The Northern vs. Southern California rivalry may seem natural in some instances (Lakers vs. Warriors anybody?), but does not apply when it comes to cleantech innovation. As a Bay Area cleantech hub, Fremont recognizes the value of partnerships in this industry from both far and near. L.A. Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is a renowned innovation hub for early stage clean technologies. Building on their success in southern California, LACI has established a strategic second location in Silicon Valley, under the name Silicon Valley Cleantech Incubator (SVCI). And we couldn’t be more thrilled to add them into our local portfolio of innovation assets.

Q. Tell us about the LACI Model for incubating cleantech startups.

A. We were founded as part of an economic development effort and built from the ground up to support manufacturing-oriented cleantech startups, which are typically long gestation period, asset intensive businesses. These are often characteristics that incubators, accelerators and investors shy away from. We approach this work expecting to work with them for five years. During this time, we apply a lot of resources, including: turn-key office space; dedicated executives in residence; prototyping resources, “Fundamentals” knowledge resources to educate founders on investment, IP, corporate structure, business model, and design for manufacturability; investment bank-grade investment prep; and access to a worldwide network of investors, partners, pilot demonstrations and prospective customers.

Q. What are you seeing as the latest trends in clean technologies? Anything dominating the landscape?

A. I don’t see any one thing dominating the landscape but in terms of technologies, we see a lot of momentum in water, transportation, storage and the built-environment. In the area of investment, we see good support from angels and corporate strategic venture arms. We have also spun out a company called CAGIX that will help cleantech businesses link with high net worth individuals, family offices and other accredited investors with a mission driven investment interest.

Q. Fremont has followed your work closely, given your particular focus on manufacturing. What resources do you provide to support this activity?

A. At our campus in Los Angeles, we have 30,000 square feet of startup office and convening space, a 9,000 square foot prototyping space with state of the art manufacturing equipment and a 3,000 square foot training center. We’re also co-located with LADWP’s validation labs – that can provide independent validation on efficiency & performance claims – as well as their customer engagement center which includes a technology demonstration area. In the bay area, SVCI is co-located with GSV Labs and the Cleantech Open in a 70,000 square foot facility. We will offer the same programs and development efforts with the exception of the prototyping space, which we hope to build out as we grow.

Q. What drove the decision to establish SVCI and what does the future look like for this effort?

A. It’s a natural to want resources in the two biggest markets in the state. LA represents one of the largest cleantech markets in the country for water, built environment and transportation innovation. Silicon Valley has the best innovation and investment resources in the world. Both have outstanding research institutions and a dearth of startups. A presence in either is a great opportunity but the ability to facilitate engagements across both markets is a winning proposition. We’re less than a year in and just getting started in the bay area with four companies in the portfolio to date. And true to our DNA, they are all manufacturing oriented companies. As we grow, we intend to expand our resources to include the world-class prototyping and manufacturing support capabilities similar to what we have in place in LA. We’re very excited about the leadership position that Fremont is taking to support manufacturing and look forward to a strong partnership in that effort.

Rendering of LACI facility in Los Angeles.