Hawaii's startup program Energy Excelerator invested USD5 million in 15 cleantech companies for the development of clean energy. The startup raised the said amount from the US Department of Defense's Office of Naval Research. This was according to a report published by VentureBeat.

Hawaii is aiming to attain 70% clean energy by 2030. Energy Excelerator usually funds each startup with USD100,000 to USD1 million to be used for an extended dry spell in financing. It has raised USD30 million from the said source and has already invested USD5 million of it in 15 startups. It mainly focuses on smart grid technologies, new transportation, and renewable energy, said the report.

Dawn Lippert, Energy Excelerator's co-founder, believes that cleantech startups have great market opportunities, but they are limited by the lack of funds. She hopes that the company can propel those startups to success, as stated in the report.

Among the 15 startups that raised funding from Energy Excelerator are Amber Kinetics Inc., Ballast Energy Inc., Effortless Energy, Navatek Ltd., and TerViva, according to VentureBeat.