Traversing the Scale Gap: Real-World Playbooks from Climate Founders

Broad adoption of climate technology is essential to build resilient energy systems, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and create local jobs. Yet even after a solution is proven, many founders hit the same wall: financing and delivering their first commercial projects. This critical gap, often referred to as the “Scale Gap”, is estimated to represent at least $150B, and is where many promising climate innovations fail. Join two founders scaling breakthrough climate technologies for a candid, tactical conversation on how to cross that gap. Panelists will: Break down the capital stack and deal structures that successfully financed their first commercial projectsReveal the top project-execution pitfalls (technical, regulatory, safety and capacity risks) and how they were mitigatedOffer concrete advice for academics, investors, and ecosystem partners to accelerate first-of-a-kind deployments Walk away with actionable playbooks for deal design, project development and execution, and lessons on how Colorado’s ecosystem can be a national model for scaling climate technology. Speakers Danya Hakeem, Chief Operating Officer, Elemental Impact, based in Boulder, CONico Pinkowski, Co-founder & CEO, Nitricity, born and raised in Colorado Bud Vos, President & CEO, MetOx International, based in Fort Collins, Colorado Hosted By Elemental Impact is a nonprofit investor with 15 years of experience advancing innovative technologies with deep environmental and local impact. Elemental is supported by 40 funders and its portfolio includes 160+ companies that have catalyzed $11.5B in additional funding and created 17,200 jobs.