These 5 green-tech startups just might make our world better

Global climate- and green-tech accelerator Elemental Excelerator just announced its newest cohort of 19 tech companies it said would be “ground-breakers and market-makers.” Here are five up-and-comers in Cohort 9 in the green-tech energy, mobility, and climate change sectors.

This year, the growth-stage companies selected by Elemental, which has offices in California and Hawaii, not only solve environmental challenges, but also address equity, access, and job creation.

The startups were selected from more than 800 applicants from 54 countries for their potential to help provide cities, businesses, and consumers with access to more sustainable, equitable options.

All 19 are pretty neat, but these are the five that caught our eye. Check ’em out, and you can see the full list if you click here. Because innovation is just downright exciting.

5 standout startups

ChargerHelp! — On-demand repair of electric vehicle charging stations. ChargerHelp! is a California-based technology company that has developed a mobile app and web-based platform for on-demand repair of electric vehicle charging stations. ChargerHelp! works with local workforce development agencies to provide their participants with access to the ChargerHelp! app and in turn, sells annual maintenance service contracts to network providers.

DroneSeed — Drone-based reforestation. DroneSeed is making rapid reforestation scalable to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. The company uses heavy-lift drone swarms to navigate challenging terrain in wildfire-ravaged areas, dropping patented seed vessels that help boost seed survival rate and accelerate tree growth. Each drone can carry a 57-pound payload, making this mass reforestation technology one of our best avenues to sequester carbon at scale.

RatedPower — Software to optimize the design of utility-scale photovoltaic plants. RatedPower is accelerating the transition to make solar power the world’s main energy source. The company’s cloud-based pvDesign software streamlines the design, feasibility study, and engineering of large-scale photovoltaic plants. Compared to the weeks or months it takes for traditional engineering plans to materialize, RatedPower helps optimize the plant and generates engineering documentation in minutes, improving efficiency and profitability for clients.

Xos Trucks (pictured above) — Electric mobility solutions for fleets. Los Angeles-based Xos Trucks is an electric mobility company dedicated to making fleets more efficient. Xos builds state-of-the-art electric trucks and develops cutting-edge technologies and mobility solutions that exceed anything in the present market. Xos’ first product was a fully electric semi called the ET-One. Other recent customers deploying Xos class 6 vehicles include UPS and cash-in-transit company Loomis.

ZeroAvia — Hydrogen-electric aviation. ZeroAvia is developing the world’s first practical, zero-emission aviation powertrain powered by hydrogen fuel cells. ZeroAvia’s unique approach results in much lower operating costs compared to both traditionally fueled and battery-electric aircraft. With the first powertrains already in the air, ZeroAvia targets commercial service in 20-seat, 500-mile aircraft by 2023, and larger aircraft for longer missions after that.