As the Mid-West Energy Research Consortium works to recruit startups for its newly announced Energy Innovation Center, it is turning to a Boston-based group of startup companies to learn best practices in the build out process.
M-WERC, a public/private partnership within the energy, power and control cluster that focuses on industry research, workforce development, policy and collaboration, has launched a partnership with Greentown Labs, a Boston incubator in the clean technology and clean energy sphere.
Through an initial six-month partnership, M-WERC will learn how Greentown Labs has attracted startups, what services and offerings the group provides, how its startup tenants interact and what the entire ecosystem of its innovation hub looks like – all lessons the consortium aims to transfer to the Energy Innovation Center.
Within the EIC, a $9.6 million project announced earlier this month, M-WERC is bringing together corporations, academic institutions, government entities, researchers and startups all driving advancements in the energy, power and control industry. The goal is to maximize the talents and capabilities of the region’s energy, power and control cluster.
The center will be housed in a 65,000-square-foot space in the Century City Tower, formerly the Eaton Corp. research building, located in Milwaukee’s 30th Street Industrial Corridor.
With room for 60 occupants, the EIC currently consists of two tenants – Alliance Federated Energy and the Manufacturing Diversity Institute – and will look to the expertise and experience of Greentown Labs as it accelerates its recruitment efforts.
Greentown Labs currently houses more than 45 member startup companies and supporting organizations, according to its website.
Jeffrey Anthony, director of the EIC, described Greentown Labs as a “pioneer” and a “thought leader” in the clean energy sector and startup space.
While the two incubators have different visions and focus areas with their hubs, Anthony said M-WERC will “inherit the operations manual from Greentown Labs” and adapt its structure to fit the EIC.
The incubators have been in talks since January.
“It became apparent that they’ve had a very successful kind of ramp up in their efforts and have enjoyed a lot of success and a lot of publicity and are really making a difference out there in the clean energy sector with regard to startups,” Anthony said.
In return, M-WERC will demonstrate to Greentown Labs how it creates “roadmaps” in energy-related sectors. The roadmaps, focused on technological advancements in energy, paint a picture of how specific technologies are developing. The roadmaps point to market opportunities for industry corporations, research gaps that need filling by academic institutions, and business opportunities for startup companies.
M-WERC has identified six areas to explore through roadmaps, including industrial energy efficiency, distributed energy resources, and energy storage.
M-WERC’s roadmap concept was one that piqued the interest of Greentown Labs during a meeting the two incubators held last week in Milwaukee, according to Anthony.
Following that first meeting, M-WERC plans to head to Boston for a week in October to see Greentown Labs firsthand.
Anthony said that while the partnership is set to run six months, there is potential for an extension, depending on how much value both organizations derive from their exchanges.
M-WERC and the EIC are also exploring potential partnerships with at least three other organizations across the country that are well-versed in business startups and technology development, Anthony said.
Construction for the EIC is slated to start next month with a second phase kicking off in October 2015. M-WERC hopes to complete construction by mid-2016.
