New Mexico State University's Arrowhead Center has been awarded $1 million in funding from the United States Department of Energy to advance its clean energy accelerator.

The Department of Energy's Office of Technology Transitions announced the Phase 2 winners of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters Round 3 Dec. 5. Each of the five winners will receive $1 million in federal funding as part of a three-year cooperative agreement with OTT.

In April, Arrowhead Center hosted the live announcement of the EPIC Round 3, Phase 1 program, during which Arrowhead Center was named among 23 incubators and accelerators nationwide to receive $150,000 in federal funding. The initial funding was used to launch the Arrowhead RenewTech Incubator and Accelerator, which focuses on advancing clean energy and water technologies in New Mexico and support an innovation-centric ecosystem.

With the newest award, the incubator and accelerator will expand its offerings to support energy and water technology startups. Participants in the program will either work with national laboratory technologies available for licensing, or address critical community and industry challenges with their own laboratory innovations.

"Arrowhead Center is committed to driving transformative innovation in New Mexico," said Dana Catron, interim director and CEO of Arrowhead Center. "This funding enables us to empower entrepreneurs and startups at the forefront of advanced energy and water technologies. By building a robust pipeline of innovation, we're not only tackling some of the most pressing challenges of our time but also creating opportunities that strengthen our state's economy and position New Mexico as a leader in energy innovation."

"Arrowhead Center is a driver of entrepreneurship and innovation, supporting energy startups and helping strengthen New Mexico's leadership in clean energy innovation," said U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján. "This $1 million investment will boost Arrowhead's work and support cutting-edge innovations to address issues like critical energy-water challenges. I'm proud to welcome this funding and will continue to fight for resources to support innovation and promote job creation in our state."

The EPIC program, funded by OTT, the Office of Grid Deployment, and the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office, represents a strategic effort to grow regional energy innovation ecosystems across the U.S.

"The EPIC program represents a strategic investment in one of our nation's best job creation catalysts – the incubator and accelerator community. The Office of Technology Transitions, along with our Round 3 funding partners in the Office of Grid Deployment and the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office, is proud to support the incubators and accelerators that are on the ground helping clean energy entrepreneurs thrive," said Vanessa Z. Chan, Department of Energy chief commercialization officer and director of OTT. "Each year of the program bolsters the tremendous impact these organizations can have on clean tech startups in their communities."

The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/arrowhead-center-at-nmsu-awarded--1-million-for-clean-energy-accelerator/s/8c11f9c6-a8b0-4eca-bc32-0602241507e2