ACTION Offers Subsidized Incubation Services to 2012 New England Region Cleantech Open SemiFinalists

June 20, 2012 - PRLog -- The Association of Cleantech Incubators of New England (ACTION) is offering subsidized incubation with primary support from New England’s DOE Innovation Ecosystem U-Launch funding.  This offer includes work space at more than 12 locations around New England, and access to resources for cleantech entrepreneurs – to all interested Northeast regional semi-finalists in the 2012 Cleantech Open. This is the second year that U-Launch funded service awards are available to Cleantech Open semi-finalists. ACTION members’ incubator space and professional resources include: advice and mentoring, education and training, legal assistance, networking, R&D facilities, marketing services, finance and accounting support.  The incubators provide a supportive environment to build a business, with a focus on cleantech.

“Supporting promising Cleantech Open teams is completely aligned with ACTION’s mission of accelerating the growth and success of early-stage companies in the region,” said Michael Ryan, President of ACTION.  “We’ve seen some exciting companies coming through the Cleantech Open competition, and we’re committed to supporting their growth in collaboration with our regional Cleantech Open organization.”

“We see incubation as the natural next step to the more short-term services that Cleantech Open offers through our accelerator program,” said Alexandra Adler, Cleantech Open Northeast Regional Director. “By joining an ACTION incubator during Cleantech Open, our start-ups can access significant additional resources, and continue to tap those resources after the program is over. The relationship benefits all parties involved.”

The Cleantech Open 2012 marks the repeat of U-Launch funded collaboration. “We saw the value of incubation services from previous awards, but wanted to make sure that ACTION incubation was available to more Cleantech Open Semifinalists this year” said Jeff McAulay, Program Manager at Fraunhofer TechBridge, lead organization of U-Launch.

Several  Cleantech Open participants have benefited from participation in ACTION incubators. “Being here is a huge execution de-risking factor. It’s like having access to the intellectual capital and resources of a much larger company,” states Jason Ethier, Founder and CEO of Dynamo Micropower, a 2011 Cleantech Open semi-finalist, U-Launch Awardee and a resident of Greentown Labs, an ACTION incubator in Boston. Dynamo went on to win a National Science Foundation grant at the end of 2011 and is returning to participate in the Cleantech Open again this year.

This year, ACTION is providing promotion, recruiting and judging support to the Cleantech Open in addition to the subsidized incubation offer, primarily funded through the U-Launch program. A speaker from ACTION’s ‘Accelerating Success’ training and education program is also leading a training session at the Cleantech Open Training Academy on June 28 and 29.

About ACTION
The Association of Cleantech Incubators of New England (ACTION) is New England’s leading network of cleantech incubators sharing the common goals of accelerating the growth and success of early-stage companies, strengthening the regional cleantech cluster, and creating more green jobs in New England.
Their network of incubators provides diverse resources and a highly- supportive hub in which entrepreneurs, business leaders, government agencies, community leaders, investors, universities, and other interested organizations can collaborate toward the successful commercialization of enterprises that will build a prosperous green economy, improve the quality of our lives and sustain the health of our environment. Visit www.actionnewengland.org

About Cleantech Open
Cleantech Open is the oldest and largest cleantech startup accelerator program, with the mission to find, fund, and foster entrepreneurs with ideas to solve our greatest environmental and energy challenges. Through their annual business competition and accelerator program we use mentoring, training, and coaching to connect cleantech startups with the people and resources that will accelerate their success. They provide a national platform for media and public visibility, as well as up to $1 million total in prize money. Nationally since 2006, 581 companies have participated in the Cleantech Open, and in this time period have raised an aggregate of $660 million and created more than 2,500 jobs. Visit www.cleantechopen.org

About U-Launch
U-Launch provides financial and technical assistance to help early-stage / start-up clean energy technologies transition from the laboratory to the market. U-Launch awards provide a combination of funded and in-kind services ranging from R&D assistance and incubation to mentorship. U-Launch awards are partially funded by a three-year award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Innovation Ecosystem Development Initiative and operated by Fraunhofer TechBridge, in collaboration with three partner organizations: the New England Clean Energy Foundation, ACTIONetwork, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.