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Fostering the New Green Economy

August 16, 2011 at 1:20 PM ET by Fred Walti
Summary: 
Los Angeles is committed to leading the charge toward a new green economy, and it is our mission to support that growth and be a central resource for the cleantech sector. LA is currently the largest market for electric vehicles and solar installations. Moreover, with state and city policies supporting this transformation, Los Angeles will create thousands of local family-supporting jobs in green sectors in the years to come.

Editor's Note: This post introduces readers to Fred Walti, Chief Executive Officer of the new Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI). White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley visited LACI prior to its official opening.

LACI

Chair Sutley visits the new Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator that is being launched to accelerate the development of innovative clean technologies in Los Angeles. Chair Sutley and to her left, Fred Walti, Executive Director of LACI, are joined by representatives from UCLA, Community Redevelopment Agency/Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, Senator Feinstein's office, Senator Boxer's office, and JPL.

White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley visited Los Angeles to discuss the Obama Administration's commitment to harnessing clean energy opportunities to create American jobs on Friday, July 22. She met with business leaders, city officials and top educators from UCLA and other institutions and toured the new LA Cleantech Incubator (LACI), at the future site of LA Cleantech Corridor. Los Angeles is committed to leading the charge toward a new green economy, and it is LACI's mission to support that growth and be a central resource for the cleantech sector. It was a great opportunity to connect with an Administration official and to hear how President Obama’s initiatives, along with our work here in LA, will create thousands of local family-supporting jobs in green sectors in the years to come.

Years in the making, Los Angeles launched its new cleantech business incubator to accelerate development of startups focused on sustainable solutions that can create both efficient clean technologies and green jobs. The incubator offers flexible ready-to-go office space, lab facilities, and a supportive environment where startup teams can share ideas with other entrepreneurs and fuel innovation. LACI also gives each startup the chance to work with a dedicated mentor, as well as access to a growing network of cleantech and business experts and introductions to prospective investors. LACI is the business equivalent of baseball's farm system: identifying local talent, nurturing it, and preparing the best prospects to perform on a global stage, resulting in more jobs and a bigger green economy in Los Angeles and beyond.

LACI currently has partnerships with UCLA, USC, Caltech and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and will help accelerate the commercialization of their clean technologies in addition to championing and nurturing the growth of local entrepreneurs. Currently the largest market for electric vehicles and solar installations, Los Angeles is a great place for cleantech companies to make their homebase.

LACI 2

Chair Sutley and Fred Walti stand in LACI's permanent location, under construction now. The 25,000 square foot La Kretz Innovation Campus is located at the heart of Los Angeles's Cleantech Corridor.

LACI offers its portfolio companies three game-changing services: (1) Fully built-out, furnished, and equipped office/lab space at flexible terms; (2) CEO coaching and mentoring from highly accomplished, senior advisors who have created and managed highly successful companies; (3) Access to our large and growing network of potential customers, industry experts, investors, and public leaders.

Statement of Support from Alexandra Paxton, Project Manager, Downtown Region, Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles:

It was very gratifying to hear from Chair Nancy Sutley firsthand about President Obama’s initiatives to foster innovation for the clean energy economy of the future. As a redevelopment agency, our vision is that the young companies fostered here will move into the surrounding industrial area, revitalizing the district as a place to live, work, innovate, and manufacture. In this way, partnering with education and workforce development, we will be able to build opportunities and jobs for the people who live in our communities, as well as solve our environmental problems. Ambitious? Yes. Achievable? Absolutely!

To find out more about the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, please visit http://www.laincubator.org/.

Fred Walti is Chief Executive Officer of the new Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)