Funding Sources and Partnerships

By: Carol, Jade, Christie, and Andy

 

Question 1: Identify two SPECIFIC funding sources for the design phase of your project and two SPECIFIC funding sources for the dissemination (implementation / distribution / commercialization) phase of your project. For each funding source, explain why this is a good fit for your project, and what SPECIFIC aspect of your project might the funding source support.

Design

  • The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs provide grants to startups in the renewable energy sector with the potential for commercialization. This could fund our work on getting the PCM box as small as possible and finding the optimal PCM mixture.
  • Sustainable Energy Fund’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Loan was designed to help finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Because our project would fall under one of their three priorities, which is to generate energy from a renewable source, it could be used for the design or distribution of our technology.

 

Dissemination

  • Ben Franklin Technology Partnership in Northeast Pennsylvania would provide seed funding through grants and technical assistance to technology-related ventures.   In fact, during a recent conversation with BFTP NEP’s Manager of Entrepreneurial Support, he said our project was precisely the type of project they would be interested in funding if we stayed within the footprint of BFTP NEP.
  • PA Department of Community and Economic Development funding through the Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Authority. They fund land and building acquisitions, building construction and renovations, machinery and equipment costs, including acquisition and installation; and working capital costs.

 

Question 2: Identify five specific partnerships that you need to forge to advance your project forward with the ultimate goal of positively impacting at least one million people. Describe exactly how that partnership might help you achieve scale and why that entity might be willing to work with you.

 

  • Pennsylvania level resources to access financing, build up our network and connect to additional research opportunities. They would be interested in partnering with us to support a growing business within PA and the economic benefits that might bring to the state in the long term. Examples of specific state agencies that might partner with us for the aforementioned reasons include the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Community and Economic Development, and the Governor’s office.
  • Solar industry groups can spread the word about our technology to help us obtain customers. They in turn, benefit by informing their members of innovations within the sector they cover. A preliminary list of industry groups with the same incentives to assist us includes the Solar Energy Industries Association, Solar United Neighbors, American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), International Solar Energy Association, etc.
  • National resources to partner with to refine our technology and opportunities for them to mention our company as a worthwhile technology. Like the other two partnership categories, they would be incentivized to partner with us to illustrate they collaborate with startups utilizing their basic research. Possible partnerships include the following national labs: National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory. 
  • Traditional and nontraditional media partners would also be an obvious potential partnership that could reach a wider audience than we can market ourselves. They would benefit by having content to cover. This can include PV World Magazine, renewable energy podcasts, solar energy bloggers, etc.
  • Solar power online forums would be something we would have to target and build partnerships with the most prolific posters and thought leaders on them. A cursory glance found on Solar Feeds (https://www.solarfeeds.com/mag/best-solar-power-forums/) listed ten forums that write “…are a good place to go to get insight. There are a lot of solar experts in these forums, and they are more than happy to assist people with answers to their complex questions. So, it’s a good idea that in addition to solar websites and blogs, you should follow solar power forums as well.”We could position ourselves as knowledgeable and have others discuss our technology. In particular, we could start with Solar Panel Talk and Simply Solar forums, but there are many others we would need to target.

Question 3: Identify one existing social enterprise that you feel aligns well with your venture – explain what it does, why you like it, and in what ways it is similar to your venture.

SunCulture –  is a sustainable energy company created to eradicate world hunger. Their “AgroSolar Irrigation Kit” is a solar-powered drip irrigation system that pulls water from any available source — like rivers, lakes, wells, or boreholes —  and drips a small, controlled amount over the roots of crops. Because the irrigation kit uses only a fraction of water, it’s an ideal irrigation system for underdeveloped regions with little to no access to water or power. The company’s mission to eradicate world hunger while promoting renewable energy is an effective, sustainable, and innovative solution to work toward ending this worldwide issue. This social enterprise aligns with ThermoSolar since our venture currently focuses on solar panels. The system that we developed could be incorporated into SunCulture’s AgroSolar Irrigation Kit.

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