RFP alert: New York State announces over $37 million for cleantech business accelerators

Governor Hochul announced more than $37 million to launch a new Commercial Cohort Initiative that intends to establish four business accelerators to provide training, mentoring and funding for clean energy startups and entrepreneurs.

Administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the Commercialization Cohort initiative aims to select program administrators through three competitive funding rounds to support companies in three stages of product development: early stage (pre-seed), first pilot projects (seed) and late-stage commercial scale up.

NYSERDA is now accepting proposals under the first round of competitive funding from eligible New York-based for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations, academic institutions and research organizations and will select two separate program administrators for the following stages:

“New York is investing in businesses that drive statewide technological innovation to improve energy efficiency, strengthen resiliency and grow our economy,” Governor Hochul said in a statement. “Building systems that support product development and strengthen local supply chains will spur private investment in clean energy and make it more accessible to consumers.”

New York is known for its strong support for and growth in clean energy. Ranked 7th in solar capacity, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), New York has over 8.4 GW of solar installed with an energy storage capacity of 1.1 GWh. The state is currently receiving nearly 8% of its electricity from solar energy.

Recently the state finalized its 2027 fiscal year budget, which includes a $200 million funding allocation to extend the reach of NYSERDA’s NY-Sun distributed solar initiative. NYSERDA reports that to date, its targeted entrepreneurial support has helped 374 companies create more than 1,700 jobs while attracting $1.85 billion in additional private and public investment. In addition, its Innovation investments have helped commercialize nearly 300 clean energy products since 2016 in such areas as energy use and grid modernization, advanced fuels and thermal energy systems, and clean power generation and storage.

“NYSERDA is proud to support commercialization services that provide clean energy startups and entrepreneurs with the tools to grow and advance business models which will build upon New York’s strong energy innovation ecosystem,” said Doreen M. Harris, NYSERDA president and CEO.

A minimum cost share of 20% is required from non-NYSERDA funding sources. These accelerators will open for applications from startups and companies in early 2027.

Proposals must be submitted by December 2, 2026, by 3:00 p.m. ET. NYSERDA will host a webinar on October 16, 2026, from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET to provide more details on the solicitation, project requirements and the proposal process. NYSERDA plans to open future competitive rounds of funding in early 2027 to select program administrators to establish a Seed accelerator and a Series B-C accelerator. For more information on this funding opportunity please visit NYSERDA’s website.