NY Climate Tech: May 13 - May 20
Passive Houses, Mass Timber, Wind-Win, Ocean Tech, Mussels, Governor's Island, a new Unconference, and more events this week
Hi friends,
We’re looking forward to seeing many of you this week at our (sold out!) panel on 💰 Funding Opportunities for Climate Startups with SVB and (sold out!) 🗽 NY Climate Tech May Meetup.
If you can’t make those, or just can’t get enough Climate Tech, we’re opening up our Saturday ✨ Climate Sparks Unconference. This is the second edition, but the first we’re sharing more widely. That also has limited capacity, so sign up soon! Priority will go to paid newsletter subscribers (your support makes this happen!).
Here are our picks for the week (it’s a good one):
On Tuesday, beat the heat at the 🧊 Pratt Ice Box Challenge, with dueling demos using Passive House principles, a panel, and networking. Learn more
Swing by AIA on Wednesday for🌳 Mass Timber Sustainability: Making a case for Developers and Owners (did you know NYC has its own Mass Timber Studio?)
Also Wednesday, get blown away at the 💨 2024 Wind-Win Startup Showdown in Sunset Park (also we’re overdue for a windmill emoji)
On Thursday, head to Street Seaport for the first 🌊 NYC OceanTech Summit (also Friday) and then to Redhook for 🦪 RETI Center's Annual Infinite Mussel Party. Feeling more like crossing the ocean? Visit BE-EX for 🏙️ Decarbonization & Beyond: Brussels’ Expertise.
Finally on Saturday, take the ferry to Governor’s Island for the 🔮 Climate Imaginarium Launch Party on Governors Island and 🏝️ Governors Island Resiliency: Climate and Environmental Action Walking Tour
Cheers,
Alec, Sonam, and the Climate Tech Cities Team
This Week’s Events
🙋♀️ Paving the Way to Sustainability: Women Working to Impact Climate Change: Tue, May 14
🏙️ Climate Mobilization Act Series: Affordable Housing Training: Tue, May 14
🧊 Pratt Ice Box Challenge: Tomorrow's High Performance Designers: Tue, May 14
🌳 Mass Timber Sustainability: Making a case for Developers and Owners: Wed, May 15
🍸 Leaders in Impact Happy Hour: Wed, May 15
💨 2024 Wind-Win Startup Showdown: Wed, May 15
🍻 Green Drinks Brooklyn - May 2024: Wed, May 15
💰 Corporate Venture Capital & Sustainability: Wed, May 15
🌊 NYC OceanTech Summit: Thu, May 16
🦪 RETI Center's Annual Infinite Mussel Party: Thu, May 16
🗽 NY Climate Tech Meetup: May Edition: Thu, May 16
🗽 NY Climate Tech: Funding Opportunities for Climate Startups: Thu, May 16
🏙️ Decarbonization & Beyond: Brussels’ Expertise: Thu, May 16
🥗 create climate justice with NYC neighbors (dinner included): Thu, May 16
☕️ Climate Cafe + Facilitator Training: Thu, May 16
🔮 Climate Imaginarium Launch Party on Governors Island: Sat, May 18
🏝️ Governors Island Resiliency: Climate and Environmental Action Walking Tour: Sat, May 18
✨ Climate Sparks Unconference: Sat, May 18
💰 Show Me The Money: National Survey on Non-Dilutive Financing for Climate Tech Startups
Navigating all of the different capital options to build your startup is incredibly hard and often frustrating. The Streetlife Ventures team is building a shared resource and set of education sessions for founders on non-dilutive capital options like grants and debt to further support this community. Are you a climate founder that has raised grants or debt (or even just been confused but wanted to utilize them)?
Please fill out this survey and contribute to what will be the most transparent and useful source of information on non-dilutive funding for early-stage climate companies. We’ll acknowledge all contributors, and also feature founders on panels and case studies for their leadership in this area. Thanks for your time!
🌎 Climate Tech Cities and Streetlife Ventures Startup and Talent Platforms
Climate Tech Cities and Streetlife Ventures are launching new platforms to support climate founders, funders, and career transitioners! There is no shortage of great companies raising money for their groundbreaking ideas, great investors looking to support with capital, and great talent living the mantra that every job is a climate job. We can’t wait to hear from you!
Community Shoutouts
🚇 Nineteen Companies Will Test New Tech with NY Regional Transportation Agencies
The Transit Tech Lab—a public-private initiative created by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the Partnership Fund for New York City to accelerate innovation in public transportation—announced that 19 companies have been selected to collaborate with transit agencies operating in the New York area to test technologies designed to support the agencies’ objectives in customer experience, climate resilience and curb management.
Opportunities
💸 The Innovation Prize — InnSure: May 9 & 27
We invite prospective applicants and program partners to attend the launch of the Insurance Innovation Program, a new program backed by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and InnSure, to provide $5M in grant funding to teams building insurance products that fill coverage gaps in the energy transition. The event will be held from 3:00-5PM at NYCEDC on Thursday, May 9th (virtual option available). Prospective applicants will be asked to submit a short Letter of Intent (LOI) by May 27, 2024. For any questions about the prize, please write to innovationprize@innsure.org!
