Stories & Updates from
VertueLab
Discover the stories, communities, and progress that are fueling our mission at VertueLab.
The Signal from the Portland Urban Mobility Innovation Summit
In June, VertueLab partnered with Prosper Portland to host the Portland Urban Mobility Innovation Summit. The summit brought together founders, mobility operators, policymakers, economic development leaders, and other partners working across zero-emission initiatives to explore the future of urban mobility in our region.
From Climate Community to Climate-Building: What Oregon Needs Now
Reflections from Pacific Northwest Climate Week 2026 in Portland, OR.
Portfolio Highlight: Aquagga
In this installment of our Portfolio Highlight series, we take a closer look at Aquagga, a participant in the 2024 Cascadia Cleantech Accelerator, a joint accelerator with VertueLab and CleanTech Alliance. Discover how Aquagga is tackling the urgent problem of PFAS contamination in water sources through their groundbreaking Hydrothermal Alkaline Treatment Technology. Keep reading for our interview with COO Chris Woodruff and learn more about their inspiring impact.
Rooted & Rising: The Next Generation
This Spring, VertueLab is asking: what must we build today to ensure the next generation inherits a thriving climate innovation ecosystem?
Rooted & Rising: Reflections
On April 22nd, 2026, VertueLab hosted our first annual Earth Day event, Rooted & Rising: Powering Climate Tech for the Next Generation. This gathering was an undeniable success thanks to the incredible climate community in Seattle. Individuals from all sides of our ecosystem came together; from VertueLab climate founders to ecosystem partners, curious community members to University of Washington next-gen entrepreneurs — the excitement around climate tech was palpable.
Looking back at 2025 - A note from Aina
In 2025, VertueLab welcomed key partners, collaborators, and entrepreneurs into our growing sphere of impact. In Oregon, with the generous support of philanthropic partners including the Lemelson Foundation, the Collins Foundation, and the Healy Foundation, we launched critical work aligned with VertueLab’s vision for an equitable climate transition—even amid renewed challenges to equity and justice in climate action.
Innovative Solutions to the Climate Crisis
2025 is a year marked by undeniable uncertainty. As the climate crisis worsens and federal funding for environmental initiatives declines, the need for innovation and locally-based, cleantech solutions has never been more crucial. VertueLab aims to empower the entrepreneurs facing this climate crisis head-on, providing them with the tools they need to turn ideas into lasting solutions.
![[VIDEO] Seattle Climate Innovation Hub | Where Community Meets Collaboration](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/64470d19e7b76779eaa39a78/1766166482156-YLM1FC8304JCBIPUVMWF/PCW.png)
[VIDEO] Seattle Climate Innovation Hub | Where Community Meets Collaboration
As 2025 draws to an end, we look back at a year of incredible partnership between VertueLab, 9Zero, the University of Washington’s CoMotion, and the City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development that turned the Seattle Climate Innovation Hub into reality. A space that brings together the entire ecosystem to solve, build, and deploy lasting climate solutions, right here in the Pacific Northwest.
VertueLab’s Impact, Firsthand
Our community is built around our entrepreneurs. Their approaches towards climate solutions are creative, powerful, and a testament to their dedication to a better future. Hear directly from them as they share how VertueLab has impacted their journey.
Portfolio Highlights: Cascadia Seaweed
In this installment of our Portfolio Highlight series, we are diving into the work of Cascadia Seaweed, a sustainable aquaculture company producing high-quality biostimulants derived from regeneratively harvested seaweed. Cascadia Seaweed's goal isn’t just about the product; it focuses on developing climate-resilient cultivation methods while prioritizing the environment.
SBIR/STTR Crash Course
VertueLab’s Accelerator and Funding Assistance Manager, Leo Ochoa is here to demystify some common SBIR/STTR terms, break down the application proocess, and share some helpful insights that can help you navigate your funding journey.
Tapping Into Federal Funding: How We Helped DayZero Enhance Access to Clean Water
VertueLab’s Federal Funding Assistance team supports underrepresented communities and entrepreneurs, helping them turn technical ideas and innovations into a reality. Through this collaboration, DayZero Water was able to unlock federal dollars for their Water Box, allowing them to provide families with access to clean water in places where treated sources are unavailable.
When Collaboration Comes to Life: Inside the Seattle Climate Innovation Hub
Climate change remains a persistent and growing threat to community wellbeing and economic prosperity in Washington State. In the midst of unprecedented disruption to national policy and threats to the climate movement, it's clearer than ever that deep collaboration and marshaling our shared resources is how we can best support and accelerate climate startups in the Pacific Northwest.
Portfolio Highlights: Community Energy Labs
The latest installment in our Portfolio Highlight series highlights Climate Impact Fund portfolio company, Community Energy Labs, a company on a mission to make smart energy management and decarbonization both accessible and affordable for community building owners. Keep reading below to find out more about our chat with Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Tanya Barham.
From Vision to Impact: Reflecting on 45Camp’s Acceleration of Diverse Climate Innovations
As we dive fully into 2025, we’re revisiting a bright spot from 2024: our partnership with Tabor 100 and Prosper Portland that resulted in 45Camp. In this blog post, we invited one of the 45Camp mentors, AnnaMaria White, to reflect on why programs like 45Camp are vital to supporting equitable solutions for the climate crisis.
2024 VertueLab Research in Review
The research we conducted in 2024 reveals invaluable insights into the challenges our region faces and highlights the powerful solutions that can emerge when communities, entrepreneurs, innovators and funders work in harmony.
Ways to Support VertueLab’s Mission This Season
The role of climate-focused nonprofits has never been more critical. VertueLab is stepping up to drive innovation and climate solutions when it matters most — but we can’t do it without you. Thanks to your support, we’re able to continue provide funding and other resources to entrepreneurs working on equitable climate solutions key to addressing the climate crisis. Here are some ways you can contribute.
A Beacon in this Dark Night
Whether you woke up last Wednesday morning or stayed up all night to see the result of the presidential election, it seems clear that our community currently remains in a state of either shock or profound despair. As I dropped off my son at school the morning after, we talked about what this all meant, how we will live, what will change, and how to move forward with this sadness.
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