What I Learned At ARPA-E

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For cleantech companies navigating everything from early-stage funding to policy hurdles, it’s tempting to think that visibility online can take a back seat to more “serious” priorities. But here’s a truth you can’t ignore: over 80% of all search traffic still goes through Google. If you’re building a cleantech company and you aren’t thinking about how Google fits into your strategy—from search to visibility to partnerships—you’re leaving opportunity on the table. In fact, Google isn’t just a gatekeeper of web traffic. It’s an investor, a technology enabler, a storytelling platform, and a backer of the climate tech ecosystem. Let’s break down the ways Google matters—and how cleantech companies can take advantage. 1. Google Search Is Still the Front Door Whether an investor hears about you at a pitch event or a policymaker sees you mentioned in a report, they’re likely to do the same thing next: Google you. Google remains the dominant search engine, with over 80% market share globally. If you don’t show up in relevant search results—if your company doesn’t have visibility for your category, your solution, or even your founder’s name—you’re adding friction to every interaction. Your website, media coverage, case studies, and content marketing need to be discoverable. And that means building with Google in mind, whether it’s through SEO, structured data, or simply updating your Google Business profile. 2. Google Is Actively Investing in Clean Energy Infrastructure Google isn’t just helping others go green—it’s putting billions into building data centers that co-locate with renewable energy projects. According to Canary Media, Google is developing industrial campuses powered by clean energy and backed by $20 billion in investment by 2030 . These campuses will pair hyperscale data infrastructure with utility-scale renewables—effectively baking cleantech into the future of digital services. For startups focused on grid stability, storage, or renewable generation, this means a huge potential partner—not just in mission, but in infrastructure. If you’ve got a scalable clean energy solution, Google might be your next biggest customer. 3. Google for Startups Accelerator: Climate Change If you’re an early-stage cleantech company, Google offers more than visibility—it offers hands-on help. Their Startups Accelerator : Climate Change program pairs selected startups with technical and business mentors from across Google to tackle their biggest obstacles. What’s unique is the program’s flexibility. Founders aren’t required to use Google Cloud, and there’s no financial investment or equity exchange. Instead, companies gain access to product teams, UX experts, and cloud infrastructure support. In a space where capital is hard to come by and technical support is scarce, that’s a big deal. 4. Google Is Building the Cleantech Ecosystem Through initiatives like Startups for Sustainable Development, Google is actively partnering with founders who are working on impact-focused solutions. This includes clean energy, food systems, circular economy models, and water conservation. These programs offer more than mentorship—they also include access to funding opportunities, product teams, and global exposure. It’s not just about visibility. It’s about alignment. Google wants to see companies succeed that can help accelerate sustainability goals at a global scale—and they’re putting their weight behind it. 5. Sustainability Is Core to Google’s Own Mission Google isn’t new to this space. Its own climate commitments include achieving net-zero emissions across its operations and value chain by 2030 . It also aims to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy in every grid where it operates. That kind of commitment has ripple effects. If your solution helps achieve decarbonization in buildings, energy, or supply chains, you’re aligned with one of the largest and most influential companies on Earth. So What Should Cleantech Companies Do With Google? Here’s how to think about Google—beyond just search: • Optimize for visibility: Your SEO, content, and press strategy should help you show up where it matters. • Engage in ecosystem programs: Apply to accelerators like Google for Startups: Climate Change. • Monitor Google’s clean energy strategy: Their infrastructure decisions may create new markets for your technology. • Collaborate on data and AI: As Google builds AI tools to support sustainability, companies solving climate problems with data have new ways to plug in. • Think like a storyteller: Google platforms like YouTube are still the dominant spaces for video storytelling. If you’re not using them, your competitors probably are. Final Thought: Google Isn’t Just a Platform, It’s a Partner For cleantech companies, Google isn’t just the search engine where people find you. It’s the investor, partner, and amplifier that can put your work in front of the right audience—and plug you into the global effort to decarbonize. So yes—Google matters. In fact, it might matter more than most cleantech founders realize. Because if your goal is to change the world, it helps to show up where the world is looking.

