Activate

If #climatetech is to scale and help accelerate the deep #decarbonization the world urgently needs, we’ll need to ease the challenges #startups often face working or partnering with large companies, and quickly. That was the focus of an invite-only forum Trellis Group hosted at #VERGE24 in Oct., in partnership with Activate. A lot of great insights, which I've just summarized. Thanks to Jake Mitchell Cyrus Wadia Nikhil B. Gargeya Kaavya "Kavi" Reddy Mollie Starr for making this happen. https://lnkd.in/gADGfYxu

At the Climate Tech Commercialization Forum at VERGE, co-hosted by Activate, we explored how startups and corporates can collaborate more closely and effectively to commercialize climate technologies. Joel Makower, chairman and co-founder at Trellis Group, helped host the event and just published an article that highlights some of the important takeaways: https://lnkd.in/gSDyZYBD The conversations that morning included talks by Vanessa Z Chan from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), who talked about their introducing the Adoption Readiness Level (ARL) metric to evaluate technologies, and Activate Entrepreneur-in-Residence Leila Madrone who called for funding pathways beyond the VC playbook. Workshop participants uncovered several actionable ideas for partnerships that can drive decarbonization including, financing, de-risking, and organizational strategies. Check out Joel’s article for more details! At Activate, we think it’s critical for corporates and startups to come together so both sides can understand each other’s needs. These are the building blocks to setting up the best partnerships, pilots, and agreements for success.

Congratulations to the many Activate Fellows who are on the new Forbes 30 Under 30 list! 4 Fellows on the Manufacturing & Industry list:   Blake Herren, Co Founder & CEO of Raven Space Systems (Cohort 2024)     Krish Mehta, Founder of PHNX Materials (Cohort 2024)    Katy Jinkins, PhD, Cofounder of SixLine Semiconductor (Cohort 2023)  Minh Tran, Cofounder of Heliotrope Photonics (Cohort 2024)  3 Fellows and one Activate company on the Energy & Green Tech list:  Zhiao Yu Cofounder and CTO of Feon Energy, Inc. Energy (Cohort 2023)  Mohammad A. Alkhadra, Founder of Lithios (Cohort 2022)  Yang Zhong, Founder of WeNexus (Cohort 2024) Viji T., Founder of Sinkco Labs an Activate company, with Brenna Boehman as CSO (Cohort 2024) #Forbes #Forbes30under30 #Energy #GreenTech #Manufacturing #Industry

We’re excited to see several Activate Fellows' companies featured in Chemical Engineering News: Pascal (@Jinyoung Seo and @Adam Slavney, Cohort 2023) has been named as one of “10 Start-Ups to Watch” in 2024, while Pheronym (Dr. Fatma Kaplan and Karl Cameron Schiller, Cohort 2021) and Elateq (Ljiljana Rajić, Cohort 2024) are both listed as startups on their radar! “[Pascal]… can side-step the global warming impact of refrigerants with a heat pump system that uses refrigerants that remain solid throughout the heat transfer cycle, which prevents them from escaping into the atmosphere.” writes journalist Craig Bettenhausen. Pheronym has created a seed coating that helps keep harmful nematodes from infecting crops, while also attracting positive insect killing nematodes. According to reporting by Matt Blois and Alex Scott, “Kaplan hopes that in a year, the firm will be selling its products to greenhouse operators, first the beneficial nematode stimulant and later the parasitic nematode repellent.” Elateq is creating the next generation of electrochemical water processing technologies. The article outlines how "Elateq uses an electrochemical cell to remove metals, pathogens, organic pollutants, and other contaminants," and cites tests being done in both Amherst, Massachusetts, and Kolkata, India. (Links to the articles are in the Comments...) #ChemicalNews #EngineeringNews #ActivateFellows #HVAC #CropHealth

