{"id":135100,"date":"2026-03-25T18:02:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T21:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/901726922"},"modified":"2026-03-25T18:02:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T21:02:20","slug":"why-mass-is-betting-on-a-boom-in-climate-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/25\/why-mass-is-betting-on-a-boom-in-climate-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Mass. is betting on a boom in climate tech"},"content":{"rendered":"

If climate tech has a mothership in Massachusetts, it\u2019s Greentown Labs<\/a> in Somerville.<\/p>\n

More than 100 entrepreneurs crowded the hallways at the tech incubator\u2019s yearly summit last fall. The event is like a high school science fair, but with higher stakes: Each inventor at Greentown is trying to solve a sticky climate problem and also launch a business.<\/p>\n

Climate tech is a broad field, covering inventions that make clean energy, store energy, cut fossil fuel use, decrease pollution, and protect people and property from the effects of climate change.<\/p>\n

\"An
An entrepreneur displays plastic made from potatoes at Greentown Labs Climatetech Summit 2025. (Jesse Costa\/WBUR)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The summit captured the industry’s breadth. One inventor displayed an electric personal watercraft<\/a> (think Jet Ski). Another touted biodegradable plastic made from potatoes<\/a>. There was a portable machine that sorts recycling from trash<\/a>, paint that prevents mold<\/a> and many different styles of batteries.<\/p>\n

Kate Suslovic stood behind a table for Raptor Maps<\/a>, a company that uses drones to inspect solar farms. The Trump administration has rolled back support for renewable energy, and Suslovic said it can be a rough time to work in the field. But she said the camaraderie at Greentown Labs helps.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you come to Greentown every day and you see how many cool, badass people are trying to make the world a better place, that’s how you keep going,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Places like Greentown Labs have made Massachusetts a hotspot for climate tech. The state offers other advantages, too, like grant programs and tax incentives<\/a>, support from quasi-governmental agencies like the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center<\/a>, <\/del>workers with advanced manufacturing skills, plenty of venture capital and world-class research universities.<\/p>\n

\"Non-recyclable
Non-recyclable materials fall into a trash from a conveyor belt can after sorting through mixed waste by the rStream Smart Sorter. (Jesse Costa\/WBUR)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gov. Maura Healey has said all this could add up to a thriving new tech sector and a boost for the state’s economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernor Healey has an objective to make Massachusetts the climate tech hub for the world,\u201d said Jennifer Le Blond, interim CEO at MassCEC, the state economic development agency that supports climate tech startups. \u201cIt’s a huge economic opportunity, just like the life sciences sector was for Massachusetts.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2024, Healey signed the Mass Leads Act<\/a>, which invested $1 billion in grants, tax incentives and initiatives to support climate tech companies over the next decade. Last year, MassCEC produced a 10-year plan<\/a> to make the state the global hub for climate tech, a strategy it projected would create tens of thousands of jobs, attract massive investment and help Massachusetts meet its goals for reducing planet-warming emissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be doing everything we can to make it simpler and easier for these teams to grow and scale,\u201d said Ben Downing, who until recently served as chief growth officer at The Engine<\/a>, a tech incubator in Cambridge. A former state senator, Downing will soon take over the top job at MassCEC.<\/p>\n

While the state excels at fostering innovation, Downing said it needs to do a better job enticing companies to stay in Massachusetts. That way people across the state can benefit from the jobs and investments these businesses may bring.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of work to do,\u201d Downing said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

‘You could die in place’<\/h3>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Massachusetts is a place where “people love to solve hard problems,” said Georgina Campbell Flatter, the CEO of Greentown Labs.<\/p>\n

But even for people who like a challenge, scaling up a company in Massachusetts can be frustrating. Housing and labor are expensive. Energy costs are some of the highest in the country. It can take a long time for a new facility to plug into the grid. Navigating state and local incentive programs can be complicated.<\/p>\n

And the process for obtaining permits is so convoluted, it seems to stump even people with degrees from MIT. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t even know where to look with some of these things,\u201d said Emmanuael Kasseris, the founder of Emvolon<\/a>, a startup converting methane into liquid fuel. And yes, he has a doctorate from MIT.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven figuring out the types of permits that you need is a business,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are consulting firms that do just that, and there are consulting firms for different industries. So finding the right consulting firm to help you find the right permits is in itself a task.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a task that takes time, something startups rarely have.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are a startup and you can’t get something done because of a permit or you can’t get the power, you could die in place,\u201d said Emily Knight, CEO of The Engine.<\/p>\n

\"Company
Company leaders and staff explain their products to visitors at MIT’s environmental technologies “Tough Tech Week ’25”. (Robin Lubbock\/WBUR)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Charlestown-based Lydian<\/a> faced these challenges firsthand. Working at Greentown Labs and The Engine, the company developed a process to convert carbon dioxide into jet fuel. When it came time to run its first real-world pilot several years ago, the company wanted to stay in the Boston area.<\/p>\n

\u201cA pilot plant is a complex undertaking,\u201d said Lydian CEO and co-founder Joe Rodden. He said the team wanted to keep the first pilot nearby in order to make tweaks, repairs and improvements.<\/p>\n

