Catalyst innovations for a net-zero industrial future
Greentown Go Make 2026 with Shell and Technip Energies is advancing industrial decarbonization by accelerating catalytic innovations. Why? Because catalytic processes—the foundation of industrial chemistry—are largely fossil-based and energy-intensive.
This open-innovation program is for startups that are developing process technology and catalytic innovations for low-carbon fuels, low-carbon gases, CO2 removal, and sustainable chemical manufacturing.
Program Scope
Greentown Labs, Shell, and Technip Energies are seeking startups developing novel catalytic technologies that advance decarbonization and defossilization across the energy and chemical sectors.
We’re looking for startups at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 3-8 that demonstrate both technical novelty and offer a credible pathway to scale and commercialization within three to five years. View the full request for applications and more details on the program’s scope here.
Applicants should fall within the following technology domain and catalyst area criteria:
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Technology Domain
- Low-Carbon Fuels
- E.g. biofuels, synthetic fuels, hydrogen-based fuels
- Low-Carbon Gases
- E.g. blue hydrogen, green hydrogen, biogas and methane, synthetic natural gas
- CO2 Removal
- E.g. direct air capture, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage
- Sustainable Chemical Manufacturing
- E.g. novel crude-oil-to-chemical technology, technologies for alternative and sustainable chemical feedstocks
- Additional Priority Areas
- Technology areas that have the potential to valorize waste streams and unlock new feedstocks and products
- E.g. biogenic, waste-derived, circular, or CO₂-based input
- Technology areas that have the potential to valorize waste streams and unlock new feedstocks and products
- Low-Carbon Fuels
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Catalyst Areas
- Homogeneous / Heterogeneous Metal-Based Catalysts
- Encompassing supported or unsupported configurations, monometallic or bimetallic compositions, and systems enhanced with promoters or dopants, including:
- Base metals; precious metals; molecular, organometallic, and solid-state forms
- Encompassing supported or unsupported configurations, monometallic or bimetallic compositions, and systems enhanced with promoters or dopants, including:
- Catalyst-Preparation Methods
- Hybrid or novel methods that improve scalability, recyclability, or sustainability, including:
- Powder, carrier, impregnation, post-treatment
- Hybrid or novel methods that improve scalability, recyclability, or sustainability, including:
- Catalytic-Reactor Technologies
- Fixed-bed, fluidized-bed, slurry-phase, and membrane systems
- Process intensification through advanced catalyst/reactor integration
- Modular or distributed catalytic systems
- New Value Chains Enabled by Catalysts
- Supported-metal catalysts
- Excluding metal organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, monoliths, foams
- Zeolites
- Mixed-metal oxides
- Bifunctional/multifunctional catalysts
- Promoted catalysts (with additives to enhance performance)
- Supported-metal catalysts
- Additional Priority Areas
- Metal-based catalysts, zeolitic catalysts, advanced preparation methods
- Reactor and reactor internal technologies
- Homogeneous / Heterogeneous Metal-Based Catalysts
Benefits for Startups
Greentown Go programs offer startups unparalleled access to collaboration with corporates, alongside expert mentorship and extensive networking opportunities. Through Go Make 2026, your startup will have access to:
- A structured platform to engage leadership from Shell and Technip Energies and explore potential partnership outcomes, including pilots and demonstrations
- Catalyst expertise and support from Shell, including in the areas of technical validation; development, scale-up, at-scale manufacturing, and market channel development; as well as access to Shell’s array of open innovation and investment models (e.g., Shell Ventures, Shell GameChanger, etc.)
- Process engineering expertise and support from Technip Energies, including guidance on process design, reactor design, scale-up, licensing models, and integration of new technologies into industrial operations
- Mentorship, networking opportunities, and partnership-focused programming
- Marketing and visibility through program participation (e.g. press release, event pitch opportunities, etc.)
Let’s redesign how we make everything.
Manufacturing contributes 31 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions; to decarbonize the sector, we need solutions that transform how goods are sourced, produced, and managed at end-of-life.
In this program track, we bring startups and corporates together to accelerate the commercialization of technologies to revolutionize supply chains for everything from plastics, to batteries, and beyond. How do you want to shape the future of manufacturing?
Let’s Go.
Past Go Make Programs
Go Make Alumni
“Go Make 2023 was run with exceptional efficiency to ensure that all startup members were able to gain maximum benefit from exchanges with the corporate partner. The one-on-one exchanges were extremely useful to startups, as they facilitated the connections to the relevant business units within Shell that could potentially benefit from the novel technologies being developed. Establishing the connectivity to the right discussion partners within those various business units was absolutely key to the successful outcome of the program.”
“Nothing spurs actual action more quickly than doing a challenge. We have a lot of great things to say about how much the facilitation provided by Greentown Labs and the program makes it easier for us to plug-and-play into a startup ecosystem, in a way that we might not otherwise have the infrastructure to do. This is a great example of a multi-stakeholder approach.”