All Access

Climate Deals

Standard

Climate Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

Climate Deals Alerts

Alert

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Climate Deals

BFD Expert Voices

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

pittsburgh

atlanta

san-diego

charlotte

boulder

washington-dc

kansas-city

dallas

denver

detroit

des-moines

austin

boston

chicago

cleveland

columbus

houston

indianapolis

miami

nashville

new-orleans

nw-arkansas

philadelphia

phoenix

portland

richmond

salt-lake-city

san-antonio

san-francisco

seattle

tampa-bay

twin-cities

raleigh

huntsville

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

Greentown Labs, an incubator for climate-focused startups, is nearing a deal to receive $4.5 million in public and private funding, Axios has learned. 

Why it matters: The startup hub, facing financial challenges during the past two years, has nurtured a number of prominent companies in the climate sector since 2011. 

Driving the news: Greentown is preparing to announce as soon as Wednesday morning that it's received funding commitments from MassDevelopment, Rice University, individual donors in Houston, the city of Somerville, according to a recording of an all-hands call with employees Tuesday shared with Axios.

Inside the room: ""We're going to be announcing tomorrow morning that we have raised $4.5 million," interim CEO Kevin Dutt said during the call. "It's mostly grants and a little bit of loans."

Context: Greentown is based in Somerville, Massachusetts, and it runs a second location in Houston, which is home to Rice.

Greentown representatives have spent weeks negotiating a funding deal with government officials and private investors, three sources tell Axios. The sources declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Axios spoke with nine current and former Greentown employees and representatives about the organization and its financial challenges.

The nonprofit has struggled to keep pace with rising costs associated with its Somerville and Houston buildings, as well as other expenses, ending last year with about $1 million less of cash flow than expected, according to a November 2023 board presentation shared with Axios. 

That pressure was compounded by a decision in early 2023 by the non-profit's board to begin subjecting its oil and gas donors to a more rigorous review, according to six separate sources familiar with the matter, who were also not authorized to speak on the record.

The goal was to judge potential oil and gas industry sponsors based on their commitments to addressing climate change, Greentown's former CEO told the Houston Chronicle in May. 

Case in point: After resisting funding from Saudi Aramco late in 2023, Greentown's negotiations with Occidental Petroleum and Halliburton collapsed, according to three of the sources.

In addition, talks with Exxon Mobil about annual funding also fell apart this year, the Houston Chronicle reported. 

Greentown in April cut staff by 30%, eliminating 18 positions at its Somerville and Houston locations. The firm has had five interim or appointed CEOs in the last two years.

Zoom in: The expected $4.5 million funding round from Rice University, Somerville, MassDevelopment (a state financing agency) and the individual donors comes at just the right time.

"It will give us the ability to grow and expand our revenue stream and all the things we need to do," Dutt said in the all hands recording.

The funding will bring new board members to the nonprofit but few other changes, Dutt said. 

Greentown has tapped renowned oil industry banker Bobby Tudor as its new board chairman, the Houston Chronicle reported late on Tuesday. Tudor confirmed the appointment to Axios.

A Greentown spokesperson told Axios that the deal is not yet final. Officials at Rice and MassDevelopment were not immediately available for comment. 

In a previous statement, Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne said the city remains committed to Greentown. "The companies they spin off into our city create tax revenues, and they are a good local partner on joint initiatives," Ballantyne said. "Their success is our success." 

Greentown member startups have included energy-storage unicorn Form Energy and geothermal energy developer Fervo Energy.

The latest: Greentown in January expects to announce that it's selected a new CEO, Dutt told staff during Tuesday's call.

What we're watching: A nearly $4 billion state economic development bill signed last month by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey allows the state to authorize up to $1 million over five years to Greentown, a spokesperson tells Axios.

That money, if granted, would be in addition to the $4.5 million it's set to receive from the new funding group.

Editor's note: This story was updated to show that Tudor confirmed his appointment as Greentown chairman. 

Scoop: Greentown Labs nearing $4.5M funding boost

The climate tech incubator has lined up Rice University, others

Attendees network at the annual ClimateTech Summit at Greentown Labs.

Attendees mingle at Greentown Labs' headquarters in Somerville, Mass., during the organization's annual Climatetech Summit in 2023. Photo: Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Greentown Labs, an incubator for climate-focused startups, is nearing a deal to receive $4.5 million in public and private funding, Axios has learned. Why it matters: The startup hub, facing financial challenges during the past two years, has nurtured a number of prominent companies in the climate sector since 2011.

Scoop: Greentown Labs nearing $4.5M funding boost

What to read next