By Nate Schmidt - Managing Director of the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech

Today marks the start of the second class of the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator. This new class of ten startups comes from across the United States and Canada and are tackling topics like renewable energy, AI for the power grid, consumer sustainability, and weather prediction, just to name a few. 

Our announcement for last year’s class anticipated a future where Techstars would put Alabama on the map for energy and cleantech. One year later the results have exceeded our wildest expectations. Techstars Alabama EnergyTech teams have collectively raised tens of millions of dollars. Our companies are creating amazing products, signing up customers, and bringing on new talent. Best of all, several companies that joined us from outside the state have elected to grow their businesses here in Alabama. We’re thrilled to build on the success of last year’s class with this new group of companies. 

To run a successful accelerator you need a deep bench of supporters. It’s been amazing to see everyone that has come together and rallied behind our program. From our partners (Alabama Power, Altec, EDPA, PowerSouth, The University of Alabama, Southern Research, and the Alabama Department of Commerce), the Birmingham startup community, and a national network of energy and cleantech investors, our companies have unprecedented access to a massive support system. 

Since our first class launched last year, Alabama’s startup ecosystem has continued to thrive. When you drive through downtown Birmingham, you’re greeted by a startup logo on our tallest building. We recently had a startup exit for over a billion dollars. Companies are getting funded, and tech startups are quickly cementing their role as a major driver of our state’s future economy. Alabama is a great place to have a startup, and it’s getting better every day. Soon ten new companies from outside the state will get to experience our entrepreneurial community, and Southern Hospitality, firsthand! Please join me in welcoming the 2021 Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator companies. 

• Noteworthy AI: Vehicle-mounted computer vision to inspect the electric grid from Stamford, Connecticut

• Accelerate Wind: Making wind energy generation affordable on commercial buildings from St. Louis, Missouri

• Khepra: Getting petroleum out of the chemicals industry by electrifying the chemical reactors and replacing petrochemicals with waste based alternatives from San Francisco, California

• Moduly: Smart energy storage platform designed to address the issue between power utilities and the mass of the population, such as GHG emissions, energy overproduction, peak consumption times, and its costs from Montreal, Canada

• Birdstop: Automated inspection and monitoring for physical assets from San Francisco, California

• Sustaio: The sustainable habit-building app, makes adopting a climate-smart lifestyle easy and empowering from Telluride, Colorado

• Sunairio: Weather simulation for renewable energy prediction from Baltimore, Maryland

• HData: Automating Energy Regulatory Data and Business Intelligence from Joliet, Illinois

• Flux Hybrids: Flux Hybrids has developed a system that can convert vehicles to plug-in hybrid at a price point that pays for itself in savings from Raleigh, North Carolina

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