Welcome to Duke Design Climate, where bold ideas meet sustainable innovation to tackle the world's most urgent environmental challenges
Design Climate is a startup incubator that scales climate and energy ventures from concept to seed-stage with multi-disciplinary teams of entrepreneurs, academic talent, and industry-leading mentors. Our goals are to:
1. Prepare early-stage companies for assessment and success with seed funders and venture studio partners.
2. Build, test, and refine prototypes by leveraging the deep bench of talent at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering and Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.
3. Provide an unparalleled educational experience that is hands-on and real-world, preparing students for success and building a strong pipeline of talent for our broad ecosystem of partner companies.
At Design Climate, we are proud to seed ventures and train leaders to take on the epic challenges of the climate crisis. Apply to our Innovators program to propose a Design Climate project.
Design Climate Introduction Video
Students
Design Climate fosters interdisciplinary learning, offering practical experiences in sustainability, entrepreneurship, and ethical leadership.
Industry Partners
Industry partners provide industry-specific expertise, gain market insights, and may join the startup team.
Faculty Partners
Faculty and researchers benefit by having a Design Climate team identify commercial applications for their research.
Sponsors
Sponsors drive innovative climate solutions by providing financial backing to Duke Design Climate.
Testimonials
“Developing a business and trying to build a business model proves to be a non-linear learning format”
– Leah, Master of Environmental Management student, 2023 cohort
“Coming from an engineering background learning different approaches from ideation till prototyping was an amazing experience”
– Sanchit, Master of Engineering Management student, 2023 cohort
