Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has announced the selection of 57 organizations as finalists for its 2025 Pitch Fest, scheduled for September 23–25 at PG&E’s Oakland headquarters. The event aims to showcase innovations in climate technology, grid modernization, and wildfire resilience. These finalists were chosen from a pool of over 400 applicants.
“Pitch Fest is one of the most impactful ways we connect with the energy and climate tech ecosystem,” said Mike Delaney, Vice President, Utility Partnerships and Innovation, PG&E. “We’re excited to accelerate solutions that can make our grid safer, more sustainable, and more affordable — and we’re energized by the creativity and commitment of this year’s presenters.”
The company stated that up to $25 million in funding will be available for new projects before the end of the year. PG&E plans to collaborate with selected vendors from Pitch Fest to define projects and integrate their solutions into existing systems.
Funding for these initiatives comes from PG&E’s electric research and development budget through California’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC), which supports investor-owned utilities in testing new technologies that advance safety, reliability, affordability, environmental sustainability, and equity for all electric customers in California. Additional funding may be considered based on project scope or alignment with other innovation efforts.
The event will also feature a panel discussion on its first day with startup leaders who have previously partnered with PG&E: Anukool Lakhina (BurnBot), Steven Chen (Treeswift), and John Taggart (WeaveGrid). Quinn Nakayama, Senior Director of Grid Research Innovation and Development at PG&E, will moderate the discussion focusing on building successful partnerships between startups and utilities.
Participating organizations will present their proposals across several themes: wildfire & forest management, EV & DER management, customer electrification, customer resiliency, large load management, undergrounding, and operational cost savings.
PG&E serves over sixteen million people throughout Northern and Central California. More information about the company is available at https://www.pge.com/, https://www.pge.com/news/, and https://www.pge.com/innovation/.
For further details on this announcement visit https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pge-announces-finalists-for-2025-pitch-fest-57-energy–and-climate-tech-innovators-selected-from-400-applicants-302558023.html
