CleanTech Alliance Awarded $2.5 Million to Establish Washington Carbon Business Network

CleanTech Alliance announced on October 7, 2024, that the U.S. Small Business Administration awarded it $2.5 million to establish the Washington Energy – Carbon Advancement Network (WECAN), a business-support network for carbon-focused companies. The Alliance said the planned five-year program would focus on carbon capture, utilization and storage; carbon materials; and carbon purchasers.

What is WECAN?

WECAN is a Regional Innovation Cluster intended to help carbon-focused businesses develop and commercialize technology by strengthening connections across Washington’s carbon economy. It is a network and entrepreneur-support program, not a physical hub, consumer product, or carbon-capture facility.

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The CleanTech Alliance’s award announcement described WECAN’s focus areas as carbon capture, utilization, and storage; carbon materials; and carbon purchasers. WECAN’s current program site describes work to strengthen the carbon capture, utilization, sequestration, and carbon materials ecosystem in Washington while engaging regional partners.

Who awarded the $2.5 million, and what was the plan?

CleanTech Alliance said the U.S. Small Business Administration made the $2.5 million award to establish WECAN. The Alliance announced the award on October 7, 2024, and said the program was planned to run for five years, with approximately $500,000 per year for staffing and program costs. Those figures describe the announced plan; they do not establish actual annual disbursements or spending. The underlying SBA award documentation was not independently verified in the sources reviewed.

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The Alliance named Momentum as a grant partner responsible for grant management and technical support to entrepreneurs. In the announcement, Alliance president and CEO Mel Clark called WECAN the only SBA cluster award in the Pacific Northwest; that characterization was the applicant organization’s statement about its award.

What does the network do?

WECAN’s current public description says it works to address barriers identified by the carbon industry and accelerate project development and technology adoption. Its site reports monthly advisory-board meetings and says a policy-focused working group is launching. It does not publish quantified program outcomes or confirm the grant’s performance.

The CleanTech Alliance’s 2024 announcement also said it had more than 1,000 member organizations spanning 17 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. Those are the Alliance’s organization-reported figures from that announcement, not a current independently verified membership count. The public pages reviewed do not provide an exhaustive list of WECAN members, participants, or beneficiaries.

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How WECAN differs from the Ankeron Carbon Management Hub

WECAN should not be confused with the Ankeron Carbon Management Hub. Contemporaneous reporting by GeekWire on October 8, 2024 described Ankeron as a separate effort involving a DOE-funded regional study. WECAN, by contrast, is the SBA-award-backed business network announced by CleanTech Alliance. The available reporting does not provide enough comparable information to assess which effort is more effective.

GeekWire also named Washington carbon-related ventures including Twelve, CarbonQuest, Banyu Carbon, Ebb Carbon, and Myno Carbon. Their appearance in that regional coverage does not establish that they are WECAN members or have received its support.

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