(Austin, TX — March 19, 2019) Pecan Street Inc. is accepting applications from energy technology startups for the second cohort of its PLATFORM for Product Launch program. Designed to leverage Pecan Street’s groundbreaking research on residential and small business electricity and water use, PLATFORM integrates data-driven market intelligence, product development and validation, rapid prototyping, and collaboration with venture funding and energy industry executives.

Start-ups with a clean energy hardware innovation targeted at the residential and/or small commercial sectors and who have a functioning prototype can apply at pecanstreet.org/platformapp. Selected companies will be notified within 60 days of applying.

“We know that testing and validating energy and water technology in the real world is difficult and expensive,” said Pecan Street CEO Suzanne Russo. “PLATFORM helps startups demonstrate their products’ and services’ value faster, so they can attract funding sooner.”

Participating companies will test their products at Pecan Street’s lab, working with staff engineers on performance optimization and an investor-quality performance verification report. Additionally, participating companies will work with Pecan Street’s startup advisor to design testing based on commercial requirements and for assistance developing investor materials and support with pitch meetings.

“Startups are looking for ways to differentiate themselves, and investors want trusted and quality deal flow,” said Pecan Street startup advisor Bart Bohn. “PLATFORM helps both sides of the investment by testing and validating these new technologies.”

Six companies completed the PLATFORM program in 2018, collectively raising about $1 million in new funding as a result of participation. Pecan Street will accept up to 10 companies in this second cohort. Two companies, including Leaptran, have already been accepted.

“Leaptran is honored to participate Pecan Street’s PLATFORM program,” said Leaptran CEO Jeff Xu. “We believe PLATFORM is a great vehicle to help startups like us independently validate their products before they’re formally launched.”

Since 2010, Pecan Street has deployed energy- and water-related technology in more than 1,000 homes and small businesses and manages the world’s largest database of energy and water use. Many of the technologies deployed were developed by Pecan Street engineers and field-tested in Pecan Street’s lab in Austin.

Pecan Street will provide subsidized PLATFORM services to the 10 cohort companies. The program includes access to Pecan Street’s hardware and software testing facilities, energy and water use database, and engineering and data-management staff.

Companies will also have access to Pecan Street’s Innovation Advisory Council of venture funding, incubation, hardware and software, and clean energy experts formed specifically to advise PLATFORM participants.

About Pecan Street Inc.
Pecan Street is an energy and water research organization based in Austin, TX. Our network of volunteer research participants is the first of its kind on the planet and has become an international model for how to develop and operate real-world energy and resource research. Our commercialization lab is a world-class proving ground for major corporations and startups alike. Our database, the largest source of disaggregated customer energy data, is used by university researchers and industry-leading companies around the world. Visit pecanstreet.org.

For more information about PLATFORM, email info@pecanstreet.org or call 512- 782-9213.

About Leaptran
Leaptran’s sky imager based solar prediction offers an intra-hour solar irradiance predication and allows renewable energy aggregators and utilities to orchestrate their energy and power accordingly. A technology spinoff from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), Leaptran has won multiple awards for its work developing microgrid and building controls. One of its projects won Smart 50 Awards in 2019, and seven patents were licensed from the University of Texas System by the company.