Carbon to Value Initiative announces year two startup cohort for carbontech accelerator program

Carbon to Value Initiative announces year two startup cohort for carbontech accelerator program

Published: 12-07-2022 15:40:00 | By: Pie Kamau | hits: 3482 | Tags:

The Carbon to Value Initiative (C2V Initiative), a multi-year collaboration among the Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon School of Engineering (UFL), Greentown Labs, and Fraunhofer USA, which is supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), has selected eight startups for the second year of its carbontech accelerator program, in partnership with Fluor Corporation, the initiative's Year Two Cohort Champion.

The C2V Initiative received close to 100 applications from nearly 20 countries, representing a wide variety of carbontech innovations, including carbon mineralization, biogenic carbon-based products, carbon sequestration in building materials, carbon nanotubes and nanofibers, novel carbon capture and conversion technologies to fuels and chemicals, and ocean-based carbon sinks. After a highly competitive deliberation and selection process, eight companies were chosen to participate in the second cohort of the C2V Initiative's accelerator program:

  • Aluminum Technologies (New Orleans, U.S.) has developed Carbo-Chloride Reduction (CCR) aluminum manufacturing technology, which captures process CO2 and also reduces power consumption relative to conventional methods.
  • Carbon Upcycling Technologies (Calgary, Canada) utilizes point-source CO2 and mineralizes it with waste materials to create supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) that can be used in building materials.
  • Carbonova Corp (Calgary, Canada) utilizes CO2 and methane as a feedstock to produce carbon nanofibers (CNF) that may be used in various fields such as transportation and buildings.
  • ecoLocked (Berlin, Germany) converts waste biomass into biochar to create admixes that can replace a share of the cement used in concrete manufacturing, and thus sequester carbon within buildings.
  • Full Cycle Bioplastics (San Jose, U.S.) has a patented bacteria-based technology that converts organic waste into Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a biopolymer that can be used to replace a wide range of oil-based plastic applications.
  • Lydian (Somerville, U.S.) develops an electro-thermal reactor technology that converts captured CO2 into fuels and chemicals.
  • Molecule Works (Richland, U.S.) develops a solid sorbent Direct Air Capture (DAC) system using a novel reactor and contactor configuration.
  • Osmoses (Boston, U.S.) develops polymers for gas separation, enabling membrane-based carbon capture applications.

 

Selected startups will work closely with Fluor over a six-month period to advance commercialization efforts, helping to mitigate their carbontech innovation risks. In its unique position as an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company and a technology licensor, Fluor brings more than 110 years of experience and a unique skillset to evaluating how new technologies can successfully build viable go-to-market strategies.

Al Collins, President, Corporate Development and Sustainability, Fluor: "Leading the EPC industry by example, Fluor is striving to be net-zero with scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2023. It is vital to continue developing our own sustainable solutions for a clean environment while concurrently supporting those provided by others. With carbontech at the epicenter of many disruptive climate solutions, the C2V Initiative, together with Fluor, has selected a cohort of great vision, potential, and diversity. We look forward to what this year will bring."

Through its support of the C2V Initiative, NYSERDA provides funding to advance New York State's climate and clean energy goals and accelerate the development and deployment of carbontech in New York State, with the aim of making it a globally recognized center for carbontech leadership.

Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO, NYSERDA: "NYSERDA's support of the Carbon to Value Initiative, and the eight companies selected under this cohort, is helping to build New York State's carbontech ecosystem while advancing innovation to lower carbon emissions across various sectors of our economy. From transportation and building solutions to carbon capture, we continue to purposefully work with our industry partners to bring new technologies to market that help fight climate change and improve air quality for all New Yorkers."

Cohort startups will also gain access to the C2V Initiative's Carbontech Leadership Council (CLC), an invitation-only group of corporate, nonprofit, and government thought leaders across diverse industry sectors who foster commercialization opportunities and identify avenues for technology validation, testing, and demonstration. In addition to Fluor and NYSERDA, CLC members include BHP, Carbon180, Carbon Direct, CarbonPlan, Circular Carbon Network, ConEdison, Consulate General of Canada in New York, CRH, Johnson Matthey, NRG, TechEnergy Ventures, Unilever, Gore, and XPRIZE. Selected startups will receive $10,000 in non-dilutive funding to support their participation in the accelerator.

Pat Sapinsley, Managing Director, Urban Future Lab: "Carbon is a waste product, suspended in the air we breathe. These innovative companies use it as a feedstock, capture the accumulated waste of the past 150 years, and convert it into useful products. Carbontech is a $3 trillon market opportunity that we're only just beginning to scratch the surface of and it's exciting to be at the center of it all."

On the heels of a successful first year of the C2V Initiative that led to impactful partnership engagements, technology advancements, and industry growth, the C2V Initiative host organizations are eager to support another cohort of carbontech innovators.

Ryan Dings, COO and General Counsel, Greentown Labs: "If we are to succeed in reaching carbon neutrality, then carbontech must play a critical role. For carbontech to do so, we must convene entrepreneurs, market leaders, investors, and policymakers deeply committed to rapidly creating a carbontech ecosystem, which is what our efforts with the C2V Initiative represent and why we're so proud to be working with this incredible group of partners."

www.greentownlabs.com