🏗️ Yard Labs - Brooklyn Navy Yard: May 30
Yard Labs is the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s piloting program, designed to accelerate the commercialization of emerging technologies that improve the lives of city dwellers. By providing a unique 300-acre testbed in the heart of New York City, our program gives companies a path to market validation with opportunities for data collection, user feedback, strategic partnerships, and more.
🏹 AI Poverty Challenge: May 30
Robin Hood is accepting applications for its AI Poverty Challenge, which will award three $1 million prizes for breakthrough AI solutions in three areas: education, workforce development, and financial empowerment.
🇺🇸 American Climate Corps: May 30
Join the next generation of creators, thinkers, leaders, and doers, working together to tackle the climate crisis. Help build a clean energy and climate-resilient future in your own community and across the nation.
Upcoming
Upcoming Events
🧱 AIA Brooklyn COTE Tour: Parsons Healthy Materials Lab: Tue, May 21
🍀 SILC's May Business Networking Event: Tue, May 21
🌎 Tom Steyer with David Wallace-Wells: Winning the Climate War: Wed, May 22
♻️ Design for a Regenerative Future: Wed, May 22
🎶 Craig Urquhart in Concert * * A Benefit for 350NYC: Wed, May 22
✍️ Open Day + TALK + Happy Hour: Product Role in Sustainability and Inclusion: Wed, May 22
🎶 Metra: a Climate Revolution with Songs: Wed, May 22
🧬 Science, Society, and Sustainability - Closing the Knowledge-Action Gap: Thu, May 23
🍹 The Carbonauts Sustainability Mocktails: Thu, May 23
🎵 Unheard-of + The Gowanus Dredgers Present: Not in Fact Dead: Sat, May 25
🏥 Queens Summit 2024 - Climate Change and Sports The Power of Youth Advocacy: Sat, Jun 1
🏳️🌈 Out in Climate NYC Pride Month Happy Hour - Hosted by Wellington: Tue, Jun 4
🗣️ In Our Words/En Nuestras Palabras: Climate Justice Storytelling Training: Thu, Jun 6
🎨 The 2024 Arts & Climate Incubator Tickets: Mon, Jun 10
🦁 Comedy for Conservation!: Tue, Jun 11
This Week in Depth
🙋♀️ Paving the Way to Sustainability: Women Working to Impact Climate Change
When: Tuesday, May 14 · 5:30 - 7:30pm EDT
Where: Soho Works, 875 Washington Street New York, NY 10014
An evening of networking and learning from a panel of trailblazing women working to positively influence Climate Change and Sustainability.
🏙️ Climate Mobilization Act Series: Affordable Housing Training
When: Tuesday, May 14 from 10:00AM to 11:30 AM
Where: Building Energy Exchange
The Climate Mobilization Act Series: Affordable Housing Training educates affordable housing stakeholders – including building developers, owners, architects, engineers, and contractors – on what the Climate Mobilization Act (CMA) means for the affordable housing sector.
🧊 Pratt Ice Box Challenge: Tomorrow's High Performance Designers
When: Tue, May 14 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Where: Building Energy Exchange
This event will celebrate and showcase student work from the Pratt Institute’s Ice Box Challenge. Originating from Brussels, Belgium, the Ice Box Challenge demonstrates the benefits of high energy efficiency Passive House strategies through a public scientific demonstration comparing two ice-filled boxes to see which keeps the heat out better. In the first-ever student-led initiative in the US, Pratt Institute students raised awareness about the role of high-performance buildings in reducing energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and combating climate change. Join us to celebrate their work and hear from experts in the field.
🌳 Mass Timber Sustainability: Making a case for Developers and Owners
When: Wednesday, May 15 · 11:30am - 2:30pm EDT
Where: AIA New York Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place Room 532 New York, NY 10012
Would you like to pitch sustainable mass timber to a client? Are you wondering how mass timber might pencil in a project pro forma? If so, this presentation will provide insight on completing the value proposition for developers and owners.
🍸 Leaders in Impact Happy Hour
When: Wednesday, May 15 from 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM EDT
Where: Nomadworks, New York, NY
Get ready for summer and join other mission-driven leaders for a casual night of networking with rooftop views of Manhattan.
💨 2024 Wind-Win Startup Showdown
When: Wednesday, May 15 from 5:30 PM - 9:00 PM EDT
Where: Brooklyn Grange @ Sunset Park
Do you want to connect with the next wave of emerging offshore wind innovations? Take part in the Wind-Win Startup Showdown pitch event presented by the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub and hosted at the Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm — a sustainable urban farm in Sunset Park that provides unique opportunities for open-air networking and breathtaking skyline views.
🍻 Green Drinks Brooklyn - May 2024
When: Wednesday, May 15 · 6 - 10pm EDT
Where: 159 Bridge Park Drive, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Is your work related to the environment or sustainability? Are you interested in sustainability or environmental issues. Do you want to meet some like minded folks and share your thoughts and passion. Come down to Estuary at ONE15 Brooklyn Marina for Happy Hour drinks. We'll have a few folks introduce themselves and their work.
