Katten has again advised the Exelon Foundation, the Exelon Corporation's nonprofit philanthropic organization, in providing $1 million in funding to support the innovative efforts of nine diverse start-up companies that are developing new technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change, as part of the second year of Exelon's "Climate Change Investment Initiative." Katten also sponsored the initiative. Exelon is the nation's largest producer of carbon-free energy.
Katten's team, which included Chicago Corporate partner Jeffrey Patt, Corporate associate Fabiola Valenzuela and Mergers and Acquisitions associate Gregory Branson, helped Exelon craft investment documents for each of the nine companies and conduct due diligence on the current structure and operations of each company. Among the startups selected in Exelon's second round of funding to receive $100,000 each are Cambium Carbon, ClearFlame, Climate Robotics, Compost Crew, ecoSPEARS, ISeeChange, Lula, Manta Biofuel and Varuna. These diverse companies are located in cities across the United States, from Philadelphia and Chicago to Walnut, California and Rockville, Maryland.
The first group of selected startups from last year have been engaged in projects ranging from a solar installation in Washington, DC and deployment of a map-based decarbonization tool in Baltimore, to a rain-friendly, green stormwater mitigation project at a K-12 Charter school in Philadelphia.
Exelon's "Climate Change Investment Initiative" aims to invest directly in projects that are trying to mitigate the impact of climate change and build greater resiliency in the under-resourced communities that Exelon serves. The Exelon Foundation plans to invest $10 million over 10 years in such companies.
Chicago
