Urbanova - Smart City Living Laboratory

What Urbanova - Smart City Living Laboratory does

Urbanova was a Smart City Living Laboratory founded in 2016 in Spokane, Washington, focused on civic research, data, cloud, and mobile solutions for community health, energy, and connected communities initiatives. In June 2025, Urbanova merged with the Inland Northwest Center for Energy and Decarbonization (INCEAD/INTENT) to form Novara Energy Alliance, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit partnership organization (EIN 81-4753150) headquartered at the Scott Morris Center for Energy Innovation in Spokane. Novara launched publicly on May 7, 2026, with three founding mission partners: Avista Corporation (regional utility), Itron Inc. (energy and water resource management technology), and McKinstry Co. (design, build, operate, and finance firm for buildings and infrastructure).

Novara operates as a convening organization rather than a technology product company, with no proprietary software or paid product offerings. Its service lines are framed as Problem Solver (aligning partners, removing barriers, building roadmaps), Bridgebuilder (connecting research to real-world deployment), and Catalyst (elevating regional leadership, improving energy literacy, and attracting funding). The organization's stated mission is to address interconnected energy and water challenges in the Inland Northwest region, a market context in which Avista's service area has experienced a 12% rise in winter peak demand over the past decade.

The business model is non-commercial: revenue is generated through membership contributions, grants, and partnerships rather than product sales or pricing tiers. Specific membership fee structures and total operating budget are not publicly disclosed. The only confirmed funding is a $140,000 grant from Washington State's Innovation Accelerator Cluster Program. The organization maintains a small staff (1-10 employees), operates regionally rather than nationally, and is currently recruiting for a permanent CEO. Distribution occurs through the membership program, an annual Novara Energy Summit (2026 scheduled for October 7), technical advisory groups, website content, and direct stakeholder engagement.

Name

Urbanova - Smart City Living Laboratory

Legal name

Novara Energy Alliance (registered successor organization, formerly Urbanova)

Website

https://urbanova.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2026

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Urbanova merged with INCEAD/INTENT in June 2025 to form Novara Energy Alliance, a Spokane-based 501(c)(3) non-profit that convenes utilities, technology firms, researchers, government, and communities to address energy and water challenges in the Inland Northwest region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Energy and Water Innovation Coalition

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (925120), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

akta.pro primary industry

Smart Cities & Urban Innovation Programs (Digital Planning, Civic Tech for Cities) (BPAIANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable Cities, Urban Development & Green Infrastructure (BPADALAL), Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

Keywords

• Energy innovation consortium
• Regional energy collaboration
• Nonprofit energy alliance
• Smart city research
• Decarbonization partnership

Headquarters

HQ city

Spokane

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Urbanova, now operating as Novara Energy Alliance, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) partnership organization that convenes industry, government, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and communities to plan, demonstrate, and scale solutions to energy and related water challenges in the Inland Northwest. Its deliverables are a membership program, an annual regional summit, and coalition-building services that align partners around shared priorities, bridge research to real-world deployment, and attract funding to the region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Novara Energy Alliance Membership Program Membership-based offering through which organizations join the non-profit partnership to participate in alliance activities, access technical advisory groups, attend summits, and collaborate on regional energy and water innovation initiatives in the Inland Northwest.
• Novara Energy Summit 2026 Annual regional summit that brings together industry, government, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and communities to address energy challenges and showcase innovations in the Inland Northwest.

Quantifiable outcome

• 12% increase in winter peak demand in Avista's service area over the past decade

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered founding and core.

• Avista Corp.foundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2026Avista Corporation serves as one of three founding mission partners of Novara Energy Alliance. As a major regional utility provider, Avista brings expertise in energy infrastructure and service delivery to the alliance. Avista's service area has experienced 12% growth in winter peak demand over the past decade, highlighting the urgency of the alliance's mission to address energy challenges.
• Itron Inc.foundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2026Itron Inc. serves as one of three founding mission partners of Novara Energy Alliance. As a technology company specializing in energy and water resource management solutions, Itron contributes technical expertise in measurement, data collection, and resource optimization to support the alliance's goals.
• McKinstry Co.foundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2026McKinstry Co. serves as one of three founding mission partners of Novara Energy Alliance. As a design, build, operate, and finance firm focused on buildings and infrastructure, McKinstry brings expertise in sustainable building practices and energy-efficient infrastructure development.
• Inland Northwest Center for Energy and Decarbonization (INCEAD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025The Inland Northwest Center for Energy and Decarbonization (INCEAD) merged with Urbanova in June 2025 to form Novara Energy Alliance. This merger combined two organizations focused on regional energy innovation to create a unified entity with broader capabilities and reach.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Center for Sustainable Energy: A nonprofit that partners with utilities, governments, and communities to accelerate clean energy adoption through program administration and technical expertise. Comparable to Novara in acting as a neutral, mission-driven bridge between utilities, government, and end customers to deploy clean energy solutions.
• Urban Future Lab: A New York City–based startup incubator and innovation hub focused on clean energy and sustainability ventures. Comparable to Novara in operating a place-based energy innovation community that connects entrepreneurs, utilities, corporates, and policymakers to accelerate energy ventures.
• Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN): A peer-learning network of local government sustainability directors across North American cities. Comparable to Novara in acting as a cross-stakeholder convener driving community-level sustainability and resilience outcomes, with overlapping membership across municipalities, utilities, and funders.
• NY-BEST (New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium): A public-private partnership and regional energy storage innovation cluster in New York State. Directly comparable to Novara as a state/regionally scoped, mission-driven energy innovation consortium that convenes industry, government, and researchers to move technologies from research to deployment.
• Clean Energy Group: A nonprofit that works with states, utilities, and communities to advance clean energy and climate-equity goals. Comparable to Novara as a small, mission-driven nonprofit convening utility, government, and community stakeholders around clean energy demonstration and deployment.

Broad incumbents

• Advanced Energy Economy (AEE): A national business association that advocates for advanced energy policies and convenes energy companies, investors, and policymakers. Comparable to Novara in its role as a convener and catalyst for energy innovation, but operating at federal/state policy advocacy scale across the U.S.
• Smart Cities Council: A global coalition of companies, governments, and solution providers working to advance smart city initiatives. Directly comparable to Urbanova's original "Smart City Living Laboratory" positioning and to Novara's mission of aligning cross-sector stakeholders around community energy/connected-community outcomes, though operating globally rather than regionally.
• Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA): A nonprofit industry organization focused on grid modernization and the integration of clean, distributed energy resources. Comparable to Novara as a stakeholder-convening nonprofit in the U.S. energy ecosystem, though SEPA operates at national scale rather than a single region.

Regional players

• Climate-KIC: A European-based climate innovation community and knowledge/innovation community supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. Comparable to Novara as a mission-driven convener that integrates research, entrepreneurship, and regional demonstration activity to scale climate solutions, though anchored in Europe rather than the U.S. Inland Northwest.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urbanova - Smart City Living Laboratory