Is There Any Oxygen For America’s Hydrogen Industry? The saying, “As goes California, so goes the nation,” is an apt description of our nation’s hydrogen future. Listening to the leaders, legislators, regulators, utilities, car and truck manufacturers and project developers doing the spade work for the industry over the last two days at the California Hydrogen Leadership Summit in Sacramento, there was a mix of hope and hype amidst the unstable air turbulence created by the administration in Washington, DC. Chicken And The Egg Hydrogen’s paradox is that consumers and shipping companies aren’t buying hydrogen-powered cars and trucks because the infrastructure doesn’t exist yet to support them, and projects to create infrastructure and fueling aren’t getting funded because few people are buying hydrogen-powered vehicles. This is why the industry is so nervous about Congress repealing the Inflation Reduction Act’s 45V tax credits. Like with electric vehicles and solar panels, only the government is large enough to create an industry with societal benefits. No hedge fund or cluster of venture capital firms is large enough to fill this gap, and tax credits under 45V signal to private investors that investing in hydrogen carries less risk. The counterargument is that these nascent industries should be able to stand on their own without government support, which conveniently ignores that the government funds the roads we drive on, the internet was created by the Department of Defense during the Vietnam War, and the oil industry still benefits from a 25% production tax credit that Congress passed in 1916, which is one of the reasons gas doesn’t cost $8/gallon. I don’t think any of those arguments hold sway with an administration that seems hellbent on reclaiming a revisionist history of a glorious 20th-century energy past. There was a general resignation that hydrogen development tax credits will be on hold for at least the next four years. The project developers I spoke with were universally more optimistic about the ability to prove their technology concepts in Europe, where there’s a greater appetite for cleaner fuels. Those Swinging For The Fences Are Striking Out Fifteen years ago, there was tremendous hype around converting algae into a negative carbon-emitting transportation fuel. Oil majors invested millions into research, and while some of that was PR window dressing, there were high hopes that within a decade, hundreds of millions of gallons of algae fuel would replace fossil-based gas and diesel. The dream never panned out, and today, algae’s best use cases--wastewater treatment and cosmetics—— are far less grandiose. I mention this because some of the conference attendees shared the overexuberant belief that a full-on hydrogen-fueled economy was just around the corner, even though there’s no large-scale pipeline distribution system in the United States and very few fueling stations (and little to no federal money to support either). The most promising projects were much smaller in scale. HyWatts, for instance, demonstrated a small hydrogen system that could be used as a backup energy source for industries that need 24/7 uptime, like data centers that are currently reliant on diesel generators in emergencies.

There’s a gloom hanging over the community of people working tirelessly for a more habitable planet right now. Clean energy loans are being suspended or terminated. High interest rates and political uncertainty are keeping cleantech investor wallets shut. University research grants are being defunded. And yet—on World Environment Day—we’re reminded why your work matters more than ever. I’ve got news for you: it’s not the first time the cleantech landscape has looked like a Mad Max movie, and it won’t be the last. When the housing market crashed the U.S. economy in 2007-2008, private cleantech funding tumbled too. After Fox News turned solar startup Solyndra into a dirty word in 2010, politicians ran for cover. Since then, trillions of public and private dollars have been invested in technologies to clean up our planet, and more will be forthcoming because the only thing sure about markets and elections is that they will ebb and flow. What’s steadfast, though, is your commitment to a mission to leave behind a healthier planet than the one you inherited. That’s what World Environment Day is all about—remembering that this mission transcends politics, funding cycles, and quarterly reports

If you’re building a cleantech company, you might think your most important job is to perfect your technology. But if you want to attract investors, customers, and partners, there’s something just as crucial: your story. Stories are how humans make sense of the world, and your brand’s story needs structure. It needs a story arc. Without it, your marketing will feel random, disconnected, and forgettable. With it, you can guide your audience on an emotional journey that makes them believe not just in your product but also in your mission. Here’s why understanding the story arc—and particularly, the Hero’s Journey—is critical for any cleantech company trying to stand out. What Is a Story Arc? A story arc, sometimes called a narrative arc, is the blueprint that structures a story from beginning to end. The classic arc has five main parts: 1. Exposition – Introduce the setting, characters, and conflict. 