Business Builds: Climatetech

Business Builds: Climatetech is a competitive funding initiative created by the Mass Leads Act. It provides capital grants between $500K - $2M to help for-profit companies producing critical climate technologies make the capital investments needed to scale in or relocate to Massachusetts.

Administered by MassCEC, the program complements the Mass Life Science Center’s Business Builds: Life Sciences and the Massachusetts Office of Business Development’s Business Builds capital programs.

The program is designed to:

• Support Capital Investments: provide catalytic capital for facilities, equipment, and commercial-scale operations, and close the missing-middle financing gap for climatetech.
• Address Climate and Energy Challenges: advance the deployment of Climatetech solutions that address key climate and energy challenges as directed by the Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2050, while delivering cost-savings to Massachusetts ratepayers.
• Drive Economic Growth and Competitiveness: position Massachusetts as a global leader in climatetech innovation and manufacturing, create high-quality jobs across the Commonwealth, increase tax revenues, and attract additional investment to the state.
• Promote Equitable and Place-Based Development: broaden access to climatetech jobs for individuals or communities from Gateway Cities or Burdened Areas. This may include revitalizing vacant or underutilized properties, supporting local supply chains, or strengthening nearby commercial districts.
• Complement Existing Economic Development Programs: enhance the effectiveness of existing state programs, including Climatetech Tax Incentive Program (CTIP).

Who Can Apply

Strong applicants are for-profit companies making significant workforce and facility expansions in Massachusetts (e.g., 50%+ job growth and $10M+ in capital investments). Other climatetech companies are still encouraged to apply.

Projects may be ineligible if they’re already funded under the Climatetech Tax Incentive for facilities, Business Builds: Life Sciences, and Business Builds.

Applicants must demonstrate:

• Funded assets will be commissioned within 1 – 3 years (shovel ready projects will be prioritized)
• Provide a 50/50 match (applicants must match grant funds dollar-for-dollar). Matches cannot be other state grants or in-kind contributions.

Example Projects

MassCEC prioritizes either first-of-a-kind (FOAK) commercial operations that bring a novel climate technology to commercial scale for the first time, or more well-established climatetech producers/manufacturers looking to expand in or relocate to Massachusetts.

Example projects include:

• A battery storage company installing new manufacturing lines to scale production.
• A low-carbon cement company building a FOAK commercial production facility.
• A grid-technology company installing new equipment to produce next-generation transmission lines at commercial scale.
• A heat pump manufacturer relocating final assembly to Massachusetts and outfitting a new production facility.

Climatetech refers to technologies that reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, replace or reduce reliance on non-renewable energy sources, or help communities and infrastructure adapt to climate change. Priority will be given to projects supporting:

• Renewable Energy & Grid Modernization
• High-Performance Buildings
• Clean Transportation
• Clean Manufacturing & Industry
• Sustainable Agriculture & Water
• Climate Resilience & Adaptation
• Enabling Solutions (e.g., software platforms, surveying equipment)