Best Energy Companies in Minnesota, United States
The 135 best Energy companies in Minnesota, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: NatureWorks.
Our analysis of 171 Energy companies
$71.4b in tracked funding; 82% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Energy companies in Minnesota
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Employees | Founded | Stage | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NatureWorks Manufacturer of biobased polymers and fibers from renewable resources | $352M | 24 mo ago | 164 164 → 199 (+21%) | 2001 | Funding Raised | Windows ServerBootstrapMicrosoft ASP.NET+12 | 269 patents Biodegradable polylactide resin formulations, fast‑hydrolyzing and branched polymers, plus foam processing. | 1 expansion |
| 2 | tenKsolar Designs, manufactures PV modules. | $74M | 125 mo ago | 51 | 2008 | Deadpooled | — | 64 patents Patents concentrated in electrical & electronics | — |
| 3 | Eland Oil & Gas Upstream oil and gas company | $68M | 121 mo ago | 136 | 2009 | Acquired | — | — | — |
| 4 | Minnesota Power Provider of energy solutions and services for residential and commercial customers. | $50M | 32 mo ago | 607 | 1906 | Funding Raised | Windows ServerIISjQuery UI+12 | — | 5 job openings · 1 launch |
| 5 | Nokomis Energy Developer of solar energy projects 35Talent top 28%Funding top 42%Tech bottom 49%Market bottom 27% All 5 signals ▾Talenttop 28% Fundingtop 42% Techbottom 49% Marketbottom 27% Globalbottom 25% Talent: 4 named leaders on record · 3 C-suite/founder profiles curated Funding: Raised $34.8M across 4 rounds · 4 rounds over 5 yrs (0.8/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 35/100 | $35M | 16 mo ago | 31 | 2017 | Series B | WordPressMySQLPHP+25 | — | — |
| 6 | Dakota Plains Holdings Provider of crude oil storage and transportation services | $34M | 163 mo ago | 49 | 2004 | Deadpooled | — | — | — |
| 7 | Black Ridge Oil &Gas Provider of Spanish-language radio programming | $27M | 104 mo ago | 7 | 2010 | Series A | — | — | — |
| 8 | Corn Plus Provider of unspecified services, launching soon | $12M | 134 mo ago | 4 | 1993 | Series A | — | — | — |
| 9 | Zero6 Energy Developer of large scale solar energy power projects | $12M | 49 mo ago | 56 | 2000 | Series B | — | — | — |
| 10 | Pineapple Energy Retailer of solar energy storage | $8M | 36 mo ago | 255 | 2020 | Funding Raised | — | — | — |
| 11 | Dooley's Petroleum Provider of petroleum logistic and distributor of fuel, propane and lubricants | $7M | 127 mo ago | — | 1956 | Series A | Apple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365PHP+8 | — | — |
| 12 | Tonka Energy Partners Provider of oil & gas upstream services | $7M | 31 mo ago | 3 | 2021 | Series A | — | — | — |
| 13 | Ever Cat Fuels Manufactures biodiesel | $5M | 15 mo ago | 12 | 2007 | Deadpooled | — | — | — |
| 14 | Heron Lake BioEnergy Provider of baseball news and transaction tracking | $5M | 191 mo ago | 40 | 2001 | Public | jQuery UIjQueryGoogle Analytics | — | — |
| 15 | Revolution Fuels Mobile biodiesel production facility | $3M | 135 mo ago | — | 2010 | Deadpooled | — | 8 patents Mobile biodiesel production systems converting waste and food oils into renewable fuel | — |
| 16 | Vincent Real Estate Real-estate, acquisition, development, management, and construction company | $3M | 86 mo ago | — | 2008 | Seed | — | — | — |
| 17 | Mcgyan Biodiesel Licensor of a continuous biodiesel production process | $2M | 181 mo ago | — | 2009 | Seed | — | — | — |
