San Francisco has always been considered one of the greenest cities in the U.S. Some may call us hippies, but we prefer the term “cleantech innovators.” From electric bikes to rooftop solar panels and urban farming, San Francisco has always found creative ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect our planet. The following 15 San Francisco cleantech companies are going above and beyond in their efforts towards promoting a more sustainable world.
Founded: 2010
What they do: Volta is part greentech company and part adtech firm. The company designs and maintains free electric car charging stations across most major cities in the U.S. Instead of charging per electron like normal stations, Volta relies on advertising partners to sponsor each station. Thanks to the power of advertising, Volta has been able to deliver more than 40 million free miles to electric car users all over the country.
Founded: 2010
What they do: Carbon Lighthouse uses their proprietary energy optimization technology to help buildings reduce their carbon emissions. The company employs hundreds of sensors to capture pertinent environmental data, model optimal environmental levels and find energy inefficiencies within the building. Carbon Lighthouse will then add a myriad of tools (like IoT sensors and solar panels) to the building to reduce its carbon footprint.
Founded: 2010
What they do: Sunverge Energy’s intelligent energy storage system maximizes the value of rooftop solar panels for businesses and homes. The company’s grid services, renewable energy hardware and energy management software work in unison to efficiently allocate solar power to energy-reliant products all over a home or business, creating virtual power plants.
Founded: 2018
What they do: ChargeWheel is the world’s first fleet of on-demand energy delivery vehicles. The company’s vans are stationed at popular locations, like concerts, festivals and other highly-trafficked areas. They charge everything from electric bikes to cars and can even act as generators for events. Each charging-as-a-service van can charge 800 e-scooters and e-bikes or eight Teslas with a single energy supply.
Founded: 2009
What they do: 8minute Solar Energy focuses on utility-scale solar power and energy storage solutions. The company, with 12 percent of the entire solar market share, has vast plants across the Western part of the U.S. (with many solar plants in California). To date, 8minute boasts the largest solar farm in the U.S., as well as, the first plant to produce solar energy that beat fossil fuel prices.
Founded: 2018
What they do: Station A’s platform helps clean energy product developers analyze markets, find new customers, connect directly with energy users and simulate their products. The platform continuously gathers geospatial, environmental and financial data to model and predict the optimal clean energy needs for certain homes, businesses or areas.
Founded: 2007
What they do: Sunrun provides solar electricity and energy services for homeowners across the U.S. The company offers a few different energy plans so homeowners can best manage their energy consumption. The Sunrun “solar lease” allows homeowners to pay for solar energy on a monthly basis. The “solar battery” service lets users keep the energy they produce to use it at times when energy costs are high or traditional power methods go out. Finally, the “solar purchase” plan allows homeowners to purchase a solar energy system outright and own all energy that it produces.
Founded: 2018
What they do: Evolve Energy uses AI and IoT technology to helps customers optimally utilize their energy. The company’s slew of devices constantly monitor a home or business’ power usage and will throttle or increase solar energy flow on devices like air conditioners and appliances to save money and maximize efficiency.
Founded: 2016
What they do: TurningTables, a self-described “playground for innovators,” is an energy innovation lab that validates and scales greentech products. The green energy lab discovers gaps in the energy industry, co-builds technologies with other startups to help fill those gaps, gives companies lab space to validate their products and helps businesses accelerate the growth of their clean energy products.
Founded: 2010
What they do: Aclima’s platform delivers hyper-local climate emissions and air pollution intelligence. This block-by-block look into air quality helps researchers, governments and companies gain a deeper look at areas with unusually high rates of air pollution and allows them to implement optimal methods to reduce rates to safer levels.
Founded: 2015
What they do: Imperfect Foods reduces food waste by selling food products that grocery stores won’t. No, the food isn’t bad or dangerous to eat. Rather, the company takes all the food that has cosmetic damages, packages it with any excess inventory and delivers them to buyers for a 30% discount. With the Imperfect Foods service, users receive a weekly delivery box filled with under-appreciated fruits, vegetables and goods that would have otherwise been thrown out.
Founded: 2012
What they do: Sylvatex developed a renewable nano-chemistry platform that has positive environmental applications for material creation and the fuel industry. The company’s nanoparticle system changes how components (like water and oil) interact, creating an easier, cost-effective and environmentally safer way for manufacturers to create products.
Founded: 2012
What they do: Pattern Energy is an independent renewable energy company with wind, solar, transmission and power storage projects across the world. The publicly traded company operates 24 wind and solar farms across the U.S., Canada, Japan and Mexico. It owns close to 3,000 Megawatts of renewable energy power.
Founded: 1999
What they do: First Solar develops solar technologies and currently operates one of the largest grid-connected solar power plants in the world. The company’s solar energy systems boast up to 10 percent more energy capabilities than other enterprise-grade solar technologies, as well as a three percent greater energy yield in hot climates.
Founded: 2017
What they do: ForeFront Power offers flexible solar energy solutions for homes and businesses. The company installs everything from rooftop solar panels to ground-mounted panels on land and canopy panels that can double as covered parking for apartment complexes. If a home or business doesn’t have space for their own solar equipment, then they're still able to rent energy from ForeFront Power.
