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Third Derivative – Cohort 417

Rising to the climate crisis challenge is a once-in-a-generation, trillion-dollar economic opportunity. That’s why the Rocky Mountain Institute and New Energy Nexus founded with purpose: to find, fund, hone, and scale the most-promising technologies to achieve larger, faster reductions in global carbon emissions. Third Derivative (D3) is the best-resourced accelerator in clean energy and climate tech. Ever.

Cohort 417 is named after 2020’s peak atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration of 417.1 parts per million (ppm), based on the Keeling Curve, recorded in May 2020 and when the first call for applications was made. An estimated two-thirds of global GHG emissions comes from hard-to-abate sectors, where innovation will be especially important. That’s why the startups of Cohort 417 span hardware, software, business model and finance innovation, and other solutions.