Eco-Tech
An Eye on Eco Tech
by Andrea Stehle
July 22, 2022
PITTSBURGH’S NEWEST RANKING IS MAKING WAY FOR FURTHER INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE CLEANTECH SPACE
It’s no question Pittsburgh is a leading host city for startups in sustainability. The latest report from Startup Genome has named our city as one boasting growing support for clean and sustainable tech ventures.
The Global Startup Ecosystem Report: Cleantech Edition report ranked 25 markets globally, with Silicon Valley coming in at the prime spot, followed by other US cities later in the list like Los Angeles, Boston, and D.C.
The report also shared five ecosystems to watch and Pittsburgh came in as number one. This ranking comes as no surprise as a sister report from last September ranked Pittsburgh in the top 25 of emerging markets across the world.
Leaders from InnovatePGH, Innovation Works, the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, and more, celebrated this ranking. Not to mention, many companies who see potential (and results) in fostering local entrepreneurship and producing tangible results.
Now, there are sustainably minded companies such as alternative energy powered bitcoin miner Stronghold Digital Mining as well as award-winning farming device startups such as Bloomfield Robotics. More are working to advance to sector here including, Parcel Health, Fifth Season, Clean Robotics, and Sustainible.
“Pittsburgh is home to a UN Center of Excellence on High Performance Buildings and was the second city globally to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” the report wrote of Pittsburgh. “A founding member of the 2030 District Network to reduce energy use and carbon emissions, Pittsburgh has 73 cleantech companies, 35,000 employed in the region’s energy industry, and over $103 million invested by the Department of Energy in university-based R&D in the last five years.”
The focus on cleantech in the report comes at a time when many investors are trending towards establishing funds specifically for companies with missions in advancing climate change. And the number of strong startups and growth companies working in the cleantech space continues to grow, whether it be in agricultural tech, operational sustainability, materials production, or in the medical space.
With Pittsburgh officially being named as an ecosystem to watch in this field, we’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for companies joining this innovative space — who will be the 100th?!
Andrea Stehle
Andrea Stehle is a regular contributor to The Green Voice.
