Clean Tech Hub
Positioning Antioch as the Scaling Ground for Clean Energy and Green Infrastructure
Antioch’s Clean Tech Hub is a long-term attraction strategy designed to position the city as a competitive location for clean energy and green infrastructure companies. Building on Antioch’s industrial waterfront, affordability, water infrastructure, workforce assets, and Green Empowerment Zone designation, this initiative identifies the types of firms most likely to succeed here, outlines a clean tech attraction playbook, and forges partnerships that can support a climate-resilient local economy.
The goal is not simply to attract companies. It is to help Antioch become a place where clean technology firms can scale, workers can find good jobs close to home, and industrial land can be used in ways that strengthen the region’s long-term economic future.
A clean tech hub is a localized ecosystem that supports early-stage and scaling companies working on technologies such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, circular economy solutions, and other climate-related innovations. These hubs reduce barriers to entry by connecting entrepreneurs with sites, partners, customers, technical assistance, and funding. In practice, that means helping promising companies move from idea to pilot to deployment in a place that can support real growth.
For Antioch, the value of a clean tech hub is that it connects the city’s existing assets to a sector with long-term regional and statewide momentum. Rather than trying to compete as a general innovation hub, Antioch can focus on the part of the value chain that best fits its strengths: clean-industrial siting, scaling, manufacturing, and deployment.
Why Antioch is a Good Fit
Antioch has several advantages that make it well suited for clean energy and green infrastructure growth. The city is not starting from scratch; it already has the land, infrastructure, workforce, and regional partnerships that clean tech companies need to scale responsibly and successfully.
Industrial land with room to grow
Antioch has heavy industrial-zoned land along its waterfront, giving clean tech companies space to site, expand, and operate without the constraints found in denser Bay Area cities. This kind of land is especially valuable for firms that need larger parcels, equipment yard space, or room for pilot operations.
Relative affordability
Antioch offers more affordable real estate than many other parts of the Bay Area, which can help early-stage and scaling companies manage costs while they grow. For founders and employees alike, affordability also supports workforce stability and makes it easier to build a long-term presence in the community.
Access to water and utility infrastructure
Antioch’s water assets, including its brackish-water desalination plant and city-managed utility system, are rare advantages in the Bay Area. For clean tech companies working in water treatment, circular economy solutions, or other resource-intensive sectors, this kind of infrastructure can lower risk and make site selection more feasible.
Regional connectivity
Antioch sits within reach of major Bay Area institutions, investors, research centers, and market partners, while still offering a more cost-effective industrial base. That combination makes it possible for companies to stay connected to the innovation corridor without paying the premium of being located in its most expensive core.
A workforce with relevant skills
Antioch residents bring experience in manufacturing, advanced industry, research science, biotech, and refinery-adjacent trades. That matters because clean tech growth depends on more than engineers alone; it also needs welders, fabricators, mechanics, electricians, and operators who can support production and deployment.
Green Empowerment Zone
Antioch is part of the Green Empowerment Zone, which gives the city access to a broader framework for incentives, technical assistance, workforce strategies, and clean energy investment. That regional alignment strengthens Antioch’s position by connecting local opportunity to larger public and private efforts.
Taken together, these advantages make Antioch a credible location for clean tech attraction and growth. The opportunity is not just to host companies, but to help create a locally rooted clean-industrial ecosystem that supports jobs, workers, and long-term economic resilience.
The Green Empowerment Zone
Antioch is part of the Green Empowerment Zone (GEZ), a regional clean energy initiative spanning parts of Contra Costa and Solano counties. The GEZ builds on the concentration of highly skilled energy workers in the region and prioritizes access to tax incentives, grants, loan programs, workforce training, and private sector investment in clean energy manufacturing.
The GEZ is especially relevant because the energy transition is already reshaping the Northern Waterfront. Refinery closures and operational changes are creating job losses and worker displacement, while also opening the door to new employment pathways in clean energy manufacturing and related sectors. Contra Costa County and GEZ partners are actively exploring those pathways, and Antioch can play a key role in that transition.
The UC Berkeley Labor Center is contracted with Contra Costa County to provide research and technical assistance for the GEZ initiative. Through that partnership, we worked with the Labor Center to better understand Antioch’s competitive advantage, identify technologies likely to succeed, and connect interested companies to technical assistance related to funding and site selection.
Building the Hub
We worked with a graduate student team from Presidio Graduate School to develop a clean tech attraction playbook for Antioch. Their research included interviews with clean tech entrepreneurs and produced a practical action plan the City can use as a roadmap. That work helped clarify what kinds of companies Antioch should pursue, what barriers need to be addressed, and what the city must do to be truly competitive.
We also tested the market directly. Through networking events and ongoing outreach, we connected with ten clean tech startups and entrepreneurs interested in Antioch, and one firm provided a commitment letter. These conversations helped us better understand company needs and refine how Antioch presents itself to the market.
The emerging picture was clear: Antioch is strongest when it acts as a place where firms can scale, not just start. That means offering the right land, the right infrastructure, the right partnerships, and the right process.
Market Research Takeaways
The entrepreneurs and regional partners we engaged consistently emphasized a few priorities:
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Predictable permitting and clear timelines matter more than vague incentives.
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Firms need sites that are either ready or clearly on a path to readiness.
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Power capacity and utility coordination are critical.
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Workforce pipelines need to include trades and production roles, not only technical or research positions.
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Companies are drawn to cities that can provide a supportive, low-friction experience.
These lessons shaped the City’s broader approach to clean tech attraction. Rather than trying to sell Antioch as something it is not, we focused on articulating its real advantages: industrial land, water infrastructure, affordability, workforce capacity, and a willingness to work closely with companies as they explore location decisions.
We also applied for funding through CA Jobs First to support a clean tech accelerator on Antioch’s waterfront. Although the application was not funded, the process strengthened partnerships and clarified a longer-term vision for the city’s role in the regional clean economy.
The proposal envisioned a clean tech accelerator that would support startups working in clean power generation, water treatment, direct air carbon capture, distributed energy systems, and sustainable building materials. It proposed using Antioch’s waterfront and industrial corridor as a place where companies could pilot, scale, and eventually manufacture technologies tied to the energy transition.
The proposal also highlighted Antioch’s place-based advantages:
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A centrally located, transit-accessible downtown innovation area.
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More than 200 acres of underused heavy industrial land.
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Proximity to the Bay Area’s innovation triangle.
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Deep workforce connections to both advanced industries and refinery-adjacent skills.
Although the funding did not come through, the effort created strong partnerships that remain valuable as the city continues to explore future opportunities.