With $10M in funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), PowerBridgeNY’s mission is to turn cleantech innovations from the academic research labs of our six partner institutions into strong, cleantech businesses in New York State. We do this by offering teams up to $150K each to conduct 100 Customer Discovery interviews and develop a prototype or conduct in-field testing to move the technology closer to commercialization via a startup (preferable) or license. During the program, we host a series of events and monthly check-ins using the NSF I-Corps/Lean LaunchPad Methodology as well as subsidize the cost of necessary services, provide industry Mentors, and arrange pro bono office hours with experts in law, finance, grant writing, and more.

PowerBridgeNY is two separate proof-of-concept centers (POCC), both funded by NYSERDA, collaborating as one program. One POCC is led by Columbia University and includes Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cornell Tech, and Stony Brook University. The other POCC is led by the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University and includes the City University of New York.