The data is in: Activate Anywhere, our growing remote fellowship spanning the U.S., is producing outstanding results! Andrés Ochoa C., Managing Director of the Activate Anywhere Community, recently studied how our remote-first communities are doing and he outlines several exciting discoveries:  1️⃣ The demand for nationwide science entrepreneurship is high. Among applicants for Cohort 2024, 425—over 41 percent—applied to Activate Anywhere (vs. the in-person locations of New York, Boston, Houston, and Berkeley). 2️⃣ Geography isn't necessarily a barrier to entrepreneurs raising capital or securing grants. Fellows in the Anywhere Community have raised $56M total, compared to the average total of $44.1M per community across Berkeley, Boston, and New York. This is contrary to our hypothesis that fellows in more traditional ecosystems of entrepreneurship (e.g. Berkeley, New York, and Boston) might have more success raising capital. 3️⃣ The virtual community among Anywhere fellows are fostering the same sense of connection as our in-person communities. In fact, they rated their sense of community even higher than those in traditional in-residence locations. Across the board, Andrés writes about how the Activate Anywhere Community is not only meeting Activate’s vision, but is exceeding expectations. https://lnkd.in/g4C49Sru

We love seeing this TechCrunch article by Aria Alamalhodaei about Raven Space Systems and their $2M pre-seed round! As TechCrunch says, “Manufacturing has been one of the hottest categories in venture this year, but there are still many innovative materials and processes yet to scale.” That’s why the work at Raven is so exciting. Read the full article to learn how they’ve developed “a new process to enable the first scalable 3D printing of commercial, off-the-shelf thermoset composite components.” Blake Herren, the CEO and co-founder, is part of the Activate Houston 2024 Cohort. Congratulations to Blake and team on this milestone!

Happy National Entrepreneurs' Day! 🎉 Since 2015, Activate has been the catalyst in creating science entrepreneurs to turn bold ideas into impactful solutions. Together, our Activate Fellows have raised an astounding $3.5B to drive sustainable technology forward. From developing groundbreaking materials to generating cutting-edge solutions to society's greatest challenges, these pioneers prove that science-to-market innovation can create a better world. To every science entrepreneur working to make a difference—let’s keep driving innovation forward 🌎 #NationalEntrepreneursDay #ActivateFellows #SustainableInnovation #ScienceToMarket #Entrepreneurship #ClimateTech

🚨 Final call for submissions! The Sustainable Mining Challenge: Mining the Unmined, run in partnership with Prospect Innovation, is closing for submissions on Wednesday, 20 November. ⚒️ We are calling for innovative #mining solutions to improve efficiency, recover metals from waste, recycle end-of-life products, and repurpose mining waste for alternative uses. Winners will gain visibility and access to exclusive events and networking opportunities to help scale their solutions. ➡️ Visit UpLink to learn more and submit your solution: https://ow.ly/HfXE50U6nWN Activate Amira Global Breakthrough Energy Clean Energy Ventures Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Colorado School of Mines DCVC Insight Mining Experts Ressources naturelles Canada (RNCan) NORCAT Nth Cycle SOSV #sustainablemining #metals #minerals #tech #industry #innovation #startup

We are proud to announce the Carbon Removal Challenge is returning for 2025! This will be the third annual CRC and we're excited to continue to grow the next generation of Carbon Removers! Carbon removal is far from where it needs to be in the near future to avert the worst effects of climate change. The OpenAir Carbon Removal Challenge provides students from colleges and universities around the world an opportunity to work towards safeguarding their future. They will design and build solutions that remove excess carbon from the environment, which will help accelerate carbon tech innovation, and build connections that will bring the next generation of talented engineers, thinkers, and designers into this important sector. Finalists will be selected for an in-person showcase in New York City in May 2025. 🗽 Interesting in participating or know someone who might be? Interested in sponsoring, judging, or helping organize the Challenge? Check out the CRC here to learn more about the Challenge or reach out to the organizers: https://hubs.la/Q02YyqYx0

Dimitry Gershenson of Enduring Planet recently sat down with Cyrus Wadia to talk about essential financial strategies for climate startups. Check out highlights from their conversation that ranges from how to find and engage with patient investors to diversifying capital sources. Always a pleasure, Dimitry!