Two female-led startups win U.S. Bank Foundation Cleantech Award

Now in its fifth year, the award recognizes entrepreneurs developing climate-focused innovations

A shared interest in construction and design brought KitSwitch co-founders Armelle Coutant and Candice Delamarre together, and it was the pandemic that brought their business idea to life.

Both natives of France and pursuing their master’s degree programs at Stanford University, Coutant and Delamarre saw how the pandemic changed the way society needed and used building space. Yet buildings are often not designed to adapt quickly, and that’s when the pair recognized an opportunity not only to improve the flexibility of the built environment, but also help address the shortage of affordable housing in the U.S.

“What started as a thought experiment to think through how could we break apart the components of what makes a quality home and reassemble them inside existing buildings eventually turned into what is now Kit Switch: a solution to renovate buildings, change their use, or even just to build better homes more rapidly,” Coutant said.

Founded in 2021, San Francisco-based Kit Switch creates ready-to-install interiors that can be used in kitchens and bathrooms in multifamily housing. The modular designs can cut down on construction waste and work to reduce carbon emissions by using all-electric, EnergyStar-rated appliances and durable materials. And since the kits can be installed quickly, Kit Switch allows developers to retrofit or build multifamily units faster and more affordably.

“Interiors can be the most expensive parts of any new construction or renovation project, so having any kind of meaningful metric really does move the needle and helps us build more homes faster and better. For us, we’re able to cut costs by up to 30%, time by up to 50% and carbon right now by 20%,” said Coutant, Kit Switch’s chief executive officer.

Kit Switch is one of two companies receiving the 2024 U.S. Bank Foundation* Cleantech Inclusion Award, which supports entrepreneurs who identify as socially and/or economically disadvantaged and are building innovative companies that benefit the environment and drive economic development. The U.S. Bank Foundation works with Evergreen Climate Innovations to present the award, now in its fifth year, which includes a $30,000 grant each and a year of mentorship for Kit Switch and the other winning company, Calectra. 

“Cleantech can help create the impact we seek to both address climate change and support economic growth, and we’re proud to foster opportunities for entrepreneurs to bring their big ideas to fruition, with the aim of benefitting both people and the planet,” said Ariel Meyerstein, head of ESG at U.S. Bank. “We're also pleased to increase both the grant size and the number of companies receiving the award this year.”

“At Evergreen, we are committed to finding, funding, and growing early-stage climate technology companies that drive both economic development and environmental impact,” said Michelle Carr, CEO of Evergreen Climate Innovations. “Kit Switch and Calectra exemplify the kind of innovative solutions we need to address climate challenges while creating jobs and economic opportunities. We’re thrilled to expand our support this year to two extraordinary startups that are positioned to become leaders in the clean energy economy.”

Coutant and Delamarre, who is Kit Switch’s chief operations officer, plan to use the Cleantech Inclusion Award funding to track product performance across projects, drive improvement and amplify the results of their work through case studies, all while gaining financial and networking expertise through the mentoring experience.

Across the San Francisco Bay in Oakland, Calectra Chief Executive Officer Pauliina Meskanen and Chief Technology Officer Nate Weger are taking on industrial heat, which is used to produce materials such as cement, steel, glass, chemicals and more, and typically comes from burning fossil fuels.

“The heat that’s used to make these materials is responsible for a huge fraction of our global carbon emissions – 10% of global emissions come from industrial heat right now,” Weger said. “What we’re working toward is using renewables like wind and solar to provide that high-temperature heat instead of fossil fuel combustion.”

By developing their thermal storage technology to provide heat up to 1600° degrees Celsius, the Calectra team hopes to cut carbon emissions by 35-76% across industries. The funding from the Cleantech Inclusion Award will help the company test and refine its technology, and the co-founders look forward to leveraging the mentorship component to further cultivate their business network.

Calectra is in its early stage: Meskanen and Weger met only 18 months ago through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Cradle to Commerce program. Finnish native Meskanen is an engineer by training and has worked in the startup and venture capital fields, while Weger, who is originally from Iowa, has a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. But their complementary backgrounds and shared passion for climate innovation help them rise to the challenge of building a business.

“It was important that we have foundational values that are similar. We both want to make a big climate impact, and that’s what motivates us and really drives us forward,” Meskanen said.

For both Kit Switch and Calectra, the business development journey can be long. Coutant notes that the construction industry can be slow to innovate, and Calectra’s technology is still over a year from an industrial pilot. But the founders find satisfaction and purpose in each step along the way.

“We installed a project in Fresno for senior housing, and the seniors who live there were saying, ‘I finally feel like I get to live in the 21st century, thanks to my Kit Switch kitchen,’” Coutant said. “Hearing that felt incredibly moving and almost brought tears to my eyes because it does make a real impact on people’s day-to-day lives.”

“We’re trying to do something that nobody has done before and trying to grow this huge company from the two of us. That challenge itself is huge and exciting, and holds the possibility to change the future significantly for the better,” Weger said.

*U.S. Bank Foundation is a tax-exempt private foundation described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is funded primarily through contributions from U.S. Bank National Association and its affiliates and subsidiaries. The Foundation’s mission is to close the gaps between people and possibility in the areas of work, home, and play.