Over the past two months, the Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine has been focused on identifying and supporting groundbreaking climate resilience projects across the region. This included launching the first round of investments in Research and Development and Translation/Startup projects with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines program. Interdisciplinary, collaborative teams from across the region’s leading universities and startup companies answered the Engine’s request for proposals with an overwhelming and diverse range of climate resilience solutions.
Governors Jared Polis of Colorado and Mark Gordon of Wyoming collaborated to announce the recipients of the inaugural grant program by the CO-WY Climate Resilience Engine. This partnership signifies a new phase in the joint efforts of the two states to create climate resilience solutions that safeguard communities, encourage innovation, and stimulate economic development.
The CO-WY Engine received nearly 50 proposals across two areas: R&D, which focuses on catalyzing the commercialization of university-based projects, and Translation/Startups, which supports bringing early-stage commercial solutions to scale. The winning projects address key issues in climate resilience in our region, including water security, wildfire prediction and response, extreme weather modeling, soil carbon sequestration, and methane emissions mitigation. These projects build on and strengthen critical capabilities in advanced sensing and data science, positioning Colorado and Wyoming at the forefront of innovation nationally. These projects demonstrate the power of public-private partnerships and investments in innovation to drive meaningful impact.
Wildfire Risk and Prediction
Project title: Predicting Regional Wildfire Risk through Climate-Wildfire-Power-System Interactions.
Principal investigator: Qiuhua Huang, PhD
Lead institution: Colorado School of Mines
Key partners: University of Wyoming, Xcel Energy, Tri-State Generation and Transmission, Fire Adapted Colorado
About CO-WY Engine:
Led by Innosphere Ventures and funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), the CO-WY Engine is a collaborative initiative focused on driving innovation in climate resiliency and sustainability across the Colorado-Wyoming region. The CO-WY Engine brings together a diverse network of partners to develop and commercialize technologies that address critical environmental challenges, foster economic growth and enhance community well-being.
Visit www.co-wyengine.org for more information.