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Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2)

Climate & Energy · Run by NREL (co-administered) + Wells Fargo Foundation · Golden, CO

Verified Jul 22, 2026Official websiteHow to apply

Every field is checked against a primary source where we can. How we verify.

The facts

All fields verified Jul 22, 2026
Terms model
Non-dilutiveGives money that does not take equity: grants, prizes, or credits. Your ownership is untouched.
Investment
$250,000 non-dilutive per startup (September 2025 resiliency cohort)
Equity taken
Not publishedFully non-dilutive; no equity. Startups enter by nomination from NREL's channel partner network (about 60 incubators, accelerators, and universities); no open application. September 2025 resiliency cohort startups each received $250,000 in non-dilutive funding plus NREL researcher collaboration. Correction to prior note: the $100K-$200K 2025 Strategic Awards went to channel partner organizations, not startups. $55M total program size confirmed. Scalable Tech Track (second cohort announced Dec 9, 2025) funds corporate and asset-owner pilot projects up to $250,000, a separate track from the startup cohorts.
Program length
Not published
Format
Hybrid
Location
Golden, CO
Cohorts per year
Not published
Cohort size
Not published
Stage focus
commercialization-gap / pilot stage
Sub-vertical
clean energy for built environment, housing, food-energy-water
Demographic focus
Not published
Backers
Wells Fargo Foundation, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Notable alumni
Not published

Terms notes: Fully non-dilutive; no equity. Startups enter by nomination from NREL's channel partner network (about 60 incubators, accelerators, and universities); no open application. September 2025 resiliency cohort startups each received $250,000 in non-dilutive funding plus NREL researcher collaboration. Correction to prior note: the $100K-$200K 2025 Strategic Awards went to channel partner organizations, not startups. $55M total program size confirmed. Scalable Tech Track (second cohort announced Dec 9, 2025) funds corporate and asset-owner pilot projects up to $250,000, a separate track from the startup cohorts.

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Terms in plain English

IN2 is a $55 million energy technology program funded by Wells Fargo and co-administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). All funding is non-dilutive; the program takes no equity. Startups in the September 2025 resiliency cohort each received $250,000 in non-dilutive funding to work with NREL researchers and facilities, though amounts can vary by cohort and track and the program does not publish a standing per-company figure. Separate tracks fund channel partner organizations and corporate pilot projects rather than startups directly.

Who this is actually for

Startups in clean energy for the built environment, housing, and adjacent sectors that need national-lab technical validation to cross the commercialization gap. There is no open application: startups enter by nomination from IN2's channel partner network of roughly 60 incubators, accelerators, and universities, so the practical path in is joining or getting known to one of those partner organizations.

Application windows

No application window is on record for this program yet. Check the official website for the next cohort.

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Sources

Everything above was checked against these, verified Jul 22, 2026.