IMPEL+ Announces New Mentor Advisory Panel, Moves COP26 Mid-Century Climate Goals to This Decade 

​The policies and politics of climate change are at stake at the COP26 Summit this week, with global leaders committing to net zero by mid-century.  At IMPEL+, we believe that this decade is critical for climate action. This can be done in part by accelerating building technologies that are ripe for near-term impact. 

Building emissions constitute nearly 40% of global energy-related GHG emissions. While other energy sectors such as centralized renewables may require significant infrastructure change and investment, building technologies can achieve quick climate wins. Building technologies have low upfront and lifecycle costs for assets that last 50-100 years, a contrast to sectors such as transportation where the assets are short-lived, as households purchase new cars every few years. Buildings thereby lend themselves to democratization and faster adoption as one of the most cost-effective and deep carbon abatement wedges while being the stage for human wellness and health.

To guide IMPEL+’s  building Innovators who can make an impact in this decisive decade, we are proud to announce the IMPEL+ Mentor Advisory Panel that adds a new depth of expertise to our program. These industry leaders bring a broad base of tech-to-market knowledge to IMPEL+, and will help Innovators navigate over the “Valleys of Death” as often experienced on the path to commercialization. Mentor learning forums include group and one-and-one mentoring sessions, IMPEL+’s Reverse Pitch event, and potential access to the Mentors’ powerful pipelines and networks. 

The twenty mentors joining IMPEL+ this year come from boutique and global investment groups, government agencies like the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD), and the National Lab network, and the private sector. 

Bringing industry and corporate venture perspective are Stella Oggianu and Monica Roy of Carrier, and Ben Price of St. Gobain. Climatetech investment perspectives will be offered by Peter Sopher of Clean Energy Ventures, Maria Woodman from Energy Impact Partners and Sugeet Madan from Softbank, Cyril Yee from Third Derivative, Maanav Mahindru from Shadow Ventures, and Frank Yang from ADL Ventures.

On the entrepreneurial side are Joseph Werner and Maria Carillo of BlocPower, Kipp Bradford of Gradient, and Gurvinder Ahluwalia of Digital Twin Labs who  can share experiences with IMPEL Innovators to walk the walk. 

The Panel’s demonstration and technical experts can help fine-tune proofs of concept, while helping Innovators de-risk their technologies before market entry. This will be provided by Mentors from the U.S. National Labs, including Shanti Pless of NREL, Jacqueline Tidwell of PNNL, and Marco Pritoni of LBNL. Finally, experts Rodney Sobin from NASEO, Tim Tetrault from the DOD, Bing Dong from the Syracuse Center of  Excellence, and Kevin Powell from the General Services Administration bring their powerful pilot and demonstration programs to the table. 

IMPEL+ will flex to the diverse and specific needs of our new Innovator cohort along three tracks: Decarbonize, Democratize, and Digitalize. Having navigated the tech-to-market rollercoaster firsthand, our Mentor Panel brings unique depth and breadth of insight into what makes technologies demonstrable, systems validated,  and teams investable.  We are so excited and grateful to our Mentors and look forward to this exciting year of new offerings through IMPEL+.

Our first IMPEL+ workshops begin this winter (applications accepted through Nov. 15). Look out for more stories, highlights, and insights on our Media Page.