Co-Chaired by NBA All-Star and Entrepreneur Russell Westbrook, LACI’s Road to 2028 Summit Convened Olympic Athletes, Policymakers, Entertainment Industry Advocates, and Other Leaders Working to Ensure the 2028 Games Deliver a Legacy of Economic Investment, Green Jobs, and Cleaner Air Across Greater LA
Forthcoming LACI White Paper Will Show at Least $11 Billion Invested in EV Charging, Batteries, Heat Pumps and More across LA County since 2020
LOS ANGELES, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — This week, the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) announced nearly $600 million in new commitments to action to advance clean air, clean energy, clean transportation, and other sustainable solutions for the Greater Los Angeles region by the time of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This Summit marks the second major convening in the Road to 2028 Summit Series, and follows the inaugural Summit of December 2025, which inspired $125 million in commitments to action for LA.
Inspired by LACI’s Road to 2028 and announced at the Road to 2028 Summit earlier this week, these commitments from key public and private sector leaders will advance the critical infrastructure and cleantech solutions necessary to help meet the needs of the 2028 Games and serve LA communities for decades to come. Moreover, the progress made on the Road to 2028 will be on full display when the world arrives for the Games, providing an opportunity to showcase the best of LA, California, and American leadership–all while helping to inspire global action.
“As the countdown to the 2028 Games continues, the investments we make over the next 18-24 months will determine the progress we can achieve by the time of and long after the 2028 Games,” said Matt Petersen, President and CEO of LACI. “Presented with a generational opportunity to drive sustainable progress, we must continue to commit to bold action now–and I’m grateful to see key public and private sector leaders from across the region coming together to accelerate the progress our region needs.”
“Being from LA, I want to be able to leave a legacy, not just on the court but to use that platform to be able to bring business and communities together–and there’s no better way to be doing that than through the 2028 Games,” said Russell Westbrook, NBA All-Star, Entrepreneur, and Road to 2028 Co-Chair. “I am proud to co-chair LACI’s Road to 2028 with Matt–together with our partners, we can help all Angelenos feel and see improvements in air quality and investments in our communities, in particular for our youth.”
“We are continuing to lead the way in sustainability by advancing our clean energy goals, installing more EV charging stations than ever before, and reimagining the way Angelenos think about public transportation,” said City of LA Mayor Karen Bass. “Together, with our private and community partners, we are making investments that will deliver environmental and economic benefits for Angelenos long after 2028.”
Hosted at Intuit Dome–the future home of 2028 Games basketball–the two-day Summit featured panels, presentations, and spotlight conversations from a wide range of regional and national figures, including policymakers, industry leaders, startup entrepreneurs, investors, Team USA athletes, advocates from the entertainment industry, startup founders, and community members.
“LADWP is investing now to strengthen reliability, expand clean energy, and make the progress our communities deserve,” said President of the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners Allan Marks. “From modernizing aging infrastructure and implementing innovative technologies to accelerating EV charging, streamlining new connections and expanding drought‑resilient local water supplies, we’re taking action today to ensure that the benefits of these investments endure long after the Games.”
“Climate change is real and a big human issue, not a political one,” said Bea Kim, Olympic Snowboarder, Climate Advocate, and Greater LA Native. “While nowadays it is associated with a political point of view, it feels wrong not to bring attention to the issue.”
