Event

Commercializing Cleantech: Introducing the Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator

Tuesday, September 17, 2019
12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
1202 Engineering Lab Building - MEI2 Conference Room
Catherine Stephens
301 405 9378
csteph5@umd.edu
http://energy.umd.edu

Speaker: Ben Margolis, Commercialization Program Manager, MEIA

E-mail: ben.margolis@mdeia.org

Registration: https://go.umd.edu/MEIAoverview

Lunch will be included

Title: Commercializing Cleantech: Introducing the Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator

Abstract:

The Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator (MEIA) runs a virtual cohort-based accelerator focused on early-stage technology commercialization in partnership with Maryland-based Universities and Labs to support Maryland's Clean Energy and Climate Goals. MEIA supports solar, wind, batteries, energy efficiency, grid modernization,  carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS), and any other technology that reduces greenhouse gas emissions or provides negative emissions benefits in the electric, oil and gas, residential, commercial or industrial sectors. 

MEIA is currently recruiting for its January cohort and looking for inventors and researchers in Maryland interested in applying to join the cohort.

MEIA's mission is to create investable clean energy businesses. An investable business has the momentum and credibility to obtain third party investment to grow its operations and launch/grow its business.  

MEIA is designed to help bring new and innovative clean energy and climate benefitting products to market. MEIA surrounds inventors with professionals from a wide variety of disciplines who are committed to creating a new, impactful company. Where most early stage commercialization programs place inventors squarely in the leadership role, MEIA enables inventors to decide how involved they want to be, and what role they want to take. MEIA facilitates the creation of new businesses by bringing in lots of help to spread the workload and accelerate the customer development process.

All in, MEIA provides over $100,000 of in-kind benefits to each team. In order to graduate from MEIA's accelerator program, each team will achieve several important milestones that will boost the Startup's credibility with third party investors:

• Complete a "Lean Startup" process including Customer Development and Product-Market Fit.
• Negotiate and execute an IP licensing agreement with the inventor's employer / institution
• Execute an LLC operating agreement or Corporate Bylaws among a multi-member, multi-disciplinary Founding Team, and identified initial Advisory Board members
• Develop a detailed product development roadmap that advances their technology to market as quickly as possible
• Develop a capital plan, which may include funding from State (TEDCO, MIPS, UM Ventures), Federal (ARPA-E, SBIR / STTR), Strategic Partners or other sources.

MEIA is an innovative business creation and acceleration engine with the goal of creating new clean energy businesses in Maryland that are credible to third party investors.