NYSTAR Request for Proposals and Applications Submission Portal
The mission of Empire State Development (“ESD”) is to promote a vigorous and growing state economy, encourage business investment and job creation, and support diverse, prosperous local economies across New York State through the efficient use of loans, grants, tax credits, real estate development, marketing, and other forms of assistance. New York State offers resources designed to enable new and existing businesses to become more competitive through the use of innovative technologies.
Empire State Development's Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) aims to foster technology-driven economic growth in New York State by supporting innovation and commercialization of new technologies. NYSTAR does this by providing resources, funding, and support to businesses, universities, and research institutions across the state.
On this web portal, you can review and respond to Requests for Proposals and Applications for NYSTAR Programs. Please review the guidelines and eligibility criteria carefully for each opportunity before beginning your submission. NYSTAR Opportunities Include:
Innovation Matching Grants Program
- Program Manager: Melanie LaRose
- Contact: IMGProgram@esd.ny.gov
New York Global Entrepreneurs Program (NYGEP)
- Program Manager: Toby Garcia
- Contact: NYGEP@esd.ny.gov
NYSTAR Cleantech Corporate Innovation Challenge (Application Opens on May 4, 2026)
- Program Manager: Toby Garcia
- Contact: cleantech.challenge@esd.ny.gov
If you have questions regarding a Proposal, Application, or Program, please email the relevant Program Manager identified above. If you would like to learn more about NYSTAR or ESD, please visit our websites at esd.ny.gov/innovation-development-support and esd.ny.gov.
Cleantech Challenge Overview
New York State is a recognized national and global leader in cleantech innovation. However, a critical disconnect persists between the State’s robust ecosystem of emerging technology companies and its established corporate and public-sector partners in the cleantech sector. These partners frequently face unmet technological needs, but they typically require potential solutions to be validated with real-world performance data to prove they are sufficiently de-risked for commercial adoption. At the same time, small businesses developing novel technologies often lack the capacity and opportunity to independently identify, fund, and execute the pilot projects, or early commercialization activities required to generate this critical data.
As a result, promising cleantech innovations often stall before real-world deployment, slowing progress toward meeting New York State’s climate and sustainability goals. Commonly referred to as the “Valley of Death,” this gap reflects the lack of appropriate non-dilutive funding, structured pilot opportunities, and early commercialization support needed to sufficiently de-risk technologies for commercial adoption. Without support at this stage of development, many technologies are unable to advance from early technical validation into commercial-scale deployment; and established industry partners are unable to integrate these solutions into their operations and commercial supply chains.
To address this gap, ESD, through the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (“NYSTAR”), is requesting applications from one or more qualified New York State-based not-for-profit organizations to administer the Challenge. Selected Awardees (“Challenge Operators”) will convene corporate and public sector partners to identify priority technology needs, formalized as Industry Challenge Statements3. Challenge Operators will also design and implement a statewide competitive selection process to identify New York State-based small businesses developing technologies that are well positioned to address these needs, and will support selected companies in demonstrating market readiness, securing customers, pilot deployment4, and other early commercialization activities necessary to advance promising innovations toward commercial markets.
Questions
All questions, comments, requests for clarification or any other communication regarding this RFA must be submitted by email to cleantech.challenge@esd.ny.gov no later June 23, 2026. Your subject line should state: “[Name of Applicant] – RFA Inquiry, Cleantech Challenge”.