Greentown Labs, an energy-oriented workshop in Fort Point Channel, expands space for 'cleanweb' companies

By Scott Kirsner, Globe Columnist

Greentown Labs co-founder Jason Hanna tells me that the energy-oriented workshop space for startups is growing this summer, adding about 3200 square feet on a second floor of its building. And with the expansion, another 10 companies will join the 13 already housed at Greentown, which may now be the biggest collection of cleantech companies under one roof in the region. Greentown moved into a former textile warehouse in Fort Point Channel in May of last year, after getting started in East Cambridge. With the expansion, it will grow to 17,500 square feet.

Hanna says that the new space is a bit quieter and more "finished" than the concrete-floored, machine shop environment on the first floor. "To this point, we've gotten a lot of mechanical engineers working on compressors and thermal batteries and wind turbines," he says. "I think the new space will hopefully broaden our appear to so-called cleanweb companies," working on energy-related software or services. (The picture at right was taken last year when Boston Mayor Thomas Menino came to inaugurate the Greentown space; the big white doughnut is a lighter-than-air wind turbine developed by Altaeros Energies, one of the original Greentown tenants.)

Among the new tenants are Divya Energy, which is developing a website to help consumers evaluate various home solar systems; Vecarius, which aims to capture waste heat from automobile engines and generators; and Pika Energy, which advocates installing both solar panels and wind turbines on homes.

Renting a single desk on Greentown's grungier first floor starts at $275 a month; the nicer upstairs space is $450 a month. But seven of the ten new tenants, Hanna explains, will enjoy four months of free space, courtesy of the U-Launch grant program for cleantech entrepreneurs. (That program is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.) After that, they can decide to stick around as rent-paying residents — or not.