Amid global efforts to combat climate change, a new report shows that the Baltimore metro area is one of the top hubs in the U.S. for clean technology innovation.
Colorado-based venture capital and research firm Saoradh Enterprise Partners (SEP) recently released the 2021 Cleantech Innovation Hubs Survey, a ranking of cleantech innovation hubs in the U.S.
In creating the list, SEP ranked innovation hubs on research funding, technology development, venture formation and other metrics. The resulting report ranked the 40 strongest cleantech ecosystems in the nation.
"Our goal is to illuminate innovation happening across the country," said Paul Nelson, managing partner of SEP, in a statement. "Over the years, we've seen cleantech flourish in our own backyard – what we call the Colorado Clean Range – but it's been under the radar for much of the cleantech community. That experience has motivated us to shed light on other places where innovation is being overlooked."
Greater Baltimore ranked at No. 13 on the list, just ahead of the Connecticut Innovation Center and behind Philadelphia. California's Bay Area was No. 1 on the list, followed by Boston, New York and Los Angeles. Washington, D.C. landed at No. 6.
SEP highlighted Baltimore's high scores in the research funding silo, which surpassed other higher ranking hubs, and also far outpaced Charm City's technology development and venture formation scores.
Baltimore also scored highly for its young firms and entrepreneurs, as well as the state's support for its innovation efforts.
Despite that strong showing, SEP’s research showed that emerging hubs like Baltimore are still being overlooked by some investors. The report states 75% of cleantech venture capital funding in the U.S. is invested in New York, California and Massachusetts. Conversely, 74% of university research and development funding goes to the other 47 states.
