Introducing: Activate New York

We are excited to announce that Activate is collaborating with New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Columbia University to launch our Activate New York Community. As part of the $19.5 million Carbontech Development Initiative, announced by New York State in April 2021, the Activate New York Community will provide entrepreneurs with resources and training to build the global network needed to scale carbontech innovations.

NYSERDA announced, at COP26 Climate Summit, that together with Activate and Columbia, it will empower innovative researchers and companies to leverage New York’s assets and facilitate the rapid commercialization of carbontech products while increasing the number of companies that are able to form and scale in this critical sector.

The Carbontech Development Initiative is one of several market incentives that New York State has launched to meet its nation-leading climate and clean energy goals and ensure a just transition to a decarbonized resilient economy—one that creates jobs and fosters improved quality of life for all. Activate will contribute to New York’s efforts to attract climate-tech leaders and build its carbon-to-value innovation ecosystem.

“We are proud to support early-stage science-based startups that have carbontech solutions that will open up New York State’s market and help us reach the hardest sectors to decarbonize,” said NYSERDA’s vice president of Innovation John Lochner. “Our collaboration with Activate and Columbia sets the stage to successfully commercialize solutions while investing in the next generation of technology leaders.” 

Fellows at Activate New York will benefit from our host laboratory partners at Columbia University, which has a strong culture of interdisciplinary, cross-cutting research supporting applied science. Columbia is a global leader in carbontech research, having developed expertise in CO2 capture, CO2 conversion to products, and related fields, including low-carbon hydrogen, systems engineering, and electrochemical energy storage.

“We are excited and grateful to work with NYSERDA and Columbia and are working quickly to build our New York infrastructure and team in order to welcome Cohort 2022 fellows,” says Activate’s chief growth officer, Karin Lion. Applicants have until November 30th to apply to join Activate New York or any of our other communities.

Key to the success of any Activate Fellowship community is a leader who understands what it takes to turn a strong research concept into a product to solve market needs, which is why we are also excited to announce that Andrew Chang will lead the Activate New York Community as managing director.

“It’s a privilege to join Activate and work alongside NYSERDA and Columbia to help grow New York’s early-stage hard-tech climate ecosystem. New York has taken a leadership role in climate and I look forward to help build on the incredible momentum to cultivate a new generation of climate-tech companies that become future pillars of decarbonization.”  

Columbia University is a vital partner in launching Activate New York, hosting fellows in research labs, and providing a base for Activate New York. With support from the Carbontech Development Initiative, Columbia is also launching the Columbia Startup Fellows (CSF) Program, an onramp for early-stage science-based startups to access Columbia research facilities and specialized equipment. The CSF Program will host Activate Fellows, allowing them to leverage Columbia’s laboratories with state-of-the-art spectroscopic tools and analytical instruments. In addition to Activate’s educational resources and mentorship, Activate Fellows in New York will benefit from Columbia’s Lab-to-Market (L2M) accelerator training and mentoring programs and the Columbia Technology Ventures Executives-in-Residence Network.

The inaugural Activate New York Community of entrepreneurial scientists will spend two years translating their groundbreaking research into new products and businesses that contribute to New York State’s effort to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. They’ll join New York’s innovation ecosystem and accelerate decarbonization across our eight target industries.

“Startups based on Columbia’s research are making a huge difference in the world, in fields such as biotechnology, cybersecurity, energy storage, medical devices, and many other areas,” said Orin Herskowitz, executive director of Columbia Technology Ventures. “We look forward to extending these resources to Activate’s startups, so that they can have the best chance of success.”