ENVIRONMENTAL
BUSINESS
CLUSTER
Improving the Environment One Company at a Time
The Environmental Business Cluster (EBC) is a nonprofit technology commercialization center created to assist early stage for-profit companies developing products or services that will have a positive impact on the environment. The Environmental Business Cluster was created to minimize the costs associated with starting a business, improve the chances for success and increase the linkages between emerging companies and established businesses, universities and professionals in the field.
The EBC assists client companies by providing them program and consulting assistance to overcome the barriers to market entry. In addition, the EBC offers affordable space, furnishings and networking opportunities to those who need it. The EBC opened in late 1994, and it has been operating for 12 years. Over 120 businesses have been assisted by the EBC.
Since 2003, the Environmental Business Cluster has specialized in assisting clean energy and energy efficiency emerging technology companies, and has also been working with the California Energy Commission and the National Renewable Energy Lab to provide commercialization services to selected applied research grant recipients, with the goal of helping them enter and penetrate the marketplace. Today, the EBC manages the largest private technology commercialization program for clean energy start-ups in the United States , with 25-30 companies assisted by the EBC at any given time.
The EBC also is developing the Electronic Transportation Development Center , where emerging and established Silicon Valley companies will collaborate on the design, development, prototype fabrication, and technology licensing for clean energy hybrid commercial vehicles, such as buses and trucks, while incorporating Silicon Valley electronics to make the vehicles cleaner, safer, and more secure.
