Blokable selected to participate in sixth cohort of Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator
SEATTLE — November 12, 2019 — Today, Blokable announced it has been selected as one of ten technology companies to participate in the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²), a technology incubator and platform funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and co-administered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). As a program participant, Blokable will receive $250,000 in non-dilutive funding and hands-on technical assistance for additional technology development and validation.
Blokable was selected to participate in the IN² because of the company’s mission to make new housing development not only more affordable, but highly energy efficient as well. Blokable’s vertically integrated development business model consolidates design, planning, permitting, off-site manufacturing, delivery, site preparation, and ongoing maintenance into one transparent and easily managed service that creates equity for investors, land partners, and communities.
Blokable will leverage its IN² program participation to develop testing procedures to validate the energy performance of its pre-fabricated buildings during the manufacturing process, ensuring the company’s compliance with federal, state, and local energy mandates. The Blokable Building System allows standardized manufacturing while creating endless site variation. Combining physical standardization with a vertically integrated business model, Blokable drastically reduces the cost, time, and material waste of developing real estate while delivering a higher-quality, highly energy efficient product that lowers long-term operating and maintenance costs.
Since 2014, IN² has helped 30 startups develop and prove the viability of early-stage energy efficiency technologies by leveraging the unique capabilities, expertise and facilities of Wells Fargo, NREL and other IN² partners. In 2018, the incubator expanded into the food-energy-water nexus by selecting a cohort of agtech companies, and is now extending its scope further in order to advance cleantech innovations that will make residential housing more affordable.
“The future of housing is affordable and energy efficient. Blokable is delighted to be selected for the IN² program and to have this unique opportunity to quantify the material and energy waste reduction our building process is bringing to housing creation,” said Aaron Holm, Co-CEO of Blokable. “As we’ve expanded up and down the West Coast, we’ve partnered with builders, investors, and government, all of whom recognize the need to reduce the lifetime emissions and carbon footprint of new housing development. Working with the team at NREL, we have the opportunity to establish the standard for energy efficient housing creation, and to share with the rest of the industry as we make the transition to a low-carbon future.”
The sixth IN² cohort includes companies with expertise in advanced manufacturing and construction, materials, community and district-level technologies and design tools, and energy efficiency technologies.
“The companies in our latest IN² cohort show incredible promise in the affordable housing and energy efficient commercial building technology sectors,” said Ramsay Huntley, Clean Technology and Innovation Philanthropy program officer for Wells Fargo. “We are helping these start-ups overcome challenges for getting to market because when you look at the results of energy efficiency—improved health, increased productivity, cleaner communities—the benefits and return on investment are clear.”
Trish Cozart, IN² program manager at NREL said, “Wells Fargo’s affordable housing initiative aligns nicely with the IN² mission and NREL’s expertise in construction innovation and energy efficiency. With this cohort, we are taking IN²’s five-year legacy of fostering cleantech innovations that improve commercial building energy efficiency and translating that to the residential space.”
About Blokable
Founded by real estate and technology industry veterans, Blokable is a self-performing developer that expands prosperity and equity in communities by building high-quality, low-cost, connected housing at scale. Blokable offers the world’s first vertically integrated development platform—from design, planning, financing, and permitting, to almost-complete manufacturing, delivery, on-site construction, and ongoing operational support. For land owners and investors, nonprofit housing service providers, and municipalities, Blokable offers a turnkey alternative to the costly and inefficient traditional development process. By turning development into a transparent, precise, and easily managed service, Blokable disrupts housing creation models that maximize industry profits at the expense of communities. Blokable’s one-stop solution de-risks and accelerates the creation of affordable and energy efficient housing where it is needed most, while giving its partners certainty on cost, product, and quality from day one.
Find out more at www.blokable.com. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
About the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²)
The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²) is a $30 million technology incubator and platform funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation. Co-administered by and housed at the U.S Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, IN²’s mission is to speed the path to market for early-stage, clean-technology entrepreneurs. Launched in 2014 with an initial focus on supporting scalable solutions to reduce the energy impact of commercial buildings, IN² has since expanded its focus to advance technologies that address the sustainable production of agriculture and affordable housing. Companies selected for participation in the program receive up to $250,000 in non-dilutive funding from Wells Fargo, technical support and validation from experts at NREL and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and ongoing connections to organizations across value chains. For more information, visit in2ecosystem.com.