2. Rising Action – Build tension as obstacles emerge. 3. Climax – Reach the most intense point of the conflict. 4. Falling Action – Begin to resolve the conflict. 5. Resolution – End the story with clear outcomes. This structure is fundamental because it mirrors how humans experience challenges in real life, making your story relatable and engaging. The Hero’s Journey: A Timeless Framework Perhaps the most famous story arc is The Hero’s Journey, outlined by Joseph Campbell. Across mythology, literature, and cinema, stories follow a familiar path: • A hero ventures into the unknown. • They face trials and temptations. • They receive help, suffer setbacks, and ultimately transform. • They return, changed, and capable of improving their world. The Hero’s Journey taps into universal human emotions—hope, fear, perseverance—which is why it remains so powerful across cultures. For cleantech companies, you are not the hero—your customer is. Your technology is the tool that helps them overcome a pressing problem, whether it’s reducing emissions, saving energy, or improving resilience. Why Story Arcs Matter in Cleantech Marketing The technical complexity of cleantech solutions can create a communication barrier. Engineers want to explain how their technology works. But customers and investors care about what your technology helps them achieve. As Techtarget notes in their marketing analysis, using a story arc helps you build a cohesive narrative that resonates emotionally rather than just logically. • Instead of “We developed a 98% efficient thermal battery”, • Tell a story: “For communities struggling with unreliable energy access, we offer a solution that stores renewable power through the night—so children can study after sunset and hospitals can operate without interruption.” Your technology becomes the sword the hero (your customer) uses to win the battle. Emotional Engagement Is Essential Data alone won’t win hearts or wallets. A good story moves people. The Courtside Group emphasizes that emotionally engaging narratives help audiences see themselves in the journey you’re describing. When your audience feels something—whether it's hope, urgency, or excitement—they are far more likely to act: invest, purchase, share, or champion your cause. How to Use the Story Arc for Your Cleantech Brand Here’s a simple framework to incorporate the Hero’s Journey into your cleantech marketing: • Exposition: Your target audience’s big challenge (e.g., increased costs, government regulation, pollution control, water quality standards, environmental toxins harmful to human health, etc.) • Rising Action: Highlight the obstacles (cost, old infrastructure, policy gaps, bad PR, supply chain problems, outdated data, foreign competition, etc.). • Climax: Introduce your customer’s moment of decision—they must change or suffer the consequences. • Falling Action: Show how your solution helps them overcome barriers. • Resolution: Paint a vision of the better world they create by adopting your technology. When you align your brand with your customer's quest for a better future, you transform your pitch from a technical explanation into an irresistible story of progress and possibility. Final Thoughts In a crowded cleantech marketplace, it’s not enough to have great science—you need a great story. Understanding the story arc, and framing your customer as the hero of their journey, helps your audience see that your innovation is not just another piece of technology, but the key to solving the problems they care most about. Because at the end of the day, people don’t remember specs. They remember the story you told—and how it made them feel.

If you’re a cleantech founder or engineer preparing to pitch, there’s a good chance your deck is heavy on data, dense on technical detail—and light on story. You’re not alone. Most startups in this space are led by deeply technical teams who are passionate about what’s inside the black box. But here’s the truth: investors and customers don’t buy the inner workings of your technology—they buy the problem you solve. And if your pitch leads with specs instead of stakes, you risk losing your audience before you ever get to the impact. So how do you know if your cleantech pitch is too left-brained? And what should you be saying instead? Left-Brained Thinking Loves the Build. Right-Brained Thinking Sells the Story. As a founder or engineer, you’re conditioned to describe how your innovation works—novel chemistry, improved efficiencies, optimized designs. But the person across the table? They want to know why it matters. Startups often bury the lead by focusing on technical features rather than clearly articulating the problem they solve. That’s a critical mistake. Your audience isn’t sold on performance—they’re sold on purpose. Start With the Problem, Not the Process Investor and cleantech pitch expert Jonathan Tudor advises founders to lead with the pain point. What’s broken? What’s at stake if it doesn’t get fixed? Why now? In his article Pitching Tips from an Expert Clean Tech Investor , Tudor reminds us that “investors are bombarded with technologies—what stands out is a clear, urgent problem that your solution addresses.” That means your first few slides shouldn’t explain what your company