Looking to start or scale a climate company in Boston?
From Greentown Labs, The Engine, and Activate Boston, here is the accelerator and incubator ecosystem that can back your startup with capital, space, and hands-on support.
Greentown Labs
Greentown Labs is North America's largest climatetech incubator, offering the deepest physical infrastructure in the ecosystem from its Somerville campus, including wet labs, a large prototyping lab, machine and electronics shops, a battery pilot lab, and office space on flexible fee-based memberships. Members get software, legal, and business resources plus a large network of corporate partners, investors, and fellow founders, with a focus on hardware-heavy climate across energy, storage, mobility, buildings, and water. It takes no equity for membership. Suits hardware climate founders needing wet-lab and prototyping space and a dense community.
The Engine
The Engine, built by MIT, is a nonprofit Tough Tech incubator providing the full founder pathway from a large Cambridge facility of managed wet lab, engineering, and office space available month to month with no MIT affiliation required. Programs include Blueprint, an eight-week commercialisation course for researchers with no equity and founder-retained IP, a faculty seminar, and residency programming across many learning areas, spanning climate, energy, materials, and advanced manufacturing. Fees are usage-based with grants and discounts for early teams. Suits scientist and engineer founders translating breakthrough research who need lab space and de-risking support.
Activate Boston
Activate Boston runs the two-year, non-dilutive Activate Fellowship for scientist and engineer researchers becoming hard-tech founders, based in Kendall Square with no fee and no equity. Fellows receive a multi-year living stipend, R&D funding, technical resources, and a national network of advisors, customers, and investors, plus memberships to The Engine, Greentown Labs, and CIC and proximity to MIT and Harvard. Selection is intensely competitive, running over several months. Suits PhD scientist-founders early in commercialisation who need runway and unencumbered IP.
Cleantech Open Northeast
Cleantech Open Northeast is the regional arm of the world's largest and oldest cleantech accelerator, a months-long, zero-equity program built on non-dilutive support. Founders get cleantech-specific mentorship, a structured curriculum, national bootcamps, pitch competitions with cash prizes, and connections to financiers, partners, and early-adopter customers across energy, water, waste, agriculture, and transportation. It takes no equity unless a prize is awarded. Suits very early cleantech founders wanting mentorship and validation without dilution.