REP. JIMMY GOMEZ PRESENTS $1 MILLION CHECK TO LACI FOR NEW EV CHARGING, MICROGRID, & OTHER UPDATES TO LA KRETZ INNOVATION CAMPUS TO BETTER SUPPORT STARTUP INCUBATION, WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS

Built and Owned by LADWP and City of Los Angeles, LACI Serves as Steward of the Award-winning Campus; Each Year, LACI Trains Hundreds of Green Workforce Development Participants and Incubates Dozens of Cleanech Startup Founders on Campus

Los Angeles, May 30, 2024 – Today, the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) welcomed U.S. Representative Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) to celebrate $1 million in federal Community Project Funding that Rep. Gomez secured for upgrades to LACI’s home at Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s (LADWP) La Kretz Innovation Campus (LKIC). The funding will allow LACI to update campus technologies including: installing the latest EV charging solutions (e.g., bi-directional charging, battery-integrated charging, etc) for use by campus members and training on EVSE maintenance; updating the campus microgrid to integrate with the building for operational and educational purposes; piloting LACI-incubated startup innovations; and deploy other technology solutions in the Advanced Prototyping Center and other parts of the facility to better support training, events, educational tours, and other campus needs.

During a check presentation and press conference at the campus, Rep. Gomez, along with Nancy Sutley, LA Deputy Mayor of Energy and Sustainability, Aaron Gross, acting Chief Sustainability Officer for LADWP, and LACI leaders outlined the important role the campus plays in building an inclusive green economy for Los Angeles and beyond.

“Los Angeles has long been known as an American innovation hub and an emerging leader in technology and clean energy—and I am proud to have secured $1 million in federal funding to keep building on that success with LACI,” said Rep. Gomez. “These funds toward the La Kretz Innovation Campus will enable LACI to continue fostering innovation, supporting small businesses and creating green jobs. This federal investment underscores the importance of public-private partnerships in building a more sustainable world and a stronger community.” “LADWP’s La Kretz Innovation Campus is the epicenter of our regions’ cleantech efforts and is a beacon of economic development, technology development and workforce development,” said Aaron Gross, Acting Chief Sustainability Officer at LADWP.  “Partnership and support, like this contribution secured by one of our champions, Congressman Jimmy Gomez, will ensure that this Campus continues to be state-of-the-art and will continue to produce the ideas, technologies and workforce for a more sustainable City and region.” “Thank you to Congressman Gomez for securing this critical funding to ensure our home at the La Kretz Innovation Campus has the latest clean energy and EV charging innovations while remaining a world class and state-of-the-art facility,” said Matt Petersen, LACI President and CEO. “As a result, LACI can better support our hundreds of workforce training participants and dozens of cleantech entrepreneurs we support each year, while ensuring the campus continues to serve as the epicenter for equitable climate innovation in Los Angeles for many years to come.” 

“LACI and the world class La Kretz Innovation Campus have helped make Los Angeles a global leader in cleantech innovation and green economic development,” said Mike Swords, LACI Vice President of Government Relations. “LACI has supported over 400 clean tech startups and attracted tens of millions of dollars that would not have otherwise come to Los Angeles. Upgrading the La Kretz Innovation Campus is critical for LACI to be able to continue to grow and achieve our long term goals for creating an inclusive and equitable green economy here in the LA region.”

Owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the La Kretz Innovation Campus is a space where science, entrepreneurship, environmentalism, and policymaking merge to advance the development of a sustainable future that includes clean and abundant water supplies, and a commitment to 100% renewable energy. It is also a showcase for labs, working exhibits, and educational opportunities for customers, students, and visitors alike, offering ways to save money, conserve water and electricity, and learn valuable information on rebates available to all LADWP customers.

In addition to the check presentation and remarks from key leaders, graduates from LACI’s leading workforce training and startup programs also took the stage to speak about their experiences made possible through LACI and under the La Kretz Innovation Campus roof. 

“By building my company under the LKIC roof and being part of the LACI incubation program, we have been able to gain competitive advantage by de-risking and developing our technology in a fraction of the time,” said Camilo Giraldo, founder of TAINR. “This has allowed us to secure our patents, validate our product market potential, and deploy a paid pilot with one of the largest retailers in the U.S., demonstrating that a circular economy model could be implemented with tech enabled sustainable solutions like TAINR.”

One LACI graduate, Christopher Kalaw, completed the Project Management in Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Training Course alongside his mother. Both are now pursuing exciting professional opportunities in the green economy. 

“I have applied project management practices I’ve learned at LACI in my current role as the Sustainability Assistant at the LA Memorial Coliseum,” said Christopher Kalaw, LACI workforce graduate. “I have also used the career development advice to further progress my professional abilities in the sustainability industry. What’s great about the program was that it gave both my mother and myself the opportunity to learn about pertinent topics in the clean tech industry without going through a traditional four year university course of study.”

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ABOUT LACI: The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is creating an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation through scaling cleantech startups through comprehensive incubation programs and pilots, transforming markets through catalytic partnerships with policymakers, innovators, and market leaders in transportation, energy, and sustainable cities (e.g., Transportation Electrification Partnership, Clean Energy Partnership), and enhancing communities through green jobs workforce training, pilots and other programs. Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Water & Power (LADWP) in 2011, LACI is recognized as one of the top 10 innovative business incubators in the world by UBI. LACI has helped 375 portfolio companies raise over $1 billion in funding, generated $335 million in revenue, and created 2,626 jobs throughout the Los Angeles region, with a long term economic impact of more than $587 million.