is, but what the world looks like without it. If your company builds low-temperature geothermal systems for commercial real estate, don’t start with the heat pump specs. Start with this: “70% of commercial HVAC systems are outdated, leaky, and inefficient, costing the average building owner $1.3 million annually. In California alone, that wasted energy increases CO2 emissions by 7%.” That’s a pitch anyone—investor or customer—can understand and care about. Good Pitch Decks Tell a Clear, Human Story Your pitch isn’t just a technical briefing. It’s a narrative with a protagonist (your customer), a problem (the inefficiency, cost, or climate threat), and a solution (your technology). In Building a Cleantech Pitch Deck , experts recommend spending the first third of your deck on the problem and why it matters. That’s the emotional hook. That’s what opens wallets. A compelling story doesn’t just say “we have a 20% efficiency gain.” It says: “Utility-scale solar developers lose millions annually to storage bottlenecks. We’re helping them recover that revenue.” It’s not about simplifying your science—it’s about contextualizing it for people who don’t live in your lab. Investors Invest in People—Not Just Products In How to Approach Pitching to Climate-Tech Investors , the message is clear: investors aren’t just betting on your tech—they’re betting on you. Your story, your motivation, and your ability to understand the customer’s world matter more than your patent count. Share why you are tackling this specific problem. What did you see that others missed? What drew you to this work? That emotional clarity is what will differentiate you from other technically competent teams. How to Rebalance Your Pitch If your current pitch is feeling too analytical, here’s how to bring balance: • Start with a strong problem statement. Focus on what’s broken, not what you’ve built. • Use plain language. Avoid acronyms, chemistry terms, and excessive metrics in the first five minutes. • Explain impact in the real world. Who wins if you succeed? Who loses if you don’t? • Tell your “why.” Share your motivation, not just your method. • Save the deep tech for later. Technical validation can come in due diligence or appendix slides—not the opening. Final Thought: The Best Pitch Speaks Both Languages No one is asking you to dumb down your innovation. What we’re asking—and what investors want—is to lead with clarity, context, and consequence. Once people understand the problem and buy into your story, then they’ll care about how your technology works. So before your next pitch, ask yourself: “Am I describing a product… or am I solving a problem?” Because when you show your audience that you understand their world, they’ll be more eager to fund what you’ve built in yours.

Building an effective sales funnel is essential for cleantech companies looking to attract investors and customers. Unlike traditional consumer products, cleantech solutions take longer to scale and bring to market, requiring a sales funnel that prioritizes long-term relationships over quick conversions. For investors, the goal is to build trust and demonstrate a compelling growth trajectory. For customers, it's about education, engagement, and positioning your company as a go-to solution. A well-structured sales funnel ensures that both groups stay informed, engaged, and motivated to take action at the right time. Below, we’ll explore how to structure a sales funnel tailored to cleantech businesses using best practices and insights from industry experts. Understanding the Sales Funnel A sales funnel is the structured path prospects take from initial awareness to commitment—an investment, a contract, or a product purchase. According to Salesforce , an effective funnel moves leads through four key stages: 1. Awareness – Introduce your company and its value. 2. Interest – Engage with prospects through personalized content. 3. Decision – Provide compelling reasons to invest or buy. 4. Action – Seal the deal through direct outreach or offers. The funnel must focus on relationship-building for cleantech companies, as investors and customers often need extensive time to evaluate and commit. Step 1: Get on Their Radar Before you can nurture leads, you need to capture attention. Cleantech companies should create high-value content that attracts both investors and customers. Video is eye candy, but not everything should be a song and dance number suitable for TikTok. And today, it’s perfectly acceptable not to have high production values as long as your viewers can understand you. If you want to dig into the power of video in our decision-making, there's no end to neuroscience studies on the subject. There are a myriad of other ways to drive interest. For instance, graphics and images can be as powerful as video. The key is making it interesting, informative (and dare I say) entertaining for your audience because that’s how you get them to follow you on social media or visit your website, where they can share their email address. Early-stage cleantech companies often forget that the most crucial goal of a website is getting the viewer to take action. When CEOs ask me how to tell whether they have a good website, my response is usually, “How many leads did it generate?” Don’t get me wrong, copy, design, and user experience