Wade Haerle is a Longtime Economic Development Leader and the New Director for the Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator
Haerle brings over 30 years of experience with energy and renewables to lead innovation with MEIA
After working with 37 startups, leading to the creation of five new companies and the acceleration of 10 already existing, the Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator (MEIA) now welcomes Wade Haerle as the new Director.
MEIA is a venture development program, overseen by the Maryland Clean Energy Center (MCEC), that focuses on the commercialization of advanced energy and climate mitigation technologies developed in Maryland-based businesses, universities, and laboratories. This accelerator uniquely blends the “pull” of a traditional early-stage venture development model with the “push” of accelerating existing pre-revenue businesses to create investible companies that will become the foundation of Maryland’s newest economic cluster. Since beginning with its inaugural cohort in January of 2020, MEIA has matched over 40 executives to teams, and related startups have raised over $10M in dilutive and non-dilutive capital, since joining the program.
“Maryland is becoming a national leader in advancing innovation with the clean tech sector. Mr. Haerle brings critical expertise to move the Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator forward and build out the early stage commercialization eco-system even further in our state,” said Kathy Magruder, MCEC Executive Director. “His first-hand experience with the creation of five different companies gives him a real world perspective that will benefit participating startups find the best ways to utilize all the resources MEIA has to offer.”
Most recently serving as the Agribusiness and Energy Program Manager for the Maryland Department of Commerce, Mr. Haerle has over 30 years of experience in the energy and renewables sectors, including research and development, permitting large facilities, and supply chain. He has worked for Fortune 100 companies, as well as energy startups, across the United States and also has experience creating new business and working in regional economic development.
Mr. Haerle will assume his leadership of MEIA with the support of the program’s original Director, Brian Toll, who recently joined a startup and will be moving into an advisory role with MEIA.
MEIA provides startups with access to domain experts, strategic partners, professional services, and project management support to execute commercialization milestones. To form or augment startup teams, MEIA recruits and engages experienced, industry-specific business executives and entrepreneurs called “energy executives,” who want to become founders or executives of the startup to perform its commercialization activities. This energy executive model creates higher quality leadership teams that, when combined with great technology, produce the investible Maryland-based companies needed to secure the economic development opportunities available for the clean energy industry.
MEIA is sponsored and supported by Exelon, Constellation, the Butz Foundation, the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute, the Ralph O’Connor Sustainability and Energy Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Banner Witcoff, Nemphos Braue, Snyder Cohn, Points North Studio, and Whiteford Taylor Preston. Sponsors provide both financial and in-kind support to MEIA and to Startup Teams. Last fall, MEIA was also awarded $750,000 in federal funds through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s ‘Build to Scale’ program.
MEIA is currently accepting applications for inventors and newly formed companies, and for business executives who want to become energy executives in residence. To learn more about MEIA and participation opportunities, please visit: www.mdeia.org.