Exelon’s Climate Bet: How $300K Checks Are Unlocking Half A Billion

BusinessEnergyExelon’s Climate Bet: How $300K Checks Are Unlocking Half A BillionByKen Silverstein,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Ken Silverstein analyzes the Energy Transition, AI and GeopoliticsFollow AuthorAug 19, 2026, 09:00am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.SummaryThe Exelon Foundation's 2c2i program is backing climate startups, including Buckstop, which uses AI to solve a "price discovery problem" by valuing recoverable metals in retired electronics like EV chargers and solar panels. Buckstop aims to be the "Kelley Blue Book for electronics," promoting circularity, reducing waste, and enhancing energy sovereignty by recovering critical minerals. Another recipient, Public Grid, helps renters access energy-saving programs. Exelon's $20 million commitment since 2019 has catalyzed over $555 million in follow-on capital for 30+ startups, creating jobs and avoiding 1.2 million metric tons of CO2. This strategy, offering modest checks but significant utility access, demonstrates how targeted investments can yield substantial environmental and economic returns.Show More MERCURY NEWS PHOTO BY JOANNE HOYOUNG LEE—AUGUST 9, 2002 —Boxes of obsolete motherboards, computers, printers, and other misc etrash wait to be processed into the high powered shredder at the HP Recycling Center in Roseville, CA. S(Photo by MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)MediaNews Group via Getty ImagesAsk Alexander Olesen why he founded Buckstop, and he replies: Why does a retired EV charger, still packed with several thousand dollars of recoverable metal, get valued by lenders and insurers at zero? Olesen calls that gap a “price discovery problem”—the reason his Washington, D.C.-based startup built an AI system that deconstructs solar panels, batteries and EV chargers into their component metals and assigns...