Although Nina Axelson (B.S. ’04) hasn’t been in a U of M classroom for a couple decades, she’s still doing her homework, using what she learned as an environmental science major to support clean energy efforts that will have a ripple effect across the state and beyond.

“Because of the science background I gained in my degree program, I had the type of systems-based thinking needed for these major projects,” says Axelson. “It’s not just the basics of the scientific method, it’s having the language and understanding about how that science can be applied that’s crucial. And that’s what I build on for supporting startups as they move through different stages of development.”

Axelson launched clean energy accelerator Grid Catalyst in 2021. The company works with startups and innovators to clear a path to commercialization for their ideas. The organization also developed Cleantech Innovation Pathways, a program for entrepreneurs that includes workshops, training, networking, and coaching.

In March, Grid Catalyst announced its fifth cohort, a group of nine energy startups that pitched pilot projects to key partners like the U of M, CenterPoint Energy, 3M, Xcel Energy, Great River Energy, Mortenson, and others. Three of the startups are based in Minnesota, and include technology that optimizes energy usage, provides environmentally responsible heating and cooling technologies, and develops liquid-immersion cooling systems for high-performance IT equipment. In the 2024 cohort, two of the startups were spinouts from the University of Minnesota.

“Our measure of success is how much innovation we can draw to Minnesota and how much we can support a homegrown innovation ecosystem,” she says. “That means making sure Minnesota-based startups have strong opportunities that draw on the strength of higher education and corporations in the state.”

As she grows Grid Catalyst, Axelson relies on the U of M as a partner in the organization’s Innovators Network, as well as a source of potential startups: for example, a new summer program will work with about 25 students to train the next generation of STEM innovators, supported by the Carlson School of Management and the Institute on the Environment.

For Axelson, interest in these efforts actually didn’t begin in a classroom. It started with wolves.

After initially studying business and communications at St. Cloud State, she left school to help her father recover from a stroke, then moved to Colorado. While there, she became aware of a conflict over the use of public land, particularly in regard to wolf management issues and ecosystem stability.

“That was when I realized I could take my love for the wilderness and apply it in a more formal degree program,” she says. As a transfer student to the U of M’s College of Natural Resources (now called the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, or CFANS), she appreciated being able to blend her interest in environmental science with her interest in policy and advocacy.

“I wanted to know how the science worked before I started to figure out how that could apply to working with people and advancing environmental action,” says Axelson. “The College of Natural Resources program was so interesting, and it was perfect for what I wanted. It covered a wide variety of science-based fields, and then added insight into politics and business, with a look at how all of that intersected.”

Another unique aspect of the program was the way it provided both a small community of students and a larger campus experience. At the time Axelson attended, the program had about 500 students, which gave it a “small college feel,” she says. But it was tucked inside a robust and obviously much bigger University environment. That’s reminiscent of Grid Catalyst in some ways; the organization’s focus on a handful of cohorts or groups at a time pairs well with its large-scale partners.

The main advantage in her degree program, though, was the foundational knowledge she still uses daily. “Even 20 years later, I’m referencing quotes from my advisor and utilizing lessons from classes like forest ecology and botany,” Axelson says. “That science foundation has been so critical not just for Grid Catalyst, but for all the jobs I’ve held since my time at the University.”

Those roles have included managing Best Buy’s diversity giving program, leading conservation efforts for St. Anthony Park Community Council, and leading sustainability projects as a vice president at Ever-Green Energy. In that last position, Axelson served as project manager for development and implementation for the largest solar thermal installation in the nation.

“We have a great history in this state of solving big problems, especially science-based challenges,” she says. “That’s going to continue through the type of work done by our partners, our cohorts, and research institutions like the University of Minnesota.”

Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer in Hinckley, Minnesota.

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