Technology
Buffalo Green Tech Companies Draw Loans and Grants for Battery and Training Growth
Viridi Parente's $1.4 million Erie County loan supports its 42-acre campus expansion while PUSH Buffalo opens a $2.5 million workforce center and the city runs its second Eco Challenge.
How we reported this
Viridi Parente secured a $1.4 million low-interest loan from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency to expand its 42-acre green tech campus in Buffalo for battery technology and battery-powered construction equipment production.
The loan arrives as Buffalo builds on its October 2024 Two-Star Clean Energy Community designation, which already funded the first electric vehicles added to the City Fleet. Upstate New York, including Buffalo, maintains the cleanest electric power profile in the United States because hydropower supplies 33 percent of regional electricity against a 6 percent national average.
Campus Growth and Job Training Facilities
Viridi Parente is converting an old GM plant into an 850,000-square-foot facility on the 42-acre site. The project adds manufacturing space for lithium-ion power systems aimed at industrial and microgrid storage uses. At the same time, PUSH Buffalo opened the region's first green job training facility, a $2.5 million Sustainability Workforce Training Center on the West Side that prepares workers for clean energy and sustainable building roles. More than 4,000 people in the Buffalo area already work in clean energy.
The city launched its 2nd Annual Civic Innovation Eco Challenge in 2026 to attract green technology proposals focused on recycling, energy usage, and waste reduction. These efforts draw on the same hydropower advantage that gives the region its low-carbon grid.
Funding Sources and Next Steps
State grants supported the PUSH Buffalo center, while the Erie County loan directly backs Viridi Parente's battery manufacturing scale-up. The combination of public loans, grants, and training infrastructure supplies the concrete backing for continued growth in local clean energy employment without relying on unverified future projections.
Companies seeking similar support can review current Erie County Industrial Development Agency loan criteria and the city's Eco Challenge application guidelines posted on municipal sites.