Nearly $600 Million in New Commitments to Action by 2028
LACI announced nearly $600 million in new commitments that will be deployed by the time the world arrives in 2028 by their partners and others. LACI is proud to announce the following commitments to action:
LA County committed to administering $280 million to accelerate the clean energy transition through two major regional initiatives:Backed by the California Legislature and California State Leadership, the County is on track to source over 75% of its electricity from zero-carbon energy by 2028.Adding 500 new EV chargers at County facilities by 2028, for a total of 2,500 chargers to serve County fleet vehicles.LADWP is investing $186 million to expand clean energy access, lower costs, and strengthen grid reliability for LA residents, including: a first-in-nation vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and storage-to-grid program; a low-income multifamily retrofit buildings program to reduce energy bills; and two incentive programs that increase solar access, and help low-income homeowners to install solar and battery storage.LAUSD committed to fully electrifying its yellow fleet, marking one of the largest school bus electrification initiatives in the U.S. By 2028, LAUSD will have electrified 25% of their bus operations, completing the purchase of 329 EV buses and 329 EV charging stations. In partnership with LAUSD and Highland Electric, LACI was recently awarded $2.93 million from the California Energy Commission to support this commitment.TreePeople committed to investing $50 million in green, living infrastructure–planting and stewarding 28,000 trees across Southern California by 2028, helping improve air quality and urban heat gain.Balance is working with the Dutch government’s National Climate Platform (NKP) to support their national athletes to reduce unavoidable impacts (e.g., air travel) by enhancing biodiversity, forests, and climate resilience, representing more than $28.5 million of annual investment, for an estimated total of $57 million by 2028.CSU Dominguez Hills committed to expanding existing and deploying new clean energy, clean transportation, and sustainable solution projects, including installing 200 EV chargers, increasing battery storage by 6MWh, and investing $1 million in facility energy efficiency retrofits. CSUDH is en route to becoming one of the first carbon-neutral universities in the U.S. over the next decade.Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI) committed to expanding resident-led stormwater solutions that capture runoff, reduce flooding, and improve water quality in LA. LANI will invest over $2 million in creating an outdoor green space, planting 45 new shade trees and 28,378 square feet of groundcover and shrubs, building five green outdoor learning/play environments, and removing 29,131 square feet of asphalt.Archer Aviation is investing in electric aircraft charging infrastructure at 7 airports across Southern California. As the official air taxi provider of the 2028 Games, Archer plans to bring aircraft charging infrastructure online at its Los Angeles hub at Hawthorne Municipal Airport, along with Los Angeles International, Hollywood-Burbank, Van Nuys, Santa Monica, Long Beach, and John Wayne airports. Based on LACI estimates from USDOT data, similar investments averaged $1 million per facility.Liatris has committed to retrofitting existing homes in Southern California using thinner and more fire-resilient R-10 / inch building insulation–which performs two times better than traditional insulation and can result in up to 35 in HVAC energy savings. Liatris, a portfolio company of LACI partner organization Maryland Energy Innovation Accelerator, will invest $400,000 in the region, specifically targeting low-income households.
With just two years until LA hosts the Games, the Road to 2028 builds on the leadership of LACI’s unprecedented, public-private Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP) and Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), both of which seek to advance bold 2028 targets, pilots, and policies that will enhance equity, create quality jobs, and grow the green economy in LA and beyond.
During the Summit, LACI President and CEO Matt Petersen also shared details around a forthcoming White Paper, Going for Gold on the Road to 2028. The White Paper will provide a snapshot of climate investment and policy leadership in LA and California, and notably finds that approximately $11 billion has moved from climate ambition into deployed clean transportation and clean energy infrastructure across Los Angeles County since 2020.
Support for the Road to 2028 Summit was made possible in part by cornerstone-level sponsor Airbnb, platinum-level sponsor LADWP, gold-level sponsor Orrick, and a host of additional sponsors and partners.
Media assets from the Summit are available here:
Video recordings of every Summit sessionPhoto selects from the SummitMatt Petersen’s Road to 2028 interview on the Energy Gang podcast
ABOUT LACI:
The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is unlocking innovation by scaling cleantech startups, transforming markets through catalytic partnerships with policymakers, innovators, and market leaders, and enhancing communities through workforce training, pilots and other programs. Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Water & Power (LADWP) in 2011, LACI is recognized as one of the top 10 innovative business incubators in the world by UBI. LACI has helped 537 portfolio companies raise over $1.5 billion in funding, generated $477 million in revenue, and created more than 3,000 jobs throughout the Los Angeles region, with a long term economic impact of more than $733 million.
Contact:
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