Climate
Challenge Areas > Our Challenge Areas > Climate
Scaling the hard tech solutions for a net-zero economy.
We connect startups with partners driving decarbonization, energy resilience, circular systems, and sustainable mobility. Founders gain access to technical experts, leaders, and collaborators committed to accelerating the transition to net zero.
5,000+
Startups Accelerated
$16B
Follow-On Capital Raised
500+
Global Partners
65%
Pilot Conversion
Why Climate?
Climate innovation is accelerating, but deployment is the new bottleneck. From industrial decarbonization and grid modernization to circular systems and water security, the technologies required for a livable planet are evolving faster than the infrastructure and policies meant to support them. The stakes—economic stability, resource security, and planetary resilience—are non-negotiable.
Founders in climate and deep tech face unique structural barriers: capital-intensive commercialization, complex permitting, and the challenge of integrating into entrenched legacy systems. Innovation here isn’t just about code; it’s about steel, chemistry, and electrons.
MassChallenge operates at this critical intersection. We connect founders with utilities, heavy industry, regulators, and capital partners to shorten the timeline from lab to site. By facilitating co-validation, industrial pilots, and first-of-kind deployments, we catalyze the pathways to commercial liftoff for the technologies essential to a resilient future.
Focus Areas
Energy Grid & Resiliency
Sustainability & Manufacturing
Carbon Management
Circularity & Materials
Water Resilience & Blue Economy
Featured Partners
Real Voices. Real Impact.
MassChallenge has been incredible for us. It’s hard to be an entrepreneur, especially in climate, and the programming helped us see that we’re not the only ones in this. One of the main learnings I’ve gotten from this program is that impact and profitability are not mutually exclusive.
DAVID GORY
Founder and CEO at Airbuild
I wouldn’t just say this was something that I needed professionally, but on a personal level too. It’s about you as a person first. The people at MassChallenge and this community made me feel confident stepping into healthcare in a way I wasn’t before.
KYLE HENRY
CEO and Co-Founder, Tune Health
MassChallenge has been an incredible opportunity for us. It’s rare for a startup at our stage to work directly with enterprise partners. Through the program, we’ve been able to engage with enterprise users early on, understand their pain points, and build better solutions. Over the past few months, we’ve taken our product from prototype to production-ready, and without MassChallenge, this progress wouldn’t have been possible.
SHUAI LI
2x Founder
It takes a community to raise a startup. You can be deep in technology, but you need the network, the right advisors, and the right connections. That’s what MassChallenge brought, and it made something complex feel executable.
RICK WHITTAKER
CEO and CoFounder of AirShare
I am so excited for the networking we’ve gone through. Together it takes all of us to make the world a better place. If you’re looking for the networking and the connections and the people that will help you take your company to the next level, this is one of the most worthwhile programs.
JIM BOYTE
Founder & CEO at ActiveDefender
Now Accepting Applications
Open Program
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Open Program
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Open Program
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Climate Programs Currently Accepting Applications
Please check back for upcoming climate programming.