UPTAKE ALLIANCE ANNOUNCES SELECTION OF CLIMATETECH STARTUPS FOR SECOND COHORT
Eight companies join the program to commercialize and scale innovative climate solutions in the Advanced Buildings sector
[Buffalo, NY, April 2, 2025] — Uptake Alliance selected eight startups to participate in its second cohort at an Advanced Buildings convening earlier this year in Buffalo, NY. The event held January 29–31, 2025 was organized in partnership with the WNY Sustainable Business Roundtable, served as a dynamic platform where startups, established industry experts, and key regional stakeholders collaborated on breakthrough solutions in the commercial and residential buildings space. The convening highlighted the eight innovative startup solutions along with interactive working sessions that were designed to facilitate strategic dialogues to transform visionary ideas into actionable plans. The event is the first in a series with industry experts and steering committee members representing corporate stakeholders across Western New York and the Capital Region.
Uptake Alliance, a climate tech accelerator administered by ADL Ventures, is supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA),
“We were thrilled to unite such a diverse group of innovators and steering committee members at the Advanced Buildings convening. The event served as a catalyst for forging strategic partnerships that will drive sustainable growth and redefine the future of building technologies in New York State,” said Bobbie Armstrong, Director of Ecosystems at Uptake Alliance.
“NYSERDA is proud to support this new cohort of companies in advancing emerging and scalable building technologies as part of the state’s growing innovation ecosystem. By connecting these startups with building developers and real estate mentors, we can begin to pair their expertise and forge partnerships that will accelerate the commercialization of these solutions, offering new ways to modernize this industry,” said Stephen Bravo, Director of Commercialization, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
The convening featured an expert Advanced Buildings Steering Committee that included representatives from CannonDesign, Erie County, TAP Inc., Ciminelli Real Estate Corporation, the Center for Economic Growth, Urban Vantage, Rosenblum Development, and an independent developer. Their collective expertise provided invaluable mentorship and strategic guidance throughout the event.
The Startups Selected Include:
Description: Accelerates residential electrification by making it faster, cheaper, and easier for everyone to electrify their homes. Specifically, our home energy management system provides a code-compliant, cost-effective alternative to expensive electric panel upgrades in the home and infrastructure on the grid.
Location: Buffalo, NY
Description: A research and development company focusing on clean, efficient energy use, production, and monitoring. The BlackBox company licenses, manufactures, and markets technologies under the brand name TruVolt® Technologies, starting in the fall of 2024 with TruVolt®MotorVision™, TruVolt®Multi-Motors™, and TruVolt®Generators. These software-enabled motors and performance sensing technologies will give manufacturers the data they need to successfully transition to Industry 4.0 and 5.0.
Location: Owingsville, KY
Description: Provides software that helps lenders top up property loans with home energy upgrades. Lenders and homeowners lack the tools to identify efficiency improvements that make financial sense. We are an energy efficiency radar; pinpointing upgrades that improve comfort, reduce expenses, increase home value and lower environmental impacts. We enable lenders to profitably decarbonize property loans while growing loan volume and reducing default risk.
Location: Vancouver, BC
Description: Develops data-driven software tools to help the people that shape our cities to make pro-climate decisions with confidence. Whether the use case is helping governments and capital providers to direct resources to their greatest impact or helping to motivate and provide a smooth retrofit pathway for property owners, or all of the above, OPEN consistently seeks to blend novel technical insights with emerging market drivers to build momentum and action.
Location: Vancouver, BC
Description: Provides a shared view for the e-mobility ecosystem by combining leading expertise in transportation, energy, computer science, policy, and regulation to deliver scalable software solutions to accelerate transportation electrification. Our solutions allow for the accurate forecasting of EV charging demand, and the optimization of infrastructure investments to meet it
Location: Arlington, VA
Description: Redefines how apartment interiors are designed and built. As demand for interior installations rises in both new and existing buildings, Kit Switch offers ready-to-install kitchen, bathroom, and storage modules. These solutions shorten project timelines, reduce costs, and lower carbon emissions while providing a more predictable process for developers, architects, and contractors.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Description: Empowers building owners to meet sustainability goals and avoid regulatory penalties by reducing Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions with innovative carbon removal solutions. Our technology captures CO₂ and airborne pollutants, making indoor spaces healthier for employees and building occupants while lowering energy costs. Carbon Reform’s solutions help building owners navigate regulations like LL97 while supporting a healthier, more sustainable environment.
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Description: To meet its 2050 climate goals, the U.S. must decarbonize 7,100 buildings daily – the first step in this process is conducting site audits on existing equipment, which provides building owners with actionable insights from industry professionals. EMPEQ enables field analysts to rapidly identify equipment and parts, digitize critical data in a cloud-based system, and generate instant insights—all with a single photo from a handheld device.
Location: Ithaca, NY
About Uptake Alliance
Launched in September 2023, Uptake Alliance aims to serve as the gateway to New York State for climatetech startups, facilitating their growth through valuable industry connections, strategic partnerships, and assistance in securing funding for the deployment of GHG-reducing technologies. Administered by ADL Ventures, and supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the accelerator is accessible to startups worldwide serving as a centralized hub for climate tech entities interested in doing business in New York State.
About ADL Ventures
ADL Ventures develops and launches clean infrastructure innovations. By bridging the gap between incumbents and the entrepreneurial ecosystem, we deliver the full innovation life cycle from strategy to development to launch.
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