Program

AWS Clean Energy Accelerator

An 8-month, equity-free cohort that pairs climate startups with energy companies for paid trials, plus up to $100,000 in Activate credits. The last edition (4.0) ended in March 2025; no 5.0 has been announced.

AWS Clean Energy Accelerator is for market-ready clean energy and climate startups with paying customers. Up to $100,000.

Credits: Up to $100,000 (Activate)
Equity: None
Length: 5 sprints over 8 months
Status: Dormant, open-intake form only

Status: may not be running right now

Dormant. The latest edition found is CEA 4.0 (launched 2024-03-18, ran 2024-09-02 to 2025-03-30). No CEA 5.0 was found. The AWS page still shows the 4.0 cohort and an 'Open enrollment' link to an F6S 'open intake' form, but no dates or new cohort are published.

At a glance

Credits: Up to $100,000
Decision time: CEA 4.0: top-30 semi-finalists told Jul 1, selection Aug 1 and public announcement Aug 13, 2024 (about 2.5-3.5 months after the deadline)
Credits last: AWS Activate rules apply. No separate expiry published.
Access: Open application

Official application page

01 · Overview

A good fit if you are

Incorporated climate startups with paying customers
Teams ready for enterprise trials in energy, water, grid or storage
Founders who can attend sprints in London and Paris

Not for

Idea-stage startups
Series B+ companies wanting the credits
Teams that can't send an executive to every sprint

Timeline and terms

Application window: CEA 4.0: 2024-03-18 to 2024-04-22, through F6S. Today an 'open intake' F6S form is linked with no published deadline.
Decision time: CEA 4.0: top-30 semi-finalists told Jul 1, selection Aug 1 and public announcement Aug 13, 2024 (about 2.5-3.5 months after the deadline)
Program length: 8 weeks of content spread over 8 months in 5 sprints (4 in person in London/Paris plus a Q1 2025 showcase, 1 virtual). CEA 4.0 ran 2024-09-02 to 2025-03-30.
Credit validity: AWS Activate rules apply. No separate expiry published.
Cash: Partial travel support only ('CEA will provide some monetary support' for in-person sprints; the startup covers the rest). No grant, and the programme is non-equity-dilutive.
Where: Global. The CEA 4.0 cohort came from the US, Canada, UK, Austria, Switzerland, Israel, Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Brazil and Argentina.

Up to USD 100,000 each in AWS Promotional Credit through AWS Activate, for eligible startups. Activate rules apply, so Series B+ companies aren't eligible, and the Activate lifetime cap includes earlier Activate credits (FAQ). The page adds that generative AI startups building foundation models 'may be eligible for up to USD 300K' to test Trainium/Inferentia. GenAI POC credits for pilots with CEA enterprise customers are case by case.

What changed recently

2025-03-30
CEA 4.0 programme ended. No CEA 5.0 announced as of 2026-10-04. Source
2024-03-18
CEA 4.0 launched at CERAWeek with six challenge areas, including generative AI, water tech and Amazon Operations sustainability. Amazon itself joined as a piloting partner. Credits stated as up to USD 100K through Activate. Format changed to 8 weeks of content over 8 months with in-person sprints in London/Paris (CEA 3.0 was 12 weeks starting in Seattle with a COP28 showcase). Source

02 · Eligibility

Hard eligibility rules

You must

Incorporated company (proof of registration if requested)
Market-ready solution with paying customers (not idea stage), able to run enterprise customer trials
Fit with a challenge area: generative AI in energy and climate, water tech, grid security and modernisation, energy storage, alternative fuels, Amazon sustainable operations
1-2 C-level people (founder, co-founder, CTO or CDO) attend all sprints
Background check of shortlisted finalists by a third-party vendor
For credits: AWS Activate eligibility (pre-Series B, within the lifetime cap)

Excluded

Idea-stage startups
Series B+ companies are ineligible for the Activate credits (they can still join)
Teams that can't commit an executive to every sprint

Have this ready before you apply

F6S account and application (one form for the Amazon Operations challenge, another for the other five areas; one area per form)
Proof of incorporation if requested
Details of the team, product and paying customers, business model and programme fit (selection criteria)
Names of the executives committed to attend
Consent to a background check (finalists)

03 · How to apply

How to apply

1
Check your solution fits a challenge area (grid, storage, water, fuels, AI in energy).
2
Submit the open-intake form on F6S.
3
If shortlisted, pass a third-party background check.
4
Commit one or two C-level people to every sprint.

What catches founders out

Credits follow Activate rules, so earlier Activate credits count against the lifetime cap.
Travel is only partly covered.
There is no published date for the next cohort.

What founders report Show

Summarised from public founder posts. Anecdotal, not official AWS policy.

Gotchas

(Official FAQ) Mature means post-revenue with paying customers, not late-stage funding, but Series B+ companies lose the Activate credits
(Official page testimonials) Alumni (Hybrid Greentech, Uprise Energy, Smart Pulse) cited direct access to energy corporates and to Amazon's energy teams as the main value

04 · Credits & stacking

What the credits cover

Covered

AWS services under AWS Activate Terms

Not covered

Amazon Mechanical Turk
AWS Managed Services
Ineligible AWS Support (Enterprise, Unified Operations, Enterprise On-Ramp, resold support, Partner-Led Support)
AWS Marketplace
AWS Professional Services
AWS Training
AWS Certification
Amazon Route 53 domain name registration or transfer
Services used for cryptocurrency mining
Upfront fees for Savings Plans and Reserved Instances
Any other services designated by your AWS contracting entity

Stacking with other credits

Can combine with

AWS Activate (credits are delivered through Activate; total counts toward the Activate lifetime cap)

Can't combine with

Exceeding the Activate lifetime cap: earlier Activate credits reduce what CEA can add (FAQ)

Lifetime cap: Under the Activate lifetime maximum. The FAQ says Series A-and-below startups that already received Activate credits 'can only get a combined max of USD 100k in their lifetime under the AWS Activate program'.

Past cohorts Show

2024-25 (CEA 4.0)21 startups

Including: BlocPower, Syzygy Plasmonics, Moment Energy, NET2GRID, Splight

United States · Canada · United Kingdom · Austria · Switzerland · Israel · Netherlands

Source

2024-25 (CEA 4.0 Generative AI Energy Lab)15 startups

Including: Arcee AI, PhysicsX, Strangeworks, VIOTAS, SeaDeep

United States · United Kingdom · Ireland · Belgium · Canada · Brazil · Argentina

Source

05 · Alternatives

If this isn't the right program

Amazon Sustainability Accelerator
Annual climate cohort that is still running.
Amazon Devices Climate Tech Accelerator
For tech that cuts the carbon of Amazon devices.
AWS Activate Portfolio
Up to $200,000 through an accelerator, angel or VC.

Sources

AWS Clean Energy Accelerator

Checked October 2026. AWS can change amounts and rules at any time.

Facts on this page checked against official sources on 2026-10-04.

Questions

Is the Clean Energy Accelerator open?

Not as a cohort. AWS links an open-intake form, but no new edition has been announced since 4.0.

Does it take equity?

No.

Prices and credit amounts are estimates and may change. Check AWS for current terms.