The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and global venture firm and startup accelerator gener8tor today announced the launch of the Electrify Nevada Accelerator Powered by gener8tor. This initiative will support early-stage startups developing innovative energy solutions, with a particular focus on advanced battery technology and sustainable energy systems, leveraging Nevada’s unique position in the global energy market.

On Oct. 4, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that it had selected Nevada as one of six new states to win a FAST Partnership Program grant, which supports technology-driven small businesses in turning their research and development expertise into commercial products. The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) architected the grant application, which builds upon the Sierra Accelerator for Growth and Entrepreneurship (SAGE), a statewide program housed at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Nevada, Reno. This is the first time that Nevada has won a FAST grant since 2019.

The climate crisis continues to deepen throughout the Southwestern U.S. as severe heat waves and dwindling groundwater reserves threaten the vitality, livability, and economic future of the growing region. It’s an unfavorable prognosis that requires the intervention of invention.

A pioneer in the computing space named Alan Kay said these words over 50 years ago. And they summarize our current situation in the Southwest U.S. quite well. With heat waves getting more severe, along with dwindling groundwater, the unfavorable prognosis for the region requires the intervention of invention.

“GOED is actively building an electric, innovative and connected Nevada future,” said Tom Burns, executive director at the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). “We certainly recognize the contributions mining and hospitality have made to the state. But we take advantage of building and expanding other sectors by bringing companies into Nevada. As new industries emerge this will provide career opportunities for our kids as well as diversifying our tax base.”

The Manhattan Beach Studios Group is going to Vegas. The company, also known as MBS Group, is part of a consortium that will build and manage a 34-acre media production and multi-use facility complex at the University of Nevada – Las Vegas’s Harry Reid Research and Technology Park in the southwest section of the city.

From our valley’s record-breaking temperatures to low water levels at Lake Mead, the southwest faces big challenges on a warming planet. Since the very first Earth Day that took place on April 22, 1970, Nevada has warmed and so has the rest of the country.

A team of researchers at the Desert Research Institute and UNLV is joining forces with other regional universities to study climate challenges in the water-scarce Southwest as part of the project funded by the National Science Foundation.