject Matter Expert) in the areas of Big Data Analytics, Solution Sales Methodologies and Business Monetization Strategies with a successful track record of bringing new technologies to market.
Mike utilizes his passion for mentoring entrepreneurs to rapidly expand the presence of clean energy businesses budding in the Southern Tier to ensure commercial success, create jobs and increase the critical presence of clean energy locally, nationally, globally.
Emma Smith provides extensive support to the Southern Tier Clean Tech Incubator, recruiting companies to the region and working directly with NYSERDA on grant milestones and the 76West program.
Emma works as a liaison between SCI member companies and other resources available. She coordinates access to the four other programs offered by the Office of Entrepreneurship and assists in office and lab acquisition.
Her multi-faceted talent pool is the perfect complement to a program with deep connections with surrounding manufacturers, universities as well as NYSERDA.
Additionally, she serves as a key coordinator in event planning and maintains the customer relationship management tool for the entire Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships.
Bring Your Team Members
Discover Member Startups
M.E.D Energy
Millennium Energy Distribution (M.E.D) offers a waste to energy product. They are reducing landfill waste while increasing clean energy output. Their innovative power plant technology turns urban waste to valuable energy without CO2 emissions.
KLAW Industries
KLAW uses its tech to turn MRF glass sourced from recycling industries into Pantheon™, an ingredient that can be used in concrete, decreasing the cost of diversion while cleaning up the earth.
Aletair
Aletair uses specialized camera and sensing equipment combined with drone technology to discover wells across many types of terrain much more quickly, efficiently and accurately than traditional methods.
HubController
Ireland-based startup Hub Controller makes future proof smart-home products that are easy-to-use, empowering customers to have control over their utility bills. Their technology emphasizes simplicity and compatibility, working on all oil and gas heating systems
ExoCell
ExoCell is developing a patented hydrogen fuel cell that they termed the Thin Flexible Fuel Cell (TFFC), which strips away conventional casings, instead using a flexible sheet of the cell’s components similar to a piece of paper.
SYNDEM
Syndem LLC is pioneering the development of technologies and products to accelerate large-scale adoption of solar panels, wind turbines, storage systems, electrical vehicles, and flexible loads etc. by turning power electronic converters into virtual synchronous machines (VSM).
Natrion
Natrion is developing batteries to lower the cost, enhance safety and increase the scalability for a variety of consumers ranging from the military to residential homes and even farms.
Heat Inverse
Heat Inverse is working with a cooling technology that helps manufacturers increase efficiency simply and inexpensively, using our thin-film materials that get cold with zero-energy input.
Switched Source
Switched Source is providing power-electronics solutions to increase reliability, efficiency, and renewable energy hosting capacity, on legacy grid infrastructure and in distributed energy system applications.
BRASH
Founded by Michael Brookman, Brash Engines is a clean-energy startup that?s working to provide combined heat and power (CHP) from any combustible fuel.
Southern Tier Technologies
For more than 20 years, the founding partners have designed hundreds of innovative power quality solutions for mission-critical applications all over the world; and while the location, industry and equipment may vary, the rule is always the same an efficient, reliable operation starts with a clean sine wave.
COI Energy
COI’s comprehensive software integrates with existing systems regardless of where you are in your energy management journey, COI meets you there to help you save energy, reduce costs, and minimize carbon footprint.
EthosGen
The Sorption-Energy System works within your existing system to capture waste heat and turn it into electrical power and cooling capacity, offering organizations affordable and efficient energy. They have established and proven foundational technology with a high efficiency, compact design.
Dimensional Energy
Dimensional Energy (DE) is working to deploy a technological solution that converts carbon dioxide and water to hydrocarbons via a process inspired by natural photosynthesis.
Chroma Nanotech
ChromaNanoTech created a patent-pending invention filing for a nano-material which enhances the properties and durability of synthetic dyes active in the ultraviolet, visible and near infrared spectrum. The patent-pending light absorbing dye is a nanoparticle that can be incorporated into masterbatch polymer pellets.
EMPEQ
EMPEQ combines financial efficiency and energy efficiency. Its UnFinancing program pairs proprietary Empower Visibility platform while its Simple Energy Subscription model provides complex financing capabilities to middle-market energy efficiency contractors, OEMs, and utilities.
COI Energy
Imperium3 is owned by a consortium that includes Charge CCCV (C4V), founded by former postdoctoral researcher Shailesh Upreti on the Binghamton University campus in 2014. It will invest more than $130 million and create at least 230 new jobs over the next five years by operating the state’s first giga-factory producing lithium ion batteries.
C4V
C4V is an intellectual property company based in Binghamton, New York that works on Lithium-Ion battery composition and manufacture. C4V provides critical insights that optimize the performance of lithium ion batteries, working to extend battery life, improve safety measures, and heighten charge performance.
New Dominion
New Dominion Enterprises Inc. (NDE) is a “deep technology” company commercializing the first Inorganic Liquid Material for lithium-ion battery electrolytes.
Ashlawn Energy
Ashlawn Energy provides energy storage solutions with its VanCharg™ vanadium redox flow battery system.
Common Questions
Ventures in the clean energy, cleantech, or climatetech areas. This is broadly categorized as ventures seeking to reduce or remediate carbon emissions either directly or indirectly. The program accepts members from across the nation.
Program cost varies by space requirements. A majority of members are considered "virtual" and do not occupy space within the incubator. Members must, at a minimum, be "co-workers" of the Koffman Incubator. Learn more about costs here.
