There's a part of Los Angeles, just east of downtown, called the Arts District. Once rundown, it's now trendy and increasingly expensive. But in between the lofts and the art galleries, there might just be the future of the green economy, too.
The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator — LACI for short — is a fancy tech campus, complete with a solar-covered parking lot to charge your electric vehicle. Built with a mix of government and private grants, LACI supplies the infrastructure clean tech companies need to get to the next level.
One of LACI's current executives in residence is Tracy Gray, who got her start as an engineer on the space shuttle program and now runs a venture capital firm.
LACI doesn't just provide coaching for its companies, the space in Los Angeles also houses state-of-the-art science labs and what's called the Advanced Prototyping Center. At the APC, companies have access to laser cutters, different kinds of lathes and a precision water jet that can cut through steel. All tools that have come in handy for Hive Lighting.
Hive Lighting makes energy efficient lighting, primarily for use in the entertainment industry. The facilities at LACI made it possible for the company to bring its newest product to market in under a year. "[That's] really fast for a manufacturing product," said Hive co-founder Jon Miller.
According to Petersen, it's companies like Hive and others that make LACI work.