| 18 | Sheerwind Innovating wind energy with groundbreaking funnel technology for efficient power generation | $1M | 153 mo ago | 9 | 2010 | Deadpooled | — | — | — |
| 19 | Challenger Energy Upstream shale gas company | $1M | 139 mo ago | — | 2007 | Deadpooled | — | — | — |
| 20 | Al Corn Clean Fuel Producer of ethanol and livestock feed from corn | $761K | 15 mo ago | 95 | 1994 | Funding Raised | jQuery UIjQueryMicrosoft 365+1 | — | — |
| 21 | National Renewable Solutions Developer of solar & wind energy projects | $660K | 162 mo ago | 31 | 2011 | Acquired | — | — | — |
| 22 | Darcy Solutions Developer of smart ground source heat pumps 48Growth top 28%Patents top 32%Innovation top 33%Moat top 45% All 9 signals ▾Growthtop 28% Patentstop 32% Innovationtop 33% Moattop 45% Techtop 48% Talentbottom 45% Fundingbottom 41% Globalbottom 35% Marketbottom 24% Growth: Web rank 50,000,000 → 10,000,000 YoY · Fresh capital in last 24 mo Patents: 21 patents matched (strict assignee match) · 21 filings since 2022 vs 0 in 2017-21 rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 48/100 | $525K | 21 mo ago | 12 | 2018 | Seed | WordPressApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+26 | 21 patents Groundwater-based geothermal heat exchange systems and pitless adapter technologies. | 1 partnership · 2 awards |
| 23 | North Star Electric Provider of heating and cooling solution | $300K | 188 mo ago | 40 | 2001 | Funding Raised | WordPressBetterDocsMySQL+28 | — | — |
| 24 | Novel Energy Solutions Minnesota based solar energy management company | $290K | 119 mo ago | 154 | 2012 | Seed | WordPressApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+37 | — | — |
Top 12 Energy companies in Minnesota
#1
Series B · Minneapolis, Minnesota · founded 2017 · 31 employees$34.8Mraised▾
Developer of solar energy projects
- Feb 2025Series B$333.4K
- Jul 2024Series B$30M
- Aug 2022Series A$1.8M
- May 2021Series A$3.1M
#2
Deadpooled · Anoka, Minnesota · founded 2007 · 12 employees$5.1Mraised▾
Ever Cat Fuels produces biodiesel by converting waste greases, animal fats, and plant oils into biodiesel by using heterogeneous metal oxide-based catalyst reactor technology called Mcgyan. The process is termed the Mcgyan® process after the names of the inventors (McNeff, Gyberg and Yan).
- Mar 2025Grant (prize money)$13.3K
- Apr 2012Series A$811.5K
- Sep 2011Grant (prize money)$265.1K
- Sep 2011Grant (prize money)$98.5K
#3
Funding Raised · Minnetonka, Minnesota · founded 2001 · 164 employees$352.5Mraised▾
Manufacturer of biobased polymers and fibers from renewable resources. These materials serve as sustainable alternatives to petrochemical-based plastics and fibers, finding applications in diverse sectors including food serviceware, 3D printing, and textiles. The company's production process utilizes greenhouse gases as a starting point, transforming them into sugars for fermentation. A focus on circular economy pathways is integrated into the design and application of its products. The company offers various polymer grades tailored for specific applications, such as injection molding, extrusion, and film production. They also provide support through technical documentation and regulatory affairs resources.
- May 2024Conventional Debt$350M
- Jan 2018Grant (prize money)—
- Oct 2014Grant (prize money)$2.5M
#4
Funding Raised · Dodge Center, Minnesota · founded 1994 · 95 employees$760.8Kraised▾
Producer of ethanol and livestock feed from corn. This company processes corn to create ethanol fuel and DDGS, a high-protein animal feed. A byproduct, distillers corn oil, is also produced. Products are marketed through a separate group.