This program is primarily supported by the New York State Research and Development Authority, or, NYSERDA. The Koffman Incubator and its other programs are managed by Binghamton University's Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships.
Yes, the SCI program has over 9 out-of-state members as well as some international.
The Koffman Incubator's Laboratories are a favorite of SCI members. Large and small office space is available. Space on the Binghamton University main campus is selectively available for more advanced lab and equipment requirements.
Rich with a history of innovation and advanced manufactuing, the birthplace of IBM along with many iconic companies -- upstate, NY and the Southern Tier is fast becoming a preferred location to start a cleantech business. Learn more about the Southern Tier.
No, SCI does not take equity in its members' ventures, making it unique among many large incubator programs.
No, many members attend mentor meetings, member meetups, and gain insight into grants, competitions, and opportunities virtually.
Yes, selectively. Testing equipment, personnel, adjacent programs, space, and more are accessible to SCI members and is assessed case-by-case.
Yes, many members participate in adjacent programs offered by Binghamton University at the Koffman Incubator. These programs are free to SCI members. Two programs of note are the XCEED program, which provides qualified interns to clean energy startups. Another is the NSF I-Corps which provides a $3000 grant along with training to conduct customer discovery.
Yes. Core to the mission of the SCI program is to support the development of your idea -- from legal to IP to R&D to pilot projects to customer discovery -- the program is designed to support startups in many stages of development.
Reach out to learn more, we are happy to connect and answer any questions you may have. Contact Emma Smith or reach out through the Koffman Incubator contact form.
Dr. Stanley Whittingham attended President Biden's State of the Union address Tuesday night highlighting Binghamton’s role in America’s growing battery economy. Whittingham, a Binghamton University professor and Nobel Prize winner, attended the State of the Union as a guest of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Last September, Whittingham and the New Energy New York team's work helped Binghamton University land over $113 million in state and federal dollars for the New Energy New York project, which aims to turn the Southern Tier into the nation’s hub for battery research and manufacturing.
Koffman member company KLAW Industries has come a long way since their days as a student run startup with a big idea! Founders Jacob Kumpon and Jack Lamuraglia took that big idea and turned it into a thriving business, creating a clean, eco friendly concrete product that is helping the environment and helping the bottom line of their customers. Learn more about KLAW and their journey with the Koffman in this month's "Koffman Innovations" feature with News Channel 34.
EMPEQ was named as a winner of an Ignition Grant from New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG). The company’s Fast Site Survey was chosen as a recipient of the award due to the technology’s potential to a have a long-term, demonstrable impact on reducing carbon emissions – especially in Upstate New York.
Enerpoly recently closed a $1.5 million seed round. Enerpoly develops zinc-ion batteries that offer a sustainable solution for stationary energy storage. Enerpoly’s patented technology uses cost-effective raw materials, such as zinc, which can be sourced in Sweden and Europe. This can contribute to the region’s global competitiveness within the fast-growing battery industry. Zinc-ion technology can help Europe catch up in the global race, in establishing both strategic autonomy and sustainability for its clean energy system.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has named the semifinalists in the American-Made Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize Round 2. Twenty-four incubators and accelerators across the country were each awarded $50,000 in cash prizes for their high-impact ideas that support energy start-ups and entrepreneurs. The Koffman's proposal presented New Energy New York Charge Up, a bootcamp and microgrant program to address major gap areas for energy storage startups, powered by the New Energy New York battery innovation, manufacturing, and workforce development initiative.
Hub Controls, the Koffman's first international company to locate its US headquarters at the KSTI, is making a name for itself in the heating and cooling space in Binghamton, North America and beyond! The company's hub controller eliminates energy waste in the home through automatic energy reduction technology. The thermostat-like device uses artificial intelligence and learning tools to operate in the background and hunt for wasted energy in a building’s heating or air conditioning. North American General Manager Brian Cregan met with News Channel 34 to discuss why the team sought out Binghamton as the perfect landing place to test their product.
This month's Koffman Innovations feature with News Channel 34 showcases vanadium battery manufacturer Ashlawn Energy, LLC. Ashlawn, founded in 2008 by energy researcher Norma Byron, produces batteries using vanadium, a metal that, in powder form, is added to a sulfuric acid solution producing a medium that is good for storing energy. The large scale batteries power buildings more efficiently by storing electricity at low-peak rates and discharging it at high-peak times. The best part? There’s no cost to purchasing or installing the system. Ashlawn makes its revenue from grid revenue paid by the New York State Public Service Commission.
Koffman Southern Tier Incubator startup company KLAW Industries has been awarded $500,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to expand their operations in Binghamton and further develop the technology behind their high-performance, low-carbon concrete product made from recycled materials.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Castillo visited Binghamton University yesterday to meet with the New Energy New York coalition members and show the Biden Administration the value of the Southern Tier's place in battery research. The visit comes just weeks after New Energy New York's $113M award for battery research and development as part of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge.
Mark Cuban-backed Natrion has unveiled its latest developments in solid-state battery manufacturing with the new LISIC278 separator in a traditional pouch cell. The separator allows for a higher thermal resistance than other EV batteries, decreasing the risk of fires and combustion. Additionally, the cell showed a 40 percent increase in the charge rate compared to a conventional battery with the same capacity.
Binghamton University, with support from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), has selected two fellows for its inaugural …
The month's featured startup in News Channel 34's Koffman Innovations segment is ExoCell Power.