A once-abandoned naval base in New Orleans is about to be transformed into a major engine for innovation and economic development, thanks to a $50 million public-private partnership led by Brooklyn-based startup incubator Newlab. The new facility—called Newlab New Orleans—will serve as a launchpad for startups working on energy efficiency, carbon management, advanced manufacturing, and port infrastructure.
Announced Monday during a press conference at the Louisiana State Capitol, the project marks the first major tenant in the broader redevelopment of the old U.S. Naval Support Activity site along the city’s Bywater neighborhood. The site has sat largely unused for years, but now it will be home to a 30,000-square-foot facility designed to help early-stage companies move groundbreaking technologies from concept to commercialization.
“Newlab was built to get critical technologies out of the lab and into the world,” said Newlab co-founder and CEO David Belt. “And we’re excited to do that in New Orleans.”
Backed by a coalition of public and private partners—including the City of New Orleans, Shell Oil, Louisiana Economic Development (LED), LSU, and Greater New Orleans, Inc.—the Newlab New Orleans hub will offer shared laboratory space, advanced fabrication equipment, and testing capabilities for startups tackling some of the most pressing industrial and environmental challenges of our time.
“This is a force multiplier for our city and our state,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who hailed the project as a “home run” for New Orleans. The mayor joined Belt, LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois, and others at Monday’s announcement.
Newlab is no stranger to revitalizing historic spaces. In Brooklyn, it turned the former Brooklyn Navy Yard into a tech powerhouse. In Detroit, it partnered with Ford Motor Company to develop a similar incubator focused on mobility startups. With its new outpost in New Orleans, Newlab will apply the same formula to catalyze innovation in energy and manufacturing sectors—industries with deep roots in Louisiana.
“We have the legacy industry, the legacy infrastructure, and the legacy workforce in the energy space,” Bourgeois said. “You can’t buy that or replicate that.”
The incubator is already supporting promising startups through partnerships launched last year with the U.S. Department of Energy. One such company, Mantel Capture, has developed technology to trap carbon dioxide at high temperatures—a critical tool in the fight against industrial emissions. With support from Shell and other investors, Mantel plans to move into the new New Orleans hub when it opens in fall 2026.
“This went from an ambitious pilot to a company that’s now well-funded and ready to scale,” said Belt. “That’s the goal.”
While New Orleans already hosts incubators focused on software and biotechnology—such as Idea Village and the New Orleans BioInnovation Center—Newlab New Orleans is targeting sectors that require physical infrastructure and heavy machinery, providing tools and space not readily available elsewhere.
The Newlab facility is being built with funding from a range of contributors. In addition to state and city support, key funding comes from LSU, Greater New Orleans, Inc., and the Future Use of Energy in Louisiana initiative, which is supported by the National Science Foundation. Shell and other private industry partners are also providing resources.
The innovation hub is just one piece of a larger effort to revitalize the former naval station. In April, a separate project to convert part of the base into hundreds of affordable housing units moved closer to reality after securing crucial tax incentives. Known as the NSA East Bank Apartments, that development is expected to break ground later this year.
As for Newlab, Belt sees the New Orleans expansion as a long-term investment—not just in a building, but in the people and potential of Louisiana.
“It’s not just the start of a new venture for us,” he said. “It’s the start of a long-term partnership with the people, the industries, and the energy—literally and figuratively—of Louisiana.”
