Being a big fish in a small pond is underrated, particularly in the entrepreneurial world. Sure, competing with the likes of Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and Jeff Bezos for funding in Silicon Valley might sound like fun, but enjoying a little communal support from a small city can go a long way in fostering success. And if you don’t believe me, just ask the seven cleantech startups in the first cohort of St. Louis’ newest startup accelerator.
That’s right, Ameren Accelerator, in partnership with the University of Missouri System, UMSL Accelerate and Capital Innovators, has just announced the first cohort of startups that will go through their program. After receiving 200 applications from 31 countries and 23 states, they’ve finally whittled it down to seven.
“The response to the Ameren Accelerator program was tremendous,” said Judy Sindecuse, CEO of Capital Innovators. “It wasn’t an easy choice, but we believe we’ve identified the companies that have the greatest potential to bring their energy-related innovations to life and provide value to Ameren’s customers and the energy sector.”
Each of the seven startups will be provided with $100,000 in seed funding from the startup accelerator, along with mentoring, facilities, technical assistance, and networking opportunities. By focusing on cleantech, Ameren believes that they will be able to make a substantial impact on the environment.
“Building a future energy grid that meets evolving customer needs and expectations requires collaboration, innovative thinking and investment in the technologies of tomorrow,” said Warner Baxter, chairman, president and CEO of Ameren Corporation. “The companies selected for the Ameren Accelerator offer promising innovations for the energy sector and the customers we serve. We look forward to working closely with these innovators and our partners through this unique initiative to help find new energy solutions and to deliver even greater value to our customers and the communities we serve.”
If you’re interested in finding out which cleantech startups were selected to St. Louis’ newest startup accelerator, check them out below:
/blossom (St. Louis, Missouri)
This company has created a tool for businesses to connect and gather data and control their resources remotely.
Hyperion Sensors (Toronto, Canada)
Hyperion has developed a substation hardened distributed fiber optic sensor for high voltage assets allowing them to become “intelligent”. In other words, enabling the internet of things within the smart grid.
Omega Grid (Chicago, Illinois)
Omega Grid is a market software that removes the revenue risk of distributed generation of utilities, encourages energy investment by property owners, and enables access to lower rates for everyone.
Rebate Bus (Madison, Wisconsin)
This company has built a digital platform for utility programs to deliver instant incentives, through the internet.
SensrTrx (St. Louis, Missouri)
SensrTrx is an industrial analytics application focused on using industrial data to improve uptime, performance, and reliability of manufacturing and industrial systems.
Switched Source (East Lansing, Michigan)
Switched Source provides equipment solutions for electric distribution companies that make the grid more resilient and efficient while supporting the integration of more distributed generation.
WIFIPLUG (Leeds, United Kingdom)
WIFIPLUG learns your routines making your life easier, saving you money on your energy bills. You can control the plug with your voice using Siri, Alexa and Google. The only smart plug in the world to offer open source API for developers.