Why LA?

Size and Reach

Los Angeles’ sheer size provides numerous advantages such as massive demand for commercialized products, large manufacturing facilities, and strong business leadership in multiple industries

• There are 10M people in LA County; this provides a unique opportunity for cleantech companies for close proximity to one of the largest market demands in America
• The largest manufacturing centers in the U.S. are located in LA County
• In addition to cleantech Los Angeles is a world leader in healthcare, entertainment, fashion, tourism, aerospace.

World-Class Academic Institutions and R&D

Los Angeles County is home to three internationally acclaimed research universities, California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion Laboratory(Caltech/JPL), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of Southern California (USC).

• 42 Nobel laureates
• $3 billion in research expenditures
• Three of the nation’s top graduate engineering programs
• Three Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC)
• A U.S. Department of Energy “Energy Innovation Hub” – Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP)

Other major energy and water research centers, institutes and laboratories include:

 

UCLA

1. Smart Grid Energy Research Center (SMERC) (DoE funded)  
2. Center for Molecularly Engineered Energy Materials (DoE funded) 
3. Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology Laboratory (DoE funded) 
4. Clean Energy Research Center (CERC-LA) 
5. Institute for the Environment and Sustainability (IoES) 
6. Research Group for Organic Electronic Materials & Devices (Yang Yang Lab) 
7. WaTeR Center
8. Luskin Center for Innovation
9. Center for Energy Science and Technology Advanced Research (CESTAR) 
10. Clean Energy for Green Industry at UCLA (NSF IGERT) 
11. Energy Innovation Lab (Wirz Research Group)

USC

1. USC Energy Institute

Caltech

1. Caltech Resnick Sustainability Institute

Dominance in International Trade

When it comes to international trade, the world looks to Los Angeles as a vital locus point for international commerce. As one of the world’s leading gateways, Los Angeles is uniquely positioned in driving strong trade impact with Asia and other emerging economies.

• The port of Los Angeles and the port of Long Beach combined make the largest port in the world.
• The LA Customs District is recognized as one of the largest in the U.S. based on containerized cargo volume and total cargo value
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has more than 1,000 cargo flights each day. LAX is the world’s sixth busiest airport by passenger flights, linking LA to every corner of the globe.
• Logistics, extensive transportation network, and resources make Los Angeles a key driver in the global international business strategy.

Access to talented and skilled workforce

Los Angeles is home to hundreds of thousands of experienced, talented, and skilled workers with the potential to enrich emerging cleantech companies.

• Los Angeles has the largest manufacturing employment base in the county (470,000 jobs), a growing pool of high-tech skilled workers engaged in technology (226,000 jobs), and the largest number of PhDs in any region of the country.
• The Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and the Community Development Department facilitate employment opportunities and training programs, thereby helping cleantech companies reduce their human resource expenses.