Although Nina Axelson ’04 hasn’t been in a University of Minnesota Twin Cities classroom for a couple of decades, she’s still doing her homework, using what she learned as an environmental science major to support clean energy efforts that will have a ripple effect across the state and beyond.
Axelson launched clean energy accelerator Grid Catalyst in 2021. The company works with startups and innovators to clear a path to commercialization for their ideas. The organization also developed Cleantech Innovation Pathways, a program for entrepreneurs that includes workshops, training, networking, and coaching.
“Because of the science background I gained in my degree program, I have the type of systems-based thinking needed for these major projects,” says Axelson. “It’s not just the basics of the scientific method, it’s having the language and understanding about how that science can be applied that’s crucial. And that’s what I build on for supporting startups as they move through different stages of development.”
A bright future for clean energy
Earlier this year, Grid Catalyst announced its fifth cohort, a group of nine energy startups that pitched pilot projects to key partners like the University of Minnesota, CenterPoint Energy, 3M, Xcel Energy, Great River Energy, Mortenson, and others.
Three of the startups are based in Minnesota, and include technology that optimizes energy usage, provides environmentally responsible heating and cooling technologies, and develops liquid-immersion cooling systems for high-performance IT equipment. In the 2024 cohort, two of the startups were spinouts from the University of Minnesota.
“Our measure of success is how much innovation we can draw to Minnesota and how much we can support a homegrown innovation ecosystem,” says Axelson. “That means making sure Minnesota-based startups have strong opportunities that draw on the strength of higher education and corporations in the state.”
As she grows Grid Catalyst, Axelson relies on the University of Minnesota as a partner, as well as a source of potential startups: For example, a new summer program will work with about 25 students to train the next generation of STEM innovators, supported by the Carlson School of Management and the Institute on the Environment.
Nature as inspiration
For Axelson, interest in these efforts actually didn’t begin in a classroom. It started with wolves.
After initially studying business and communications at St. Cloud State, she left school to help her father recover from a stroke, then moved to Colorado. While there, she became aware of a conflict over the use of public land, particularly in regards to wolf management issues and ecosystem stability.
“That was when I realized I could take my love for the wilderness and apply it in a more formal degree program,” she says. As a transfer student to the University of Minnesota’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, she appreciated being able to blend her interest in environmental science with her interest in policy and advocacy.
“I wanted to know how the science worked before I started to figure out how that could apply to working with people and advancing environmental action,” says Axelson. “The [degree] program was so interesting. It covered a wide variety of science-based fields, and then added insight into politics and business, with a look at how all of that intersected.”
The main advantage of her degree program, though, was the foundational knowledge she still uses daily. “Even 20 years later, I’m referencing quotes from my advisor and utilizing lessons from classes like forest ecology and botany,” Axelson says. “That science foundation has been so critical not just for Grid Catalyst, but for all the jobs I’ve held since my time at the University.
Axelson sees a bright future for a state that has a long history of people coming together to solve big problems, especially science-based challenges.
“That’s going to continue through the type of work done by our partners, our cohorts, and research institutions like the University of Minnesota.”
This story, by Elizabeth Millard, is adapted from Minnesota Alumni magazine
