Climate Innovation at Work:
Project Information
Across Oregon, organizations, businesses, governments, and community leaders are building innovative solutions that strengthen both the economy and the climate. The projects here are active public-private partnerships tackling challenges in clean energy, housing, transportation, agriculture, tribal economic development, and the circular economy.
Each project was featured during the Climate Innovation at Work showcase at PNW Climate Week in July 2026, demonstrating what’s possible when collaboration turns bold ideas into real-world impact. Together, they represent the growing ecosystem of people and projects helping build greener, more resilient cities and communities.
Featured Projects
Project Description: An innovation hub that turns waste streams into new products through material science research and development while supporting green-collar job creation.
Website: cordr.com
Tags: Circularity, Industrial Symbiosis, Forestry & Wood Products
Project Description: Building on Portland’s zero-emission delivery pilot to develop clean logistics solutions that will serve the future James Beard Public Market.
Key Partners: James Beard Public Market, Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), B-Line Urban Delivery
Websites: jamesbeardpublicmarket.com, b-linepdx.com, portland.gov/transportation/newmobility
Tags: Mobility & Transportation
Project Description: Transforming a 40-acre former marine terminal into a hub for modular and mass timber manufacturing, research and development, and workforce training.
Key Partners: Port of Portland, Oregon Mass Timber Coalition, PNW Mass Timber Tech Hub, Tallwood Institute (jointly operated by OSU and UO), Prosper Portland, Oregon Department of Forestry
Website: portofportland.com/innovationcampus
Tags: Housing Innovation, Forestry & Wood Products
Science Fair Projects
Project Description: Dreamt into existence for decades, the Center for Tribal Nations empowers tribal energy and data sovereignty while supporting native and tribally owned businesses anchored in the OMSI District.
Key Partners: Northwest Native Chamber, Prosper Portland, Metro, Infracenters, Northwest Area Foundation, OMSI, Holst, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, Multnomah County, Meyer Memorial Trust, Full Circle, PAE, Edlen & Co., Timberlab
Website: centerfortribalnations.com
Tags: Economic, Cultural Resilience & Impact, Clean Energy
Project Description: A new grant program to help large facilities and industrial businesses invest in cleaner energy, energy efficiencies and decarbonization, while delivering real benefits to local communities.
Key Partners: Prosper Portland, Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, PCEF funded, Portland Metro Chamber, Portland State University, Neighbors for Clean Air, Energy 350
Website: portland.gov/bps/climate-action/clean-industry/about-clean-industry
Tags: Clean Energy, Industrial Decarbonization, Industrial Symbiosis
Project Description: Building a structured cohort-based accelerator for OR climate founders with the full architecture founders need to launch and scale.
Key Partners: Latino Founders, RAIN, the Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network
Funders: Portland Clean Energy Fund
Website: latinofounder.com/climate-tech
Tags: Climate Tech
Project Description: Creating a new Willamette River electric passenger service and ferry, connecting riders from the north to south of the greater Portland region on the Willamette/Columbia.
Website: frogferry.com
Tags: Mobility & Transportation
Project Description: Unlocking the value of the Harvey Milk and Oak Street Corridor to connect the Pearl District to the Waterfront across a new live and work neighborhood.
Key Partners: Expensify, Design Portland, Skylab Architecture, Green Urban Design, City of Portland, Urban Land Institute, Energy Trust of Oregon, Human Access Project
Website: peoplestributary.org
Tags: Mobility & Transportation, Resilience
Project Description: A Newberg-based demonstration site for new modular housing that makes middle-income housing attainable through innovation, showing that solving the housing crisis and the climate crisis can be the same project.
Website: missingmiddlehousing.fund
Tags: Clean Energy, Forestry & Wood Products, Housing Innovation
Project Description: Zero-emission EV’s and trikes that expand the reach of the city street-cleaning efforts; project to expand where & how cleanup work can be performed.
Key Partners: Pape Machinery
Website: icetrikes.com
Tags: Mobility & Transportation, Clean Energy
Project Description: Meals on Wheels creates Resilient Energy Hubs that keep critical food distribution operations running during grid outages.
Key Partners: PGE Renewable Development Fund, Energy Trust of Oregon, Portland Clean Energy Fund
Website: mowp.org
Tags: Clean Energy, Resilience
Project Description: A circular economy accelerator that advances innovative business models, preventing, reusing, rescuing, repairing, recycling, composting and recovering materials that would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated.
Key Partners: Metro, Prosper Portland, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS)
Website: nextcycle.co
Tags: Circularity
Project Description: Building the missing infrastructure for agricultural innovation by connecting growers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and industry partners across Oregon.
Key Partners: Oregon State University, AgTech Innovators, OR Institute of Technology, TiE, OR Dept of Ag, Farmers, Nurseries & CEA Growers, Farm Collectives, George Fox Univ, OEN, Oregon Startup Center
Website: lateral.systems
Tags: Agriculture & Food
Project Description: Connecting organizations and projects in zero emission mobility through a mobility innovation network/hub, sharing project info, matching companies with opportunities, and acting as a connector of start-ups, agencies, utilities and investors.
Key Partners: PBOT, OpConnect, VVOLT, Breaking Barriers, Forth, TriMet, BLine
Tags: Mobility & Transportation
Project Description: An integrated rural infrastructure system, with Phase I 10-acre living lab, testing energy load resilience, water efficiency + reuse systems, field productivity, costs, and workforce training.
Website: shebafarm.com
Tags: Agriculture & Food, Resilience
Project Description: Investing in people, partnerships, and resources in rural areas that achieve solutions leading to a sustainable future in the Pacific Northwest. Employing strategies that protect, restore, enhance, and sustain both communities and natural resources.
Website: wyeast-rcd.org
Tags: Clean Energy, Resilience
