Accelerators support early-stage, growth-driven companies through education, mentorship and financing. In Europe, there are 969 accelerators and globally are 29 that are focused on sustainablity, Green IT and climate accelerators.
Some of these include Apple’s third Impact Accelerator class which is a 12-company cohort that includes Black/Hispanic/Latinx and Indigenous-owned environmental solution and service providers focused on green technology and clean energy; Morgan Stanley Sustainable Solutions Collaborative Cohort and Startup Wise Guys – Sustainability Accelerator Program with a focus on startups from the Nordics and Eastern Europe offering B2B software or services that capture, store, or reduce CO2 emissions.
Adding to this growing list is Ireland’s National Sustainability Accelerator and Innovation Platform, the 2050 Accelerator launched by Dogpatch Labs in 2023. This program was designed to connect industry, government, academia and startups to help solve Ireland’s sustainability challenges and make Ireland a testbed for sustainability innovation.
There were 12 startups for the first 2050 Accelerator cohort in 2023. from more than 1,000 candidates. The global cohort had a diverse mix of founders with a quarter being women.
Ashley Shak, Head of Sustainability and Programmes at Dogpatch Labs said they believe collaboration is key when it comes to solving the climate crisis. Shak joined the Dogpatch team to support the 2050 Accelerator fresh off her experience running sustainability accelerators on a global scale through the United Nations.
“The 2050 Accelerator gives startups the opportunity to access top expertise in a proven accelerator model and the 2050 Ecosystem connects industry, government, academia, and startups to help solve the nation’s sustainability challenges – together,” she said.
Focus and funding
Shak says the Irish government, along with the other governments in the EU, understand the urgency and importance of transitioning to a net zero world.
“In order to achieve this, a lot of the climate tech solutions we’re seeing are going to be hardware-based and expensive, meaning that the influence and collaboration with corporates with the resources and connections will be essential,” she said. “Our job with the 2050 Accelerator is to ensure that we can make these partnerships happen, and the pilots a reality.”
Shak believes the 2050 Accelerator is different than the others out there because they focus on the people rather than the idea. “We have more than 40 individuals from diverse backgrounds, including big tech giants in both Ireland and Europe, due to its focus on helping startups develop high-impact pilot projects with corporate partners.
By high-impact, Shak says this means startups will have a measurable and positive impact on the success of the startup and also a wider impact on the planet.
“While most accelerators focus on helping startups learn “how to start up”, 2050 Accelerator’s goal is to further the development of climate tech innovations that will help us transition to a net zero society,” added Shak.
“We think having this focus on developing real-life pilot projects also makes our programme extremely attractive to startups internationally, as there is a clear business development opportunity for them to work with some very large corporate partners,” said Shak.
The 2050 Accelerator at Dogpatch Labs is partially funded by the Ireland’s Department of Environment, Climate and Communications. “This makes us proud to be Ireland’s national sustainability accelerator,” said Shak.
In addition to the Government’s support, the 2050 Accelerator’s corporate partners pay to take part in the program.
“This fee mainly helps us recruit high-calibre startups and support them to travel to Dublin,” said Shak. “It also enables us to run impressive events like our Launch day and Showcase day, where hundreds of sustainability enthusiasts and climate play-makers gather in Dogpatch, and it also supplements the curriculum by bringing in both national and international coaches and mentors with entrepreneurial experience.”
A net zero focus
Shak says that in order to make Ireland a legitimate testbed for sustainability innovation, they need to search for a diverse range of sustainability solutions they can bring to Ireland.
“We strongly believe that in order to address global issues of sustainability, we will need a holistic approach including both the environmental and social aspects of sustainability,” she said. “The specific sustainability focuses we have for each cohort may differ depending on the corporate partners, as we work with them to identify the most pressing issues their businesses face.”
Shak says that because of this approach in 2023, they have seen sartups come from markets such as animal health, renewable energy and sustainable construction.
“While our main focus is on decarbonization for net zero goals, which is where the name “2050” comes from, it is important for the startups we work with to have an awareness of the social impact of their technology,” said Shak.
A start-up from their first cohort, EIO Diagnostics, developed a heat-thermal camera and artificial intelligence (AI) system that could detect early mastitis infections in cows.
“In the environmental context, this meant that treating sick cows at an earlier stage reduced greenhouse gas emissions,” said Shak. “But in the equally important social context, leveraging the power of AI meant that farm labourers no longer had to worry about the tedious and dangerous job of testing a sick cow.”
High-impact pilot schemes
The 2050 Accelerator has several pilot projects unerway that were developed between startups and corporate partners considered high-impact.
“We facilitate this partnership so that the two parties can develop pilots that have a measurable impact on sustainability issues such as the circular economy, carbon dioxide removal (CRD), the carbon market, animal health and more,” said Shak. “Through the program, both corporates and startups are pushed out of their comfort zone to accelerate their progress and contribute to sustainability goals.”
A new pilot by BladeBridge, part of the 2023 cohort is repurposing wind turbines to create pedestrian bridges and other sustainable infrastructure. Shak says that through the 2050 Accelerator, BladeBridge’s founder, Angie Nagle expanded the startup’s catalog to offer other products that its corporate partner ESB needed, such as telecommunications poles and an e-mobility hub.
