Our Mission

IMPEL's mission is to promote equitable wellness and resilience in the built environment through the commercial advancement of building decarbonization technologies. 

Technology commercialization is notoriously challenging in the building sector. Building tech investments often require long horizons that our planet does not have time for. Additionally, many new projects and businesses fall victim to ‘Valleys of Death’ during their early development stages. 

IMPEL equips early-stage innovators with technical and communication tools, so they can translate the premise and promise of new building technologies into the language of business. 

Uniquely embedded at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab's Building Technologies Division, and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Office, IMPEL connects its Innovators to public and private sector pipelines, and a diverse network of investors, demonstration and technical experts, industry leaders, and policymakers to help our innovators reach their next milestone.

Source: Alumni Survey and Success Story Submissions through June 2024

Reach New Heights With Us

Upon acceptance into the program, all IMPEL Innovators have access to our Foundational Tools. Based on their engagement and performance in the program, they will selected for further opportunities, through our Advanced Training and powerful public-private sector pipelines.

Foundational Tools

(All current year cohort members)

Advanced Training

(Select cohort members)

Pipelines

(Select cohort members)

IMPEL Connects Innovators to Experts

The IMPEL Executive Team at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab supports Innovators' journeys through every step of the program, while connecting them to Expert Coaches, Incubators, Mentors, and a wider network within the building technology space. 

Executive Coaches

IMPEL Coaches provide dynamic guidance during the one-day workshops to help Innovators refine and practice verbal pitches to communicate their technology or idea clearly, succinctly, and compellingly to critical stakeholders. Our coaches are field experts: skilled entrepreneurs who have raised multi-million dollar funds, judged startup pitches, coached technologists towards successful commercialization.

Meet our Coaches

Incubator Access

IMPEL has partnered with Greentown Labs to provide real pitching opportunities and connections to a broader pool of mentors, investors, and other innovators in climate-tech. They help Innovators engage with the private sector, gain fully-funded access to national pitch events, and accelerators. 

Learn more about our Partners

Expert Mentors

IMPEL Mentors represent investors from boutique and impact funds to financial giants, potential demonstration partners from major universities, state energy offices, and federal entities including the General Services Administration and the Department of Defense, major corporate ventures, and subject matter experts from national labs. 

Meet our Mentor Advisory Panel

IMPEL's Innovators

Our Innovators have a passion for the building lifecycle (design, construction, operations, and circular technologies) and for energy technologies that integrate with buildings (onsite renewables or grid integration incorporating electrification, energy storage, and electric vehicle charging).

Learn more about our cohorts here.


Diverse, equitable, and inclusive  

We believe that a diverse, equitable, and inclusive ecosystem of innovators magnifies our impact on the future of climate technology and on the communities we serve. 

Join us in our mission.