Nina Axelson has been doing sustainability work in Minnesota for nearly two decades. She’s worked for and with businesses and organizations of all sizes—including the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Best Buy, and International District Energy Association—in the clean energy space. Most recently, she spent 13 years at Ever-Green Energy, a St. Paul-based engineering and utility company. But the problem has always been the same: a lack of demonstration partners—companies and organizations willing to invest in and try out new technologies—for clean energy startups looking to prove their concept.

“It’s extremely hard to get investment in your clean energy business if you can’t get a demonstration project off the ground,” Axelson said. That’s why she founded Grid Catalyst, a new clean energy accelerator from Clean Energy Economy Minnesota (CEEM), a nonprofit dedicated to advancing and promoting the transition to a clean energy economy.

Read the full article at Twin Cities Business Magazine.