💰 Corporate Venture Capital & Sustainability
When: Wednesday, May 15 from 5:30 - 8pm
Where: 220 East 23rd Street Suite 400, New York, NY 10010
Join us for an insightful panel discussion where top Corporate Venture Capital branches (CVCs) will explore the crucial link between corporate sustainability initiatives and their investment strategies.
🌊 NYC OceanTech Summit
When: Thursday, May 16 - Friday, May 17
Where: 189 Front St, South Street Seaport, Manhattan
The NYC OceanTech Summit is a new event bringing together ocean innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, and enthusiasts in the NYC tristate area.
🦪 RETI Center's Annual Infinite Mussel Party
When: Thursday, May 16 · 6 - 10pm EDT
Where: RETI Field Station, 701 Columbia Street Brooklyn, NY 11231
Join us on for a party at the RETI Field Station sponsored by GBX~ Gowanus Bay Terminal where we'll enjoy a night on the waterfront while eating delicious food from M. Wells. RETI Center trains, educates and collaborates with local youth, industry experts, and community members to promote a balance of equity, ecology, and economy as we reimagine and adapt our waterfront communities to the new climate reality.
🗽 NY Climate Tech Meetup: May Edition
When: Thursday, May 16 · 7:30 - 9pm EDT
Where: 5th&Mad, 7 East 36th Street, New York, NY 10016
Join NY Climate Tech for our May meetup! As a community organization connecting activists, investors, policymakers, entrepreneurs, artists, academics, jobseekers, and climate leaders, we are dedicated to uniting local communities around deploying climate solutions equitably.
🗽 NY Climate Tech: Funding Opportunities for Climate Startups
When: Thursday, May 16 from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Where: SVB, Midtown, New York, NY
The event will feature climate industry experts to discuss the various types of early stage funding, considerations to utilize them, as well as perspectives on current market and trends. Co-hosted with our sponsor Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank, we will bring together entrepreneurs and start-up professionals in the New York Climate Tech & Sustainability ecosystem.
🏙️ Decarbonization & Beyond: Brussels’ Expertise
When: Thursday, May 16 from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Where: Building Energy Exchange
Organized by hub.brussels New York, this event will tackle important issues related to sustainability and environmental impact.The following topics will be covered: environmental assessment, green building, energy efficiency, circular economy, innovation. Expert speakers traveling all the way from Europe will provide their insights and expertise about those topics presenting their innovative solutions to pressing problems. Attendees will have the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge, exchange ideas, and explore potential collaborations aimed at fostering a more sustainable future.
🥗 create climate justice with NYC neighbors (dinner included)
When: Thursday, May 16 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Where: 116 W Houston St, New York, NY
Theme: joyful connection in times of climate crisis. Who: Neighbors who want to make friends + eat dinner + work towards a better, safer, greener future together.
☕️ Climate Cafe + Facilitator Training
When: Thursday, May 16 · 6 - 8pm EDT
Where: Riverside Park on 145th St.
NYC needs more Climate Cafes! People are realizing that the ecological crisis is messing up their mental health AND that community is the key to liberation. But! - Right now there aren’t enough facilitators to us to offer monthly Cafes across the city. At this training we'll have a brief cafe together, talk through the theory and best-practices behind facilitation, and then practice by applying what you've learned in challenging role-played scenarios.
🔮 Climate Imaginarium Launch Party on Governors Island
When: Saturday, May 18 · 2 - 5pm EDT
Where: Governor's Island, 406A Comfort Road, New York, NY 10004
Come to Governors Island for the grand opening of our Climate Imaginarium house! The Climate Imaginarium will serve as a community center for climate and culture, with galleries and spaces for exhibitions, performances, film screenings, and events that respond to the climate crisis with solutions and visions for hope and justice. Join us at Building 406A on Colonels Row for a lively celebration of climate art, storytelling, and community.
🏝️ Governors Island Resiliency: Climate and Environmental Action Walking Tour
When: Saturday, May 18 · 1 - 2:30pm EDT
Where: Governor's Island
Join The Trust for Governors Island for a walking tour of its resilient and sustainable landscapes and new climate programs. Dedicated to preparing New York City and cities around the world for climate change, the Center for Climate Solutions at Governors Island will create a singular physical hub committed to researching and demonstrating urban climate solutions and advancing education, training, and workforce development opportunities for New Yorkers in climate and environmental fields. The walking tour will take visitors through the history, present, and future of climate and environmental action on Governors Island, including the Governors Island Historic District, The Hills, Governors Island Living Lab, and New York Climate Exchange.
✨ Climate Sparks Unconference
When: Saturday, May 18 from 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Where: IndieBio, 7 Penn Plaza, New York, NY
Join us on May 18th for the next Climate Sparks Unconference, where professionals across all sectors unite to tackle climate change through innovative ideas and collaborative solutions.