BINGHAMTON — Launch NY says it is investing in Bridge Green Upcycle, a Binghamton–based clean-energy startup, after identifying the firm as a “high-promise and high-impact company.” Launch NY invested from its Nonprofit Seed Fund and for-profit LP Fund II, per its March 12 announcement. “We’re thrilled that Launch NY, including our Emerging Cleantech Opportunity (ECO) […]
BINGHAMTON — Launch NY says it is investing in Bridge Green Upcycle, a Binghamton–based clean-energy startup, after identifying the firm as a “high-promise and high-impact company.”
Launch NY invested from its Nonprofit Seed Fund and for-profit LP Fund II, per its March 12 announcement.
“We’re thrilled that Launch NY, including our Emerging Cleantech Opportunity (ECO) Incubator, is a partner in the Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine that is making our region a hub of battery technology innovation,” Marnie LaVigne, president and CEO of Launch NY, said in the announcement. “This investment is a reminder of how powerful seed stage capital is in establishing startups right here in our own backyard to build our new economy, while addressing technology needs, global competitiveness, national security on a much broader scale.”
Bridge Green Upcycle is a member of the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator at 120 Hawley St. in Binghamton.
Bridge Green Upcycle on its website says it has a mission of “cleaning up clean energy.” The firm seeks to accomplish this by extracting critical minerals from end-of-life and manufacturing scrap batteries to reuse in various other industries, ranging from battery manufacturing to pharmaceuticals to even paints, Launch NY said. In doing so, it maintains a “circular economy” where materials can gain “new leases on life,” without needlessly adding to landfills or requiring new manufacturing.
This is a low-carbon, mining-free and cost-effective process, one that Balki Iyer, founder and chairman of Bridge Green Upcycle, emphasizes is “key to revolutionizing and completing” the clean-energy transition.
“The demand for critical minerals that goes into a battery is experiencing an exponential growth driven by major industries like transportation, stationary energy storage and consumer electronics. Bridge Green’s mission to ensure batteries don’t get consumed like oil but upcycled and reused over and over so we can support domestic supply chain and energy dominance for [the] United States,” Iyer said in the Launch NY announcement. “None of this is possible without the amazing support of a lot of people out here, especially in the NY ecosystem. It was critical for us to receive investment in our current fundraising round from a local funder, and Launch NY stepped in at exactly the right time. I really, truly believe that battery upcycling is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a big change that can help not only this region, but also the country and the planet. Bridge Green Upcycle is proud to have Launch NY join our list of reputed global investors in an oversubscribed round, positioning us well to scale.”
Iyer is a 2000 graduate of Binghamton University.
Launch NY describes itself as the only nonprofit venture-development organization and U.S. Treasury-designated Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that serves and directly funds startups in Upstate New York.
The core mission of Launch NY is to “identify, support and invest in high‐growth, high‐impact companies and to catalyze the entrepreneurial culture of Upstate New York on behalf of job and wealth creation.”
Launch NY is a core partner of the NSF Engines: Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine — designated last year as one of 10 inaugural U.S. National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines around the country. The Engine is a multi-coalition, cross-sector effort that bridges the work of industries, academic institutions, small businesses and government entities to bolster Upstate New York’s economy and strengthen its battery ecosystem.
The Engine is one of the latest cornerstones of Binghamton University’s battery initiatives, aiming to transform New York into the nation’s leader in energy storage research and development. It works closely to complement the existing efforts of New Energy New York (NENY), a double-awardee of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge and Regional Tech Hub designation.
As a member of the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator and Launch NY’s Emerging Cleantech Opportunity (ECO) Incubator, Bridge Green Upcycle plays an active role in NENY’s ecosystem. It has received technical assistance from NENY as well as support to hire paid student interns each semester since 2023, as part of NENY’s Student Startup Experience.