With its North American headquarters in Malvern, Saint-Gobain is easily among the oldest active firms with ties to the Philly area: The French building materials company was founded as a glass maker in October 1665, during the reign of King Louis XIV.

But it’s not letting age slow it down. Through NOVA, its external ventures arm, and in partnership with Somerville, Mass.-based cleantech incubator Greentown Labs, the company launched an accelerator program aimed at the building and construction industries, with a special interest in startups that have already reached the prototype stage.

Some of the perks of the six-month InNOVAte Challenge are $25,000 in grant funding, access to additional investments from Saint-Gobain and its CertainTeed subsidiary, desk space at the 58,000-square-foot Greentown Labs Global Center for Cleantech Innovation, and access to Saint-Gobain facilities and experts.

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