SC Energy Technology Startup Accelerator

The Entrepreneurship & Innovation Exchange (eiX) venture studio is a new initiative of SC NEXUS designed to launch cutting-edge startups around advanced energy technologies in South Carolina. eiX is sponsored by the SC Department of Commerce in partnership with SCRA, led by NextGEN and powered by FedTech.

The program sources innovative intellectual property from universities and national labs, then matches each technology with entrepreneurs to build spinout companies around it. Over the course of the program, teams work through customer discovery and market validation, with access to expert mentors, industry partners, and SC Nexus’ testbed infrastructure.

Focus areas include:
- Grid resilience technologies
- Advanced energy generation, transmission, distribution and storage
- Cybersecurity for energy infrastructure
- Grid modernization tools

The venture studio will run for 16 weeks from August-December 2026, culminating in a final showcase in early December featuring a $50,000 prize pool for eligible startups. The program is free to participate in; we do not take equity in startups.

This is a hybrid, part-time program based out of Greenville, SC. Out-of-state entrepreneurs should be willing to travel to SC 2-4 times over the course of the program for key events. More details will be available in the participant application launching in early April.

Entrepreneur and Innovation Exchange (eiX) Interest Form

Register your interest in supporting the eiX Venture Studio as a coach or Mentor, or as a participating startup in the upcoming eiX Venture Accelerator.

This is a hybrid, part-time program based out of Greenville, SC. Out-of-state entrepreneurs should be willing to travel to SC 2-4 times over the course of the program for key events. More details will be available in the participant application launching in early April.