A global accelerator program is starting a new chapter in the Twin Cities.

On Thursday, Sunnyvale, California-based accelerator and investor group Plug and Play announced the nine startups that will take part in its first Minneapolis cohort.

The Minneapolis iteration of the program will join over 60 other Plug and Play sites around the world. The organization’s existing programs cover over two dozen industry verticals, including aerospace, med-tech, and health. The Minneapolis program is catered to startups working on sustainability specifically – a relatively newer offering for Plug and Play, says Robert Grey, director of the company’s “sustainable future” programs.

“The sustainability program has been growing really fast – it’s only about five-and-a-half years old within Plug and Play,” he says. “We’re designing this hub to be the sustainability hub of the Midwest.”

The Minneapolis edition of Plug and Play will, for now, be housed within the McNamara Alumni Center on the U of M campus. Of the nine startups in this year’s cohort, just one is based in Minneapolis, but several local organizations have thrown their support behind Plug and Play’s presence in the Twin Cities. Formal partners of the effort include Allianz, Bremer Bank, the Carlson School of Management, and Greater MSP Partnership.

The nine startups in Plug and Play’s “Sustainability Batch 0” in Minneapolis are:

• Edgecom Energy: A Toronto-based startup that says it uses artificial intelligence to “simplify energy management for large energy consumers”
• Aigen AI – A Redmond, Washington, startup that has developed a robot designed to eliminate herbicide-resistant weeds mechanically
• Basis Climate – A New York City-based startup that’s created a marketplace for clean energy tax credits
• Helix Carbon – A Cambridge, Massachusetts-based startup that’s developing “carbon-negative” industrial chemicals
• Silurian AI – A Kirkland, Washington-based startup that’s developing “AI-driven Earth simulation models” designed to help improve decision-making in energy, insurance, ag, and more.
• Nataqua – A Nevada-based startup that’s developed a method to convert CO2 to alcohols
• CNaught – A San Francisco-based startup that’s developed software aimed at helping organizations buy carbon credits
• Mammoth Climate – A Toronto-based startup that aims to help companies track and improve their employees’ individual carbon emissions
• SYNCRIS – A Minneapolis-based startup that has developed inverters designed to improve the performance of micogrids

Grey notes that Plug and Play doesn’t take equity in any of the startups participating in its accelerators.

Matt Lewis, VP of partnership strategy with Greater MSP, says that landing Plug and Play will be a boon for the wider startup ecosystem in the Twin Cities.

“We’re excited anytime a new venture firm or accelerator comes into the market,” he says. “Every one of them is valuable and additive.”

Is there a risk of over-saturation of such programs in the region? Locally, for example, there’s already the Grid Catalyst accelerator program, which is backed by state dollars and has similar aims as Plug and Play’s sustainability program.

Lewis says he has no concerns about a saturation of startup support. And, in fact, he’s seen evidence of “cross pollination” between existing programs here.

For his part, Grey with Plug and Play says that more startup support is always a good thing for a region. “I truly believe that the more resources you have for startups, it’s better for everybody,” he says. Such resources may also have the added benefit of “reducing the brain drain in certain geographies,” he notes.