are near the top of the list of ‘must haves’ when a cleantech company hires a firm to build a website, but if the viewer scrolls your homepage and then leaves, it’s a wasted opportunity. Getting on an investor's or potential customer's radar is only the beginning. Staying on it is more difficult in a media-saturated world. The term "content marketing" gets waved around like a magician's wand, but the trick is repeatability. You can pull a rabbit out of a hat, but no one will pay to watch the same trick twice. That's why cleantech companies must find creative ways to capture eyeballs continually. One video or picture from a conference is equivalent to casting one fishing line in the ocean. You might catch a fish, but you increase your chances exponentially when you cast hundreds of digital lines in the infinity of the internet. Pro tip: Rather than just sending updates about your company, position yourself as a thought leader by providing industry insights and market trends. Step 2: Engage and Build Credibility Once prospects are aware of your company, engaging them in meaningful ways is the next step. Philip VanDusen emphasizes the importance of relationship-building through consistent, value-driven engagement. • Get their opinions and insights with surveys – Investors and customers want to be heard. Regular surveys can provide insights while making prospects feel involved in your journey. • Schedule insider briefings with key stakeholders to provide tailored updates and answer questions directly instead of large, impersonal webinars. • Celebrate their successes – Investors and customers want to be aligned with successful ventures. Highlight their achievements in newsletters, blogs, and social media. As the saying goes, "Kindness costs nothing." Investing in your company is more than a transaction; it's a partnership. The same applies to your first customers taking a chance on your technology. Make your audience feel like you care about them. Cleantech companies are mission-driven, not technology-driven. That means you need buy-in from your audience. They have to want you to succeed, and that transcends widgets. Step 3: Content Is More Than Information One of the biggest mistakes cleantech companies make is relying on reciting facts, events, and awards to engage prospects. While credibility is essential, investors and customers need compelling stories, not just technical specs. According to Harel Asaf , content must: • Highlight real-world impact – Investors and customers want tangible results, not just theoretical benefits. Case studies, testimonials, and real-world data make a stronger case. • Use compelling visuals – Well-designed infographics, videos, and interactive tools can explain complex concepts more effectively than text-heavy reports. • Create curiosity – Instead of overwhelming prospects with information, give them just enough to want more, leading them deeper into your funnel. Step 4: Guide Prospects Toward Action Think of your content as a funnel, and that funnel should naturally lead investors and customers toward making a decision. Your audience's first decisions should have a low barrier to entry. Asking for their email address is ideal because it gets them on the road to saying "Yes" to bigger asks down the road, and it gives you control over what types of content they will see and when they will see it, unlike social media algorithms that can be capricious and parsimonious. Every piece of content, whether a Substack article or social media post, should have a call to action. Typically, this will lead to a landing page where you can capture email addresses. Your CTA should match the level of trust and commitment already established in earlier stages. When asking for an email address, provide something of value in exchange. For investors, offer them a glimpse into your technology behind a hidden online wall: a downloadable PDF or a short explainer video. You can even let them schedule a one-on-one Zoom meeting. Prominently display a call to action on the homepage of your website, and by prominently, I don't mean at the bottom of the page. We read in a "Z" pattern, so make sure your invitation is on the top horizontal line. If you give away a free report, course, or ebook, send the viewer to a landing page rather than having pop-up offers interrupt their experience. Repeated pop-up invitations on websites are cringy, slow down your website's load time, and annoy viewers, so use them sparingly. Sometimes, you need to reach out to your audience personally and ask if you can add them to your email list, which shows respect for their time and is an early indicator of whether they might turn into an investor or customer. Additionally, subscribe to newsletters from potential investors and customers to stay informed on their needs and interests, allowing for strategic, timely follow-ups and deeper relationship-building. Final Thoughts Building a cleantech sales funnel requires time, strategy, and consistent relationship-building. Unlike traditional sales funnels, cleantech companies must focus on educating, engaging, and maintaining long-term trust with investors and customers. By structuring your funnel with high-value content, personalized engagement, and compelling storytelling, you can guide prospects from awareness to action.

