Six energy startups showcase sustainable technologies and innovations at Ameren Accelerator Demo Day

The St. Louis event is the culmination of a 12-week energy-technology accelerator

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Nov 04, 2019, 10:00 ET

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Entrepreneurs from six startup companies around the United States and the world will showcase innovative solutions for a smarter and more sustainable energy future today in St. Louis.

It's all part of the culmination of the 2019 Ameren Accelerator program, an innovative public-private partnership between Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE), the University of Missouri System, UMSL Accelerate and Capital Innovators. The Ameren Accelerator mentors and invests in energy-technology startup companies – with a goal of helping Ameren meet the future energy needs of its customers in Missouri and Illinois.

This year's program focused on the theme of "Smart Cities – Connected Communities" in building a more resilient, cleaner and sustainable energy environment. The six participating companies worked to develop technologies that enable businesses, consumers and municipalities to make smarter decisions and improve the quality of life for communities. Those technologies include longer lasting lithium batteries, industrial engines with lower carbon emissions and technology that will help people in developing nations control their power sources.

"Our customers are looking for reliable, clean and affordable energy," said Warner Baxter, chairman, president and CEO, Ameren Corp. "The six Accelerator companies have developed promising ideas for a sustainable energy future. Through the Ameren Accelerator, we are fostering the development of these companies and their ideas."

The participating companies – from the United States and England – are Allumina, ClearFlame, Eden GeoTech, HeXalayer, Ovon Tech and Shfyt Power Solutions. As part of Demo Day, the companies will present their efforts to potential customers, investors, corporate executives and the general public.

Notable achievements to be showcased include:

Allumia (Seattle, Wash.) makes it possible to provide funded energy efficiency upgrades to commercial and industrial buildings in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner.
ClearFlame (Chicago) is developing an alternatively-fueled, drop-in-ready engine for the heavy-duty market, which includes marine, agriculture, transportation, power generation, rail and construction applications.
Eden GeoTech (Somerville, Mass.) is developing a water-less and injection-free reservoir stimulation technology, which uses electric energy to change the petro-physical properties of rock formation, create micro-fractures and increase permeability.
HeXalayer (Louisville, Ky.) is developing a new generation of high-capacity lithium-ion battery technology using innovative carbon material called ML Graphene. The nanomaterials-based technology significantly improves the capacity of energy storage and has been specifically tested for rechargeable batteries.
Ovon Tech (Manchester, England) developed the Smart Radiator Valve with distributed temperature acquisition and thermoelectric energy recovery systems.
Shyft Power Solutions (Oakland, Calif.) enables homes, businesses and energy companies to remotely monitor, manage and control their power sources from mobile or web applications.

The Ameren Accelerator is now in its third year. In 2019, more than 430 startups from around the world applied to the program. At least one of the companies in the current cohort has committed to maintaining a St. Louis presence by opening an office and hiring staff, locally. Members of the first two cohorts have created more than 100 new jobs since completing the program, many in the St. Louis area.

"The results of the Ameren Accelerator have exceeded our expectations. We have seen a 66 percent year-over-year increase in the quantity of applicants to the program and the quality continues to increase as well," said Judy Sindecuse, CEO and managing partner, Capital Innovators." We believe this is due to the unique engagement model we've developed that provides startups unparalleled access to Ameren employees to help them guide their solutions, which has driven economic development for our region by helping companies scale faster."

Each Accelerator participant receives $100,000 in seed capital and works alongside Ameren leaders and Accelerator partners to develop new energy technologies that will make the energy grid smarter, more reliable, resilient and secure. The companies were paired with an UMSL Accelerate intern and based out of UMSL Accelerate and Capital Innovators' co-working space in Cortex Innovation Community, a 200-acre innovation and technology district in St. Louis.

"We want the University Missouri System to be the first choice for entrepreneurially-minded students," said Dan Lauer, founding executive director, UMSL Accelerate. "With Ameren's leadership and investment in the program, we have been able to grow capabilities and provide students experiences that foster innovation and entrepreneurship."

For more information about Ameren Accelerator, visit amerenaccelerator.com.

About Ameren Corporation
St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation powers the quality of life for 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area through its Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries. Ameren Illinois provides electric distribution and transmission service, as well as natural gas distribution service, while Ameren Missouri provides vertically integrated electric service, with generating capacity of over 10,200 megawatts, and natural gas distribution service. Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois develops regional electric transmission projects. Follow the company on Twitter @AmerenCorp. For more information, visit Ameren.com.

About the University of Missouri System
The University of Missouri System is the State of Missouri's largest public university, with four campuses serving more than 76,000 students, a health care system, an extension program, and more than 500,000 alumni worldwide. The UM System was created in 1963 when the University of Missouri (founded in 1839 in Columbia) and the Missouri School of Mines (now the Missouri University of Science and Technology, founded in 1870 in Rolla), were combined with the formerly private University of Kansas City (now University of Missouri–Kansas City, founded in 1933), and a newly created campus in suburban St. Louis (University of Missouri–St. Louis).

About the University of Missouri-St. Louis and UMSL Accelerate
The University of Missouri–St. Louis is the largest public research university in eastern Missouri with the greatest concentration of alumni in the region. Their UMSL Accelerate initiative fosters entrepreneurism and innovative thinking in and outside the classroom and helps bring concepts from mind to market. For more information, visit http://umsl.edu/accelerate/.

About Capital Innovators
Capital Innovators provides innovation consulting, entrepreneurial-based programs, and acts as a liaison between corporations and startups. It manages venture funds focused on technology, consumer products, and energy technology and sources the most cutting-edge startups from around the globe for investment and assists in scaling its companies to success. Capital Innovators has also created a world-class Accelerator program that has been ranked as one of the top Accelerators for the last five years. It has invested in over 120 companies, which have gone on to raise over $330 million in follow-on investment and created over 1,100 jobs.

SOURCE Ameren Corporation