January 11, 2016 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Energy Excelerator is helping New Zealand reach its goal of 90 percent renewables by 2025.

Auckland, New Zealand. Credit: Ronnie Macdonald/Wikimedia Commons

The nation's leading cleantech incubator, based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Energy Excelerator is partnering with Vector, New Zealand's largest distributor of energy to give the utility access to Energy Excelerator's broad portfolio of cleantech companies and a vast pipeline of innovation.

"Innovation is core to Vector's growth. Energy Excelerator and its pipeline of innovation will help us test and scale new solutions," said Simon Mackenzie, CEO of Vector. Vector is also partnering with Tesla Energy to deploy energy storage in New Zealand.

Energy Excelerator is already helping power Hawaii's landmark goal of 100 percent renewables by 2045.

"This is the realization of our vision for Energy Excelerator: To start in Hawaii and apply what we've learned here to other markets in the U.S. and the rest of the world," said Dawn Lippert, director of the Energy Excelerator. "The road to 100 percent renewables goes through Hawaii."

Energy Excelerator already has 13 demonstration projects ongoing in Hawaii; one demonstration project in Australia; two corporate partners from the Asia Pacific region; and a $30 million commitment from the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research as part of their Asia Pacific Technology and Education Partnership (APTEP).

The non-profit program, part of Pacific International Center for High Technology Research, helps innovative companies by providing funding up to $1 million, strategic relationships, and a vibrant ecosystem of partners. To date, they have awarded $15 million to 43 portfolio companies that have gone on to raise $223 million in follow-on funding and scale their Energy Excelerator demonstration projects to larger markets.

Energy Excelerator's dual-track program is primarily funded by U.S. Office of Naval Research, U.S. Department of Energy, the State of Hawaii, and its corporate sponsors, GE Ventures, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Blackstone Charitable Foundation, DENSO, and Mathworks.

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