Climatetech leaders from Fluor, the Urban Future Lab, Greentown Labs, and Fraunhofer USA Welcome Eight Startups to the Initiative
Somerville, Mass. and New York City, N.Y., July 12, 2022 — 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.
“Leading the EPC industry by example, Fluor is striving to be net-zero with scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2023,” said Al Collins, Fluor’s president for corporate development and sustainability. “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 & CEO, NYSERDA said, “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.
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.
“Carbon is a waste product, suspended in the air we breathe,” said Pat Sapinsely, Managing Director of the Urban Future Lab. “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.”
“If we are to succeed in reaching carbon neutrality, then carbontech must play a critical role,” said Ryan Dings, Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel of Greentown Labs. “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.”
“We are facing an unprecedented challenge and we need all hands on deck,” said Thomas Schuelke, President of Fraunhofer USA. “The new carbontech ecosystems forming from the collaborative efforts of capital investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers are a necessity to success.”
The C2V Initiative and Fluor hosted a Year 2 kickoff event last month. A recording of the event is available here.
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About Fluor
Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) is building a better future by applying world-class expertise to solve its clients’ greatest challenges. Fluor’s 41,000 employees provide professional and technical solutions that deliver safe, well-executed, capital-efficient projects to clients around the world. Fluor had revenue of $12.4 billion in 2021 and is ranked 259 among the Fortune 500 companies. With headquarters in Irving, Texas, Fluor has provided engineering, procurement and construction services for more than 110 years. For more information, please visit www.fluor.com or follow Fluor on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.
About the Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Founded in 2009, the Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon School of Engineering is New York City’s longest running cleantech startup incubator. Due to generous funding from NYSERDA, UFL provides unmatched access to industry stakeholders, strategic advice, marketing and branding support, investor networks, and a community of like-minded founders. Our portfolio includes industry-leading startups in the areas of renewable energy, smart buildings, transportation and resource-efficiency. The Urban Future Lab is leading the way to a more sustainable world by connecting people, capital, and purpose to advance market-ready solutions to address climate change. For more information about UFL, visit ufl.nyc and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. For more information about NYU Tandon, visit engineering.nyu.edu.
About Greentown Labs
Greentown Labs is a community of climate action pioneers working to design a more sustainable world. As the largest climatetech startup incubator in North America, Greentown Labs brings together startups, corporates, investors, policymakers, and many others with a focus on scaling climate solutions. Driven by the mission of providing startups the resources, knowledge, connections, and equipment they need to thrive, Greentown Labs offers lab space, shared office space, a machine shop, an electronics lab, software and business resources, and a large network of corporate customers, investors, and more. With its headquarters in Somerville, Mass. and a recently opened incubator in Houston, TX, Greentown Labs is home to more than 200 startups and has supported more than 450 startups since the incubator’s founding in 2011. These startups have collectively created more than 8,400 direct jobs and have raised more than $2.2 billion in funding. For more information, please visit www.greentownlabs.com or Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
About Fraunhofer USA
Fraunhofer USA, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that is dedicated to the advancement of applied research. Fraunhofer USA was founded in 1994 to conduct applied R&D for customers from industry and state governments and the federal government in the United States. Fraunhofer USA develops and validates scientific applications and technologies for industrial innovation in the USA. Fraunhofer USA’s research centers in the United States and the Fraunhofer institutes of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Germany work together to provide the most versatile cutting-edge technologies to a global market. Fraunhofer USA offers unique transatlantic business opportunities to close the innovation gap from the lab to the real market. The research centers of Fraunhofer USA pursue strategic alliances with one or more of the numerous Fraunhofer institutes of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Germany and with major research universities in the USA. For more information please visit www.fraunhofer.org or LinkedIn and Twitter.
C2V Initiative Media Contact:
Lara Cottingham
Chief of Staff, Greentown Labs
281-797-9246