- Mar 2025Grant (prize money)$500K
- Feb 2025Grant (prize money)$12.8K
- 2012Grant (prize money)$248K
#5
Funding Raised · Duluth, Minnesota · founded 1906 · 607 employees$50Mraised▾
Minnesota Power is an ALLETE Company that provides electric power to customers in Minnesota. They offer various programs and rebates for energy conservation and have a mobile app for outage information.
- Oct 2023Grant (prize money)$50M
#6
Seed · Minneapolis, Minnesota · founded 2018 · 12 employees$525Kraised▾
Developer of groundwater-sourced geothermal technology designed to improve the health of the environment. The company's technology offering products are ground source heat pumps that utilize groundwater aquifers for heat exchange and reducing hydrocarbon emissions eliminating hydrocarbon emissions, reducing heating and cooling costs, thereby enabling consumers to access environmentally friendly, energy-efficient heating and cooling systems.
- Sep 2024Grant (prize money)$650K
- Sep 2020Grant (prize money)$99.4K
- Jun 2020Grant (prize money)$1.3M
- Jan 2020Seed$525K
#7
Series A · Wayzata, Minnesota · founded 2021 · 3 employees$7Mraised▾
Operator of a wellbore acquisition company intended to serve well operators. The company's database of well and engineering data provides an advantage when assessing a new acquisition opportunity, enabling users to identify high-potential acquisition targets and optimize drilling.
- Oct 2023Series A$3.3M
- May 2022Series A$3.6M
#8
Funding Raised · Minnetonka, Minnesota · founded 2020 · 255 employees$7.5Mraised▾
Retailer of solar energy storage
- Jun 2023Venture Debt$7.5M
#9
Deadpooled · Minneapolis, Minnesota · founded 2008 · 51 employees$74.4Mraised▾
tenKsolar designs, manufactures and markets PV systems which provide high kilowatt hour production per unit area at the low cost per kilowatt hour. tenKsolar has announced its RAIS Wave system which combines PV modules, reflectors and racking configured in a repeating wave pattern to provide the highest density energy producing system for flat roof or ground mount systems. tenKsolar's proprietary Cell Optimizing architecture makes PV modules more efficient and unique in their ability to generate energy from all available light, whether direct, diffuse or reflected.
- Jan 2016Series D$25.2M
- Sep 2015Series C$1.9M
- Apr 2015Series C$6M
- Oct 2014Series C$8M
#10
Acquired · Shoreview, Minnesota · founded 2009 · 136 employees$68.2Mraised▾
Upstream oil and gas company
- Apr 2016Post IPO$18.5M
- Sep 2012Post IPO$1.4M
- Aug 2012PE$62M
- Apr 2011Series A$5.1M
#11
Series B · Chanhassen, Minnesota · founded 2000 · 56 employees$11.5Mraised▾
Developer of large scale solar energy power projects
- May 2022Series B$11.5M
#12
Series A · Minnetonka, Minnesota · founded 2010 · 7 employees$27.1Mraised▾
Provider of Spanish-language radio programming. It offers a diverse schedule of programs airing daily, covering various formats and timeslots to cater to a broad audience. The programming includes news updates and a variety of music and talk shows. The company also maintains an app to enhance listener engagement and accessibility.
- Sep 2017Post IPO$5.2M
- Sep 2012Conventional Debt$16.5M
- Jul 2011Series A$6.1M
- May 2011Series A$10M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Energy coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
What Minnesota researches in energy storage
University of Minnesota leads Minnesota's energy-storage research, focusing optimistically on microgrid control and hybrid renewable systems, with recent work accelerating toward breakthroughs in advanced batteries and ammonia synthesis.
- University of Minnesota11
- University of St. Thomas - Minnesota1
- University of Minnesota, Duluth1
- University of Minnesota System1
Common questions
Riya reads income statements for fun. She covers the real money in a sector — revenue, growth, who actually earns — and never met a vague claim she didn't want a number for.