Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator awards grants to two St. Louis startup support organizations: Helix Center Incubator & BioSTL
By: Nathan Rubbelke of St. Louis Business Journal
Two St. Louis startup support organizations are among 13 recipients receiving a share of $1 million in grants awarded by the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2).
The grants, whose awardees include local nonprofit BioSTL and the Helix Center Biotech Incubator in Creve Coeur, are focused on projects “that address gaps” in development and commercialization of clean energy and agriculture technologies.
The funding for BioSTL will go toward building a network of Missouri growers to “test, validate and provide feedback” on technologies. The Helix Center will use its funding to expand the facility’s co-working and lab space, and to speed up commercialization and business development in the agriculture sector.
The projects receiving grants are affiliated with IN2 Channel Partners, which is a collection of incubators, accelerators and university programs that help refer startups to the Wells Fargo incubator program. Founded in 2014, IN2 is a $30 million technology incubator funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and located at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado.
The incubator’s Channel Partner Awards program launched in 2017 with committed funds of $5 million to be awarded over four years, officials said. In 2018, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center announced a partnership with IN2 to help advance projects aimed at the interconnection of food, water and energy by focusing on research and validation of sustainable agriculture.
Photo Courtesy: Wells Fargo Advisors
