Our strategic advisor and collaborator at the Cox Cleantech Accelerator powered by gener8tor, Miguel Granier, recently penned a thought piece on How Atlanta can become a global leader in cleantech innovation. We wanted to unpack this timely topic further and explain how the Georgia Cleantech Innovation Hub views the pathway and actions toward a establishing Georgia’s preeminence in cleantech innovation.
First, why Georgia?
As our organization has spoken about our vision, mission and role in the ecosystem throughout the state, we have received a great amount of support, feedback and questions. None of those questions was more direct than, “You could easily replace the word ‘Georgia’ with ‘Atlanta’ on all of your slides and your logic would still hold, so why did you chose Georgia?” Great question. It would be tactically far easier to manage a citywide effort than a statewide one, why did we choose the seemingly more challenging route? The answer is that having a narrow geographic focus (Atlanta Metro) diminishes a few critical differentiators the state has, namely the following:
- The Cleantech Manufacturing-base: The investment numbers seem to change weekly, but when last checked, $15+B of investment has been poured into cleantech-related manufacturing in Georgia since August 2022 and the majority of it outside of the Atlanta Metro area. As will be discussed in forthcoming posts, the proximity to world-class manufacturing and the suppliers/talent it attracts are two factors to consider when starting or moving a cleantech innovation business here.
- Statewide Logistics Infrastructure: Few place in the world can boast of logistics assets (e.g., ports, highways, railways, warehousing) that Georgia has in such a compact footprint. This, in part, is why manufacturing companies choose to locate in the state, but it is also a great reason to innovate in clean logistics within Georgia. Innovators tacking problems in low carbon logistics, a sector which makes up ~10% of global carbon emissions, can deploy their solution at any number of world-class assets without having to leave the state.
- Farming and Agribusiness Backbone: According the Georgia Department of Economic Development, agriculture has a more than $70 billion economic impact on Georgia with agribusiness accounting for ~$58B and farming the remainder. While not all AgTech fits under the cleantech umbrella, meeting the future caloric requirements of a growing global population in a way that limits carbon emissions is massive undertaking requiring innovations ranging from precision agriculture to low energy irrigation to methane reductions. While some AgTech innovation happens in the 29 county Atlanta metro, the bulk happens around the state.
You are likely also asking, “Why Georgia vs. North Carolina / Tennessee / Washington / Texas / Other”. Agree, this is a critical question as well. We will address that in a future post, stay tuned. For now, when it comes to creating a leading hub for cleantech innovation, we believe that having a statewide focus best positions the effort to be differentiated.
Why Now?
There is an urgency to this effort because the window to create a world-class innovation ecosystem is finite and the competition is stiff. The window has opened and it is important to act now. The rationale is three-fold:
- Existence of a critical mass of engaged stakeholders: There is a critical mass of people in the state whose day job it is to design, innovate, buy or implement cleantech solutions for their organizations. Cleantech innovation is no longer a passion project; people build successful careers and their livelihoods in this sector. The critical mass ensures two things: 1) there are enough people that benefit from investing their time and talents into the creation of a strong ecosystem that their collective action can make a significant impact, 2) if one needs to contact a true expert on a topic in any number of cleantech sectors, it can now happen in person for a coffee, lunch or a drink after work. Density is a proven driver of innovation, and that now exists in Georgia. This is why the window has opened.
- Fragility of a pure manufacturing economy: The emerging cleantech manufacturing base gives Georgia a head-start toward building a future-ready economy, however, a cleantech economy based solely on manufacturing can also be fragile. Supply chain disruptions, global competition, monetary policy and inventory cycles are just a few examples of events that can throw a manufacturing economy off stride. A robust, inclusive cleantech innovation economy can reinforce Georgia’s manufacturing economy, as well as, be fueled by it. This is why it is important to act.
- Ecosystem building can take time: Today’s leading cleantech ecosystems, Boston, LA and Silicon Valley, have a 10+ year head start on Georgia when it come to building a cleantech innovation ecosystem. Newer entrants like Denver, Houston and San Diego also have a head start, albeit smaller. Ecosystem building takes time, however, the lessons that leading ecosystems have learned can help Georgia to accelerate its own efforts. High impact interventions have been discovered and implemented around the country; all Georgia has to do is select and adapt the right ones for its situation. Being a fast follower does not put the state in a bad position at all. However, there needs to be a sense of urgency to stake a claim on a leadership position within cleantech because there are a number hungry and capable regions also vying for a leadership role and there is readily available capital to accelerate their efforts. This is why action is need now.
In short, a window for action has opened and it is important to act decisively because Georgia’s ability to define its path and narrows as time progresses.
Five Steps to Cleantech Innovation Leadership
Building an ecosystem that supports a leadership position in cleantech innovation takes time and a roadmap for stakeholder to align around will accelerate the effort. There are numerous studies/reports around what it takes to build and innovation ecosystem. Synthesizing some of the best insights, the Georgia Cleantech Innovation Hub is taking the following 5-step approach to build a cleantech innovation ecosystem across the state.
- Set the ambition and build a small, active group of stakeholders that have a lot riding on the success of the effort
- Select the strategy, specifically should Georgia develop a “want to win” or a “right to win” strategy
- Build a critical mass of startups and VC capital by having well-stocked innovation funnels
- Create the places, spaces, and culture that sustain young, high growth companies
- Develop a talent and workforce strategy that attracts and retains the people that feed innovative companies across each innovation funnel.
Stay tuned, we will publish a posts on each step over the next couple of weeks, and if you like this please consider following us on LinkedIn, subscribing to our newsletter, or making a donation.