BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – April 9, 2024 – Binghamton University, the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator, NextCorps, and New Energy New York (NENY) have announced the finalists to participate in the inaugural 2024 cohort of the ChargeUp Battery Startup Accelerator. This initiative is supported by a $4.5 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF-2334103) to bolster early-stage, deep-tech enterprises and foster place-based economic development.
NENY, led by Binghamton University, is building a comprehensive ecosystem in Upstate New York to promote U.S. national security, supply chain resiliency, and global competitiveness within the battery industry, with a strong focus on technology innovation. To support its vision, NENY has secured an Economic Development Administration (EDA) Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) award, an NSF Regional Innovation Engines grant, and a federal Tech Hub designation.
ChargeUp, the nation’s first and only accelerator dedicated to supporting battery and energy storage startups, is the latest program launched under NENY to propel domestic battery industry innovation, while fostering economic growth in Upstate New York.
“ChargeUp is a pivotal element of the NENY ecosystem, epitomizing our vision as a federal Battery Tech Hub and an NSF Engine. It exemplifies how targeted support and strategic collaboration under the NENY umbrella can catalyze profound advancements in battery and energy storage technologies,” said NENY Engine CEO Per Stromhaug. “Its launch is another step towards making the Southern Tier the epicenter for battery innovation.”
Binghamton University and its Koffman Southern Tier Incubator have joined forces with NextCorps to launch the six-month accelerator providing key investor and manufacturing readiness training to leading startups from across the nation. Drawing on the proven success of NextCorps’ Luminate, renowned as the world’s largest accelerator for startups in optics, photonics, and imaging, ChargeUp is meticulously crafted to emulate a model that has already seen over 65 companies raise $650 million in funding. This strategic alignment with Luminate’s celebrated framework positions ChargeUp for success in the critical battery and energy storage industry.
“We are continuously growing our NENY partner coalition for maximized regional and national impacts, and the collaboration with NextCorps, especially leveraging the expertise of the Luminate team, is a cornerstone of our strategy to nurture groundbreaking innovations in the battery sector,” said Olga Petrova, director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships, Binghamton University.
The 2024 ChargeUp program received over 90 applications from across the world, with four companies selected for the inaugural cohort through a rigorous, competitive review and pitching process, evaluated by a panel of top technical and business experts. These companies will each receive $25,000, mentorship from esteemed technical experts, investment opportunities, and access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources. Following the pilot 2024 cohort, the program will scale to include 8-10 companies per year.
The ChargeUp Accelerator 2024 Inaugural Cohort includes:
- Ateios Systems – developing innovative electrode manufacturing techniques to improve and accelerate production of new battery technologies across a range of various markets and applications.
- Fermi Energy – developing new approaches for large-scale production of low-cost, sustainable cathodes for high-energy automobile batteries.
- MITO Materials Solutions – developing and manufacturing innovative functionalized graphene across a wide array of applications.
- Standard Potential – developing new cathode active materials for lithium- and sodium-ion batteries.
The program, hosted by the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator under the NENY initiative, will immerse participants in a hybrid curriculum focused on investor preparedness, manufacturing readiness, and industry integration, with regular on-location events, modules, and networking in Binghamton, NY. By fostering connections with regional stakeholders, including research universities, economic development organizations, manufacturers, and potential clients, ChargeUp seeks to support the client startups in bringing their groundbreaking technologies to the market and establishing strong connections to and operations in the Southern Tier.
“I have worked across different innovation ecosystems globally and what sets this program apart is the intentional efforts that have been taken to get inputs from industry-specific experts and the investment community in developing this program,” said Bandhana Katoch, executive director of the Koffman. “We are excited to launch this program to further support our unique innovation ecosystem, promoting a domestic supply chain for battery and energy storage.”
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation.
About New Energy New York (NENY)
NENY is building a nation-leading technology ecosystem in Upstate New York, supporting research and development, innovation, technology translation, and workforce development to advance the domestic battery and energy storage industry. Led by Binghamton University, NENY has assembled a cross-sector coalition of partners to aid in the development and execution of programs supporting academia, industry, and regional communities.