The team found a great location in Charlestown in 2024.  Then \u201cthings got a little more complicated,\u201d said Lydian Chief Technology Officer and co-founder Branko Zugic.<\/p>\n

He said the larger-scale equipment required “a lot more regulatory approval and just a lot more power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lydian, like many climate tech startups, was making a brand-new product, using novel technology and a never-before-seen process. Also, in Lydian’s case, the team was using flammable materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur process, I think, looked a little bit novel to regulators,\u201d said Rodden.<\/p>\n

The permitting process dragged on for months. Realizing they faced lengthy delays in Massachusetts, the team at Lydian decided to run the first pilot in North Carolina, where they could partner with a company that already had permits in place.<\/p>\n

The decision allowed Lydian to keep moving quickly. But it was a costly and inconvenient detour.<\/p>\n

\"Branko
Branko Zugic, CTO of Lydian, at the company’s laboratory in Charlestown, MA. (Robin Lubbock\/WBUR)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMore than cost, this was a very difficult thing for our team to go through,” Rodden said. “There were people away from their families for weeks at a time. So it was disruptive in many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company finally got permits to open its Charlestown facility<\/a> last year. The team moved all the equipment back from North Carolina, and continue to test and refine the system.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly it hasn’t been the easiest, smoothest and most cost effective process,\u201d said Zugic. \u200a\u201cSome of that is for really good reasons \u2014 for safety reasons. But some of it I think can probably be improved.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

‘We are not going to be able to keep every single climate tech startup’<\/h3>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Startups may want to move fast, but residents and regulators often want to slow things down. It\u2019s a tension that can be particularly evident in Massachusetts, a state with strong environmental laws and a beloved town meeting tradition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have 351 municipalities in the state of Massachusetts, and permitting is done at a municipal level, so that probably does add complexity,\u201d said Eric Paley, state secretary of economic development. \u201cBut we do believe in local governance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The state has implemented some strategies to support climate tech startups. Paley said that includes hiring a permitting expert to help business owners navigate the system. Massachusetts is also funding \u201ctech hubs<\/a>\u201d in cities like Pittsfield and New Bedford to encourage companies to set up shop. And Gov. Healey has made energy affordability a priority<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Gov.
Gov. Maura Healey. (Jesse Costa\/WBUR)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe are absolutely identifying what our weak points are, and we’re trying to address them,” said Le Blond, with MassCEC.<\/p>\n

Still, she said, \u201c\u200aWe are not going to be able to keep every single climate tech startup in the state,\u201d since companies may not find the land, infrastructure, raw materials or energy supply they need for manufacturing.<\/p>\n

Take Somerville-based Form Energy.<\/a> The company makes long- duration batteries out of iron<\/a> to store energy from renewable sources like solar and wind. Form has deep Massachusetts roots: The company was born at a coffee shop in Cambridge out of MIT science, spent its youth at The Engine and Greentown Labs and launched its first facility in Somerville.<\/p>\n

\"Form
Form Energy subscale batteries waiting to go through testing at the company’s facility in Somerville. (Jesse Costa\/WBUR)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Form’s batteries are huge: Each one is the size of a washing machine, and the individual units are stacked into 40-foot containers. When it came time for its first big factory, the company needed a space the size of about 15 football fields. Massachusetts didn\u2019t have the road, rail and port infrastructure the company needed. So Form built the factory in West Virginia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Still, Form President and Chief Operating Officer \u200b\u200bTed Wiley said the company kept research and development teams in Somerville, because the Boston area is one of the best places in the world to innovate.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>To go from five people in a coffee shop, dreaming about the future to \u2014 now it’s a thousand people and we’re making batteries the size of football stadiums,\u201d Wiley said. \u201cIt\u2019s been an exciting journey, and it’s one that is only possible with the kind of conditions that you have in Massachusetts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leslie Nash, who leads the division of emerging climate tech at MassCEC, said a lot of local companies make a similar decision, and called it \u201ca huge win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if a startup needs to relocate their manufacturing facility outside the state, they often retain some presence here,\u201d she said. \u201cSo they will keep 30, 40, 50 employees in an R&D center or headquarters, and that’s where we will always win.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear whether that win translates to the thousands of new jobs state officials are betting on.<\/p>\n

But many climate tech entrepreneurs argue for a different measure of success: not whether a company stays in Massachusetts and creates local jobs, but how far its innovation spreads. They say that\u2019s the best way to make an impact on climate change.<\/p>\n

Form Energy, for instance, recently announced the first international deployment of its batteries, which will be used to store energy from wind farms in Ireland. Wiley called the deal \u201ca major vote of confidence that this kind of technology can transform the grid, not just in the United States, but everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Climate change is \u201ca global problem with global reach\u201d said Lydian CEO Joe Rodden. New tech can help mitigate climate change, he said. But \u201c\u200athose solutions need to be deployed globally to have the impact that we really want them to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… to make Massachusetts the climate tech<\/span> hub for the world,\u00e2\u0080\u009d … complicated,\u00e2\u0080\u009d said Lydian Chief Technology<\/span> Officer and co-founder … tech<\/span> startups, was making a brand-new product, using novel technology<\/span> … that this kind of technology<\/span> can transform the grid, not …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135100\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}