Deadline: 4-Oct-22
Elemental Excelerator is seeking applications for its New Zealand Decarbonization Challenge.
Collaborate with New Zealand's future energy innovation center, Ara Ake, and 8 electricity distribution businesses (EDBs) to help transition New Zealand towards an equitable, secure, and decarbonized energy future and receive up to USD250k to deploy your technology with one or more of New Zealand’s EDBs.
What you could win?
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Up to USD250k funded pilot
- Up to USD250,000 in non-dilutive funding to pilot your technology with Ara Ake and participating EDBs with the goal of scaling to a commercial deployment in New Zealand.
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Direct collaboration
- Leverage Ara Ake’s deep energy expertise and local industry relationships to help lower barriers to pilot deployment (e.g., technical, regulatory, industry and supply chain connections, and information).
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Access to scale-up partners
- Access to demonstrate your technology with up to 8 electricity distribution businesses (EDBs) across New Zealand.
What is Ara Ake looking for?
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With the drive to decarbonize industrial heat, the rapid increase in distributed energy resources (DER), and the untapped potential of future flexibility services, EDBs are seeking solutions to support the optimization of network investment and the de-risking of network asset management. They are specifically seeking pilot-ready technologies that can:
- Forecast, visualize, and integrate network impact of decarbonization demand growth, DERs, and flexibility services into asset management, planning, and operations
- Expedite DER connection process, particularly network impact assessment
- Optimize visibility, management, and forecasting of peak demand and network constraints
- Additionally, it is key that the energy transition doesn’t leave anyone behind, especially those who are already experiencing energy hardship and would benefit the most from low-emission solutions. As such, Ara Ake and the participating EDBs are also seeking solutions that can provide accessible and affordable options to allow low- and moderate-income households to actively participate in the benefits of the energy transition.
Eligibility Criteria
At minimum, applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Have an operating prototype with evidence to support its successful demonstration within an electricity utility or similar organization
- Be able to demonstrate direct solution applicability to the problem and evidence the return on investment for EDBs
- Be ready to deploy a pilot with one or more New Zealand EDBs
- Be a registered company
- Have at least two full-time employees
- Where applicable, be willing to work with a community-based organization to deploy your technology leveraging Elemental’s Square Partnerships Model. Ara Ake can support the facilitation of the partnership between the innovator and the community-based organization.
- Ara Ake is not seeking project developers selling third-party products, companies without an operating prototype, consulting firms, marketing or PR agencies, or acquired startups.
For more information, visit Elemental Excelerator.
For more information, visit https://elementalexcelerator.com/navigator/innovation-challenges/new-zealand-decarbonization/








































