InnSure, Schmidt Family Foundation, and Builders Vision Philanthropy Announce Winners of Decarbonization Risk Management Innovation Prize
NEW YORK, September 23, 2026 – InnSure, a mission-driven nonprofit catalyzing insurance innovation that addresses climate change, today announced the winners of the Decarbonization Risk Management Innovation Prize, with support from the Schmidt Family Foundation, and Builders Vision Philanthropy.
InnSure awarded the prize to three winners whose groundbreaking solutions use advanced computing (AI, machine learning, digital twins, and similar tools) to deliver a step-change improvement in underwriting the risks tied to decarbonization and clean energy projects.
Each winner was awarded $200k in funding and will benefit from 12 months of hands-on acceleration support through InnSure’s Creation Labs accelerator program. The winners are:
Aillium, an underwriting intelligence company for battery-dependent assets, converts battery and operating data into decision-grade evidence - including degradation, remaining useful life, warranty exposure and residual value - that insurers and lenders can use in underwriting and financing decisions. Its initial U.S. validation focuses on electric school buses, with applications across fleets, energy storage and other battery-dependent assets.
InfraSure, a specialty insurer for energy infrastructure assets helping asset owners, investors, and lenders understand their risk exposures, evaluate resilience measures, and insure the risks that gate financing. InfraSure is developing Performance Assurance solutions for distributed energy assets, including EV fleets, battery storage, and geothermal, built on its own climate and engineering risk models. By covering performance degradation, residual value, and revenue risk, these solutions are designed to make distributed energy assets bankable and lower their cost of capital. InfraSure is developing them with pilot customers across all three segments.
NevadaNano, which is adapting its low-cost MethaneTrack™ emissions monitoring technology to give insurers and carbon-credit buyers continuous evidence that plugged oil and gas wells stay non-emissive. A three-well pilot aims to establish an insurance-grade monitoring standard that can scale to help fund more well-plugging projects and reduce methane emissions.
“The winners of the Decarbonization Risk Management Innovation Prize are providing real, innovative solutions that will help accelerate decarbonization efforts,” Christopher Lowell, Managing Director at InnSure said. “We’re proud of each of them, and thankful for the support from Builders Vision and the Schmidt Family Foundation that makes this prize possible.”
Aillium, InfraSure, and NevadaNano were selected by an expert panel of judges on criteria including technical feasibility, track record, and climate impact. The three winners were chosen following a pitch event for 9 finalists.
“Each of these winners is turning difficult-to-measure risks into actionable evidence that insurers and lenders can use to make more informed decisions,” Maddi Reeves, Director of Clean Energy Philanthropy at Builders Vision said. “We're excited to see how their innovative approaches can strengthen underwriting and unlock the insurance and financing needed to bring promising clean energy technologies to scale."
“The better we can understand and price risk, the faster we can deploy the new technologies we know we need to achieve our climate goals. But markets don’t incent risk management innovation, especially in sectors like novel climate technology, which aren’t yet operating at scale. This year's winners are using new tools to help investors underwrite with more confidence, so that new technologies can scale faster,” Kyle McEnaney, Program Director for Climate Tech at the Schmidt Family Foundation said.
The Decarbonization Risk Management Innovation Prize winners were announced at InnSure’s 2026 Climate Forum on September 22 in New York City.
About InnSure
InnSure is a mission-driven nonprofit at the intersection of insurance innovation and climate change. Its mission is to catalyze novel insurance solutions that support effective climate adaptation and mitigation. Through programs including the Innovation Prize, Creation Labs, and the annual InnSure Climate Forum, InnSure fosters collaboration between insurance professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, and communities to close the protection gaps that threaten the energy transition and resilience efforts. Learn more at innsure.org.
About The Schmidt Family Foundation
Established in 2006 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, the Schmidt Family Foundation is an innovation incubator and accelerator for ideas, programs and solutions that help restore a balanced relationship between people and planet. Through grantmaking and impact investments, the foundation bridges across sectors and systems and collaborates with communities and leaders around the world to make out planet and communities healthier, safer and more resilient. Learn more at tsffoundation.org.
About Builders Vision
Builders Vision is an investment and philanthropy platform that harnesses innovative capital to build a more resilient future. We grow and transform markets that generate financial returns and sustainable outcomes across three sectors: food & agriculture, energy and oceans. Our success is only possible because of our collaboration with the entrepreneurs, innovators and investors who share our commitment to building the economy of tomorrow. Learn more about Builders Vision at www.buildersvision.com.