Hardtech—the world of atoms, not just bits—is what makes electrified transportation move, buildings stand stronger, and grids stay stable. But getting it to market? That’s another story. While software startups can pivot quickly, scale cheaply, and often launch in a matter of weeks, hardtech development takes years, large teams of experts, and enormous financial backing. The journey is high-stakes, capital intensive, and incredibly fragile. Still, for innovators solving climate, infrastructure, or energy problems, hardtech is where the biggest impacts happen. If you’re building something tangible—like energy storage systems, robotics, advanced materials, or next-gen fusion reactors—here’s why the road to commercialization is so challenging… and what you can do to improve your odds. Why It’s So Difficult Research Takes Years—Not Months Unlike consumer apps or SaaS tools, hardtech products often involve years of laboratory R&D, field testing, and engineering design before they’re even close to deployment. According to mHUB Chicago, these companies face long cycles due to risks that fall into three main buckets: technical, market, and financial. The Failure Rate Is Brutal Most people don’t realize that more than 90% of hardtech concepts fail before reaching commercialization . As noted by Forbes, many promising ideas never make it past prototyping due to scalability issues, lack of infrastructure, or cost barriers (https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2025/02/18/scaling-hard-tech-bridging-the-gap-between-ideas-and-impact/?utm_source=chatgpt.com). The Price Tag Can Hit Nine Figures Hardware is expensive. There are no shortcuts around custom tooling, materials, compliance testing, and production runs . According to Cycle Momentum, raising capital for climate-related hardtech can require multiple rounds and funding in the tens—or even hundreds—of millions. Specialized Talent Is Non-Negotiable These aren’t solo-founder garage projects. Bringing hardtech to life takes physicists, engineers, materials scientists, regulatory consultants, and manufacturing experts. And they don’t come cheap. Recruiting and retaining this kind of talent can delay development and increase burn rate. Not Everyone Wants In Hardtech is not for the faint of heart—or the purely profit-motivated. As Peaka highlights , many investors shy away due to long timelines and high risk . There has to be an element of altruism involved—especially in climate and infrastructure innovation. The Political Wind Is Shifting In the U.S., public funding for climate and infrastructure may shrink under a less supportive administration. Many hardtech ventures rely on federal grants from ARPA-E, the Department of Energy, and the NSF. If that well dries up, entrepreneurs must get even more strategic about where and how they raise funds. How to Improve Your Odds Despite the challenges, hardtech startups can succeed—if they build with strategy, humility, and patience. Here’s how to tilt the odds in your favor: Integrate, Don’t Reinvent Your technology should fit into existing supply chains and production methods whenever possible. Companies that require entire ecosystems to shift just to make their product work are asking for too much change too soon. Define a Clear Value Proposition Make it obvious who benefits and why you’re the only one who can solve their problem. “We reduce substation congestion in heatwaves by 38%” is an example of a benefit, but it’s not a market position because in our world of rapid technology improvements, 38% could be eclipsed by next year. A real value proposition transcends time. Go Beyond “Better, Faster, Cheaper” You must differentiate in a way that resonates with your customers and investors. Everyone is going to say their technology is a ‘game changer’ because it’s better, faster, or cheaper than the current incumbent. Solving a specific, mission-critical problem with a solution that can’t be duplicated is the key to longevity. Seek Third-Party Validation Back up your claims with support from experienced technical institutions. A stamp of approval—or even a grant—from the NSF, DOE, ARPA-E, or a national lab adds immediate credibility. They have the scientists and engineers to vet what’s real and what’s vaporware. Don’t Pretend You’ll Be Profitable in 24 Months Investors don’t expect you to scale overnight—but they do expect a realistic, capital-efficient roadmap. Show your understanding of scale-up timelines, manufacturing costs, and customer adoption cycles. Relationships Matter More Than Revenue (At First) The best founders don’t just pitch—they build relationships. Meet with stakeholders early and often. Share updates. Ask questions. Use surveys, briefings, and conversations—not just webinars and press releases. Celebrate their wins, highlight shared values, and keep them looped into your progress. Hardtech commercialization isn’t transactional—it’s collaborative. Final Thoughts Hardtech is hard—for good reason. It’s slow, risky, and wildly expensive. But it’s also the engine behind the world’s most important innovations—from grid resilience to carbon-free aviation. Success isn’t about brute-forcing your way to market. It’s about thoughtful integration, strategic fundraising, and consistent relationship building. With a clear plan, a defensible value proposition, and a little help from your friends in science, your hardtech startup can not only survive—it can lead. Because in the world of hardtech, vision alone isn’t enough—but vision backed by validation, value, and relationships? That’s the foundation for real impact.