by Katie Liu | July 23, 2026
The non-profit organization supports both energy storage companies and projects
When it comes to cutting-edge solutions, it isn’t just novelty that matters, but also replicability. This is the philosophy guiding The Clean Fight New York, which bolsters clean energy projects to prove out what works, and unlock many more to come.
“To work in this space means being around not only smart people, but also those who are working their tails off every day to try to do something about our energy demand and clean energy needs,” said Thatcher Bell, head of programs at The Clean Fight. “Seeing and getting to be around all those people, who are rowing in the same direction around a really important set of needs and opportunities, is incredibly invigorating.”
The Clean Fight is a not-for-profit working to accelerate the adoption of existing clean energy solutions. It has supported companies from those that specialize in energy efficient air purification to those designing the hardware to support rooftop solar. What makes this possible is a variety of programs relating to multiple forms of clean energy, including accelerators, technology prizes, and capital challenges.
Establishing partnership with Binghamton University and New Energy New York in 2020, The Clean Fight has been a valuable coalition member in the growing energy storage ecosystem of upstate New York. Since 2020, it has supported 70 companies and 22 projects, while administering over $5 million in grants and creating nearly 1,000 new jobs.
Moreover, The Clean Fight has produced the first significant market report to name new potential approaches to financing important energy storage projects, geared toward solution providers, developers, and even potential investors.
“Even if [these providers are] not working directly with us, we hope they learn from some of the things we saw in the [Energy Storage Capital Challenge] without necessarily having to live them, the way we did,” Bell said. “We hope they can build on what we took away and help get more projects done in the state.”
It’s with this holistic approach to clean energy solutions that The Clean Fight is bolstering the ecosystem in New York State — spanning the gamut from promising projects to established, innovative companies — with the ultimate goal of 100% clean energy, shared with 100% of the population.
Speeding adoption
On top of work in grant funds, affordable housing, and awarding project prizes, The Clean Fight has held multiple accelerator programs aimed at supporting companies proposing clean energy solutions.
Whereas most accelerators aim to nurture new and recent startups, The Clean Fight’s programs take a closer look at the other end of the spectrum, specifically later-stage companies with products already in the market and rounds already raised.
“Many, maybe even most, of the solutions that we collectively need to decarbonize most of our economy — which is a big part of our mission — are already out there,” Bell said. “There are some hard, thorny problems that might benefit from new inventions, so there’s a lot of room for new innovation. But much of the challenge we think we face around climate and decarbonization today is about adoption.”
Said solutions just need the final push to widespread adoption and deployment, before the difference really gets noticeable.
However, in many cases, scaling takes too long. Companies might stumble and lull in the valleys of death — which are critical phases in which companies are active but not generating enough money to support operations — leaving already-existing solutions and critical innovations to dwindle on the sidelines.
“The idea is that companies that are a little bit further along, that have those proven solutions already, with customers that have purchased them, and enough capital that they can deliver more of those products if there’s demand — they might be able to do that, and they might have better solutions, but not all customers are familiar with those products yet. They’re not the standard yet,” Bell said. “That’s the moment to lean in and try to support them.”
The Clean Fight’s first energy storage accelerator program was funded by NYSERDA and the U.S. Department of Energy in partnership with Binghamton University, and now it has launched its third program alongside NENY. In addition, it has most recently invited 10 companies from around the globe to build up its first ever International Landing Pad Program, aimed at bringing international solutions to the heart of New York.
These programs focus on bringing those more developed companies into the same room with potential customers over the course of half a year, to identify opportunities for projects and collaboration.
From providing a technical assistance grant to the lithium-ion battery company Electrovaya, which opened a new production facility in Jamestown, N.Y., to aiding Canadian energy storage startup Jule in establishing an $80,000 solar-backed EV charging station in Mount Kisco, N.Y. with Con Edison, The Clean Fight is ensuring the quick deployment of solutions — which, hopefully, will mark the first milestone of many more.
“It’s about taking solutions that exist today, but are not widely used, and making them the standard,” Bell said.
Capital challenges
Beyond just supporting developing companies, The Clean Fight’s core mission is to determine the most impactful strategies and interventions to move climate solutions into communities faster, more affordably, and at scale.
“Rather than focusing exclusively on startups, we wanted to focus on specifically first-of-many projects that could unlock a broader market for innovative companies doing really great work in the energy storage space,” said Program Manager Lovinia Reynolds.
Like companies, these projects also face valleys of death. One of The Clean Fight’s solutions to overcoming this fundamental barrier came in the form of its Energy Storage Capital Challenge, a six-month program funded by NENY and NYSERDA. It brought together six novel projects from around the state with capital providers and stakeholders with the potential of launching those projects into success.
“We put everybody in a room and said, ‘Let’s all figure this out,’” Reynolds said. “What do we need to get these projects done?”
The spirit of collaboration carried through both in-person and virtual convenings of the Capital Challenge, powering projects from grid resiliency to affordable EV charging installation.
“A lot of the work we do is bringing together the right people to discuss pertinent topics at the right time, and get their creative juices flowing to solve some of the industry’s stickiest problems,” Reynolds said. “We plan those convenings, do market research to understand the topics and challenges facing these projects, and then facilitate what I think are really thoughtful discussions.”
Taking those solutions that exist, but are hidden in the drudges of development, and showcasing their potential to proliferate is a key tenet of The Clean Fight’s “first-of-many” approach.
“Once a startup company is able to demonstrate to the market that it can put together a project that has significant impact in New York state, other people can start looking into that as an example for what they can do,” Reynolds said. “Then, that project becomes scalable, and can inform other decision-makers. Once you have someone like Con Ed say, ‘This is a great product that we’d like to use,’ other people are more likely to jump on board.”
Making strides together
Any work in the clean energy sector is not work done alone. The Clean Fight credits its many capital and corporate partners, in food service, energy storage practice, and buildings practice.
“The New York Battery Energy Storage Technology Consortium, as a team, has really become almost a constant partner of ours in storage,” Bell additionally highlighted. “They’ve been engaged in all the programs I’ve talked about and have even helped us with the outreach and selection of different program participants.”
When The Clean Fight was first working to launch its programs, Bell said having expertise from a battery leader such as Binghamton University was also key in building the organization’s foundations in the energy storage sector.
“I still remember, in some of the early days, conversations with folks from Binghamton and NY-BEST, where they were very kind in giving us a deep market overview and helping us understand some of the key issues and opportunities in the state and beyond,” Bell said.
Whether funding projects with the potential for deployments throughout New York state, or bringing affordable energy solutions to even one building, Reynolds said being able to make immediate impacts on communities, alongside fellow collaborators who have dedicated their lives to the same cause, is her favorite part of the job.
“Having these brilliant partners who can speak to the areas we can’t speak to is so beneficial and valuable,” Reynolds said. “Even just having a brain trust of folks we can collaborate with makes the work that we do even more impactful and stronger.”
Learn more about The Clean Fight here or follow on LinkedIn.