University of Colorado joins Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator clean-tech cohort

BOULDER — The University of Colorado has been selected to take part in the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator, a $50 million clean-technology program funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and co-administered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

CU is among 10 participants in the inaugural cohort of the incubator’s new Scalable Tech Track program for cleantech adoption.

“Organizations are under increasing pressure to decarbonize, facing significant costs and reputational risks if they fail to act,” NREL’s Innovation Incubator (or IN²) program manager Sarah Derdowski said in a news release. “Despite these pressures, many organizations still aren’t adopting clean technologies fast enough. The new Scalable Tech Track is designed to help organizations accelerate cleantech adoption and collaborate in an effort to address urgent climate challenges together.”

CU was accepted into the program because the Boulder school “seeks to make its massive building footprint, both old and new, carbon neutral by no later than 2050,” the release said. 

Participants “will engage in a program from August to December 2024 consisting of virtual and in-person workshops, focused on how to implement new technologies in the built environment through digitization and change management,” the release said. “By the end of the program, the participants will have an in-depth strategy on how to uptake new innovation and compete to receive up to $250,000 to conduct pilot projects with IN² startups or others based on their specific needs.”