Energy Excelerator, a Hawaii-based organization that helps energy and energy-related companies starting up, has selected the 12 companies it will assist this year.

With funding from agencies including the Navy, U.S. Department of Energy, GE Ventures, Blackstone and power utilities in five different countries, Energy Excelerator issues a yearly call for infrastructure-related companies from across the globe, conducts rigorous due diligence and eventually chooses a select class (less than 5 percent of applicants) to fund, train and help succeed through a vast array of partners.

This fifth cohort is drawn from across the world, from Hawaii to Indiana to Spain, but the road to 100 percent renewable energy goes through Hawaii. With the nation’s first 100 percent renewable energy statewide mandate and an existing renewable energy mix of almost 50 percent on some islands, Hawaii is pushing the boundaries of the new energy economy on several fronts and is often seen as a bellwether for electric grids and services across the globe.

Here are the 12 innovators solving problems in startup paradise:

>> Go Electric provides utilities with demand response services, and customers with uninterruptable power and peak load shaving. Its microgrid hardware and software has found great success in military applications due to enhanced power reliability and cybersecurity, and it is expanding into new commercial markets.

>> HST Solar’s software allows utility-scale solar developers to run 180 billion potential designs on any given site to improve speed and efficiency.

>> in2lytics is a database platform and high-definition analytics to help solve grid challenges.

>> Kevala is mapping the grid to enable data-driven decision making.

>> Momit upgrades old-school AC units with Momit Cool. It’s our first international company, hailing from Spain. They save the average customer 30 percent on their electrical bill.

>> Opus 12 converts CO2 into 16 cost-competitive chemicals and fuels, effectively turning waste to value.

>> Sighten is a software platform that supports the entire solar workflow, from lead to financing. Solar PV sales teams that could produce only a few proposals per day can produce a hundred or more per day using Sighten’s platform.

>> Varentec is like noise-canceling headphones for the distribution grid. Its hardware and software are designed to control voltage and reactive power in real time to eliminate volatility on grids with high penetrations of wind and solar. Varentec’s backers include Bill Gates, Vinod Khosla and 3M.

>> Whisker Labs is a do-it-yourself energy monitoring platform. Whisker Lab’s energy sensor can be installed on a home’s breaker box without an electrician and provide measurements of voltage, current and real power. It can be used by solar or storage providers to help right-size products for the home.

>> Ceres Imaging conducts aerial spectroscopy to help farmers increase water efficiency by 5 to 10 percent while also increasing crop yield.

>> Smart Yields helps small to medium-size farms optimize plant production and labor management.

>> Swiftly has created a data platform designed to increase the performance and reliability of public transit networks. Swiftly’s data is 20 percent more accurate than existing solutions, costs up to 90 percent less to deploy and results in a better user experience.

Lauren Tonokawa is head of the communications team at the Energy Excelerator. She’s a graduate of the University of Hawaii. Reach her at laurentonokawa@gmail.com.