Carbon to Value Initiative Opens Applications for Year 6 Accelerator to Help Carbontech Startups Build Partnerships

The accelerator seeks next cohort of carbontech startups

SOMERVILLE, Mass. and HOUSTON and BROOKLYN, N.Y., June 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Carbon to Value Initiative (C2V Initiative)—a unique collaboration among the Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Greentown Labs, and Fraunhofer USA—today announced the sixth year of its world-class carbontech accelerator program.

The window to act on climate is narrowing, yet emissions continue to outpace the progress needed to reach net-zero. Carbontech remains one of the most powerful levers available—cutting emissions through carbon reuse and delivering durable carbon removal at the scale the climate demands. Deploying these technologies at gigaton scale is not optional; it is essential to holding warming below 2°C. Now in its sixth year, the C2V Initiative is building on a proven track record of accelerating the most promising carbontech innovations and connecting them with the capital, partners, and markets they need to grow—urgently and at scale.

Since its launch in 2020, the C2V Initiative has facilitated over 600 connections among its 45 startup alumni, Carbontech Leadership Council (CLC) members, and extensive carbontech network. C2V Initiative startups have collectively raised over $700 million in funding during and following their participation in the program, launched multiple pilot projects, secured joint ventures and purchase orders, and helped define the emerging carbontech economy.

For its sixth cohort, the C2V Initiative invites applications from startups at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 4-7 developing breakthrough carbontech innovations. Eligible solutions may fall into—but are not limited to—the following categories:

• Carbon Conversion to Value-Added Products:
  • CO₂ and other carbon-rich streams to fuels (e.g. SAF/e-fuels, methanol, LPG, RNG)
  • CO₂ and other carbon-rich streams to chemicals (e.g. C₂-C₄+ chemicals, intermediates, polymers)
  • CO₂ and other carbon-rich streams to materials (e.g. carbonates, fertilizers, advanced carbon materials)
  • Carbon-rich waste (e.g. waste biomass, municipal, industrial waste, industrial residues) to value (e.g. via gasification, fermentation, pyrolysis)
  • AI/ML-enabled approaches that accelerate carbon conversion technologies, including catalyst, materials, reactor, process, separations, energy integration, scale-up optimization, etc.
• Carbon Capture:
  • Point-source capture (e.g. from energy or process emissions)
  • Direct air capture (DAC) and direct ocean capture (DOC)
  • Gas-separation technologies (e.g. purification, biogas upgrading)
  • AI/ML-enabled approaches that improve carbon capture, gas separation, purification, or upgrading technologies, including materials discovery, sorbent, solvent, membrane, contactor, process, system design, automation, performance monitoring, or controls optimization
• Carbon Sequestration and Removal:
  • Marine CDR / blue carbon (e.g. ocean alkalinization, biomass sinking)
  • Biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) (e.g. waste biomass, biochar, biomass burial)
  • Enhanced mineralization/rock weathering
  • AI/ML-enabled approaches that support carbon sequestration, removal, or durable storage pathways, including process optimization, project design, monitoring, system modeling, performance prediction, or deployment risk reduction where directly connected to a physical carbon removal or storage pathway

This list is non-exhaustive; details on what technologies are included and excluded can be found in the request for applications.

The accelerator may provide each selected startup up to a $10,000 stipend, customized programming, and facilitated engagement with the CLC—an invitation-only group of corporate, nonprofit, and government leaders actively shaping the future of carbontech. CLC members provide invaluable mentorship and strategic connections to support commercialization efforts, mitigate risk, and identify paths to market.

Year 6 of the initiative is proud to welcome back leaders from Carbon180, CO₂ Value Europe, Energy Impact Partners, Fluor, Johnson Matthey, L'Oréal, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Shell, TotalEnergies, and Veolia to the CLC.

"Carbon is increasingly being recognized not just as an emissions challenge, but as a valuable resource and economic opportunity," said Frederic Clerc, Managing Director of the Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. "Around the world, innovators are developing technologies that can transform carbon emissions and carbon-rich waste streams into fuels, chemicals, materials, and other products that strengthen domestic supply chains and create new industries. Through the Carbon to Value Initiative, we are proud to accelerate the path from breakthrough innovation to commercial deployment by de-risking and accelerating partnerships between startups and the right industrial partners that can help them scale. We look forward to receiving applications from all over the world for this 6th year!"

"As an engineering school, we have long believed that we hold part of the key to a cleaner future, but research alone does not get technology into the world," said Linda Ng Boyle, NYU Tandon Vice Dean for Research. "That happens when academic discovery meets industry partners who can pilot, scale, and commercialize it. Through our Sustainable Engineering Initiative more than 20 faculty are working to avoid, mitigate, and remediate emissions, and the Carbon to Value Initiative is where that work meets the partners who can scale it. As we enter the sixth year, we are proud to keep building that bridge between the lab and the market."

"Six years in, the Carbon to Value Initiative continues to demonstrate that carbontech is a foundational pillar of the clean energy transition," said Georgina Campbell Flatter, CEO of Greentown. "The startups we've had the privilege of supporting are turning CO₂ into fuels, materials, and real commercial opportunities. Year 6 is about building on that progress and welcoming the next wave of innovators ready to take their technologies from breakthrough to market."

"The transition to a low-carbon economy depends on technologies that are not only innovative, but practical and ready for industry," said Thomas Schuelke, President of Fraunhofer USA. "Applied research is essential to transforming promising ideas into technologies that industry can confidently adopt. By working closely with startups, industry partners, and the broader innovation ecosystem, we help validate new technologies, reduce technical barriers, and prepare them for real-world implementation. We look forward to supporting the Year 6 cohort as they develop solutions that create lasting value for industry, the economy, and the environment."

Applications for the Year 6 cohort are due by August 28, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Selected startups will participate in a six-month program beginning in December 2026, with in-person events in Boston, New York, and Houston, alongside virtual programming. Learn more and apply at www.c2vinitiative.com.

About the Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon School of Engineering

The Urban Future Lab at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering is a nonprofit innovation hub for best-in-class climatetech startups with a focus on clean energy and sustainable urban infrastructure solutions. It houses ACRE, New York's longest-running climatetech incubator, Clean Start; the Carbon to Value Initiative and the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub, which bring innovative technologies and solutions to industry leaders; and the Innovate UK Global Incubator Programme, which supports market entry in the U.S. for U.K.-based climatetech startups that can effectively scale and support the clean growth goals of New York State. It also offers an advanced certificate from NYU for people seeking a transition into the climatetech sector. As an integral part of Tandon's Sustainable Engineering Initiative and NYU Tandon Future Labs network, the UFL is home to programs focused on policy, education, and market solutions for the green economy. For more information, visit ufl.nyc or LinkedIn and Instagram.

About Greentown Labs

Greentown Labs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit accelerating climatetech innovation for the planet, people, and prosperity. As the world's largest climatetech and energy startup incubator, Greentown catalyzes ecosystems to provide entrepreneurs mission-critical access to labs, equipment, customers, capital, talent, community, and resources for business and leadership growth. Greentown is home to more than 250 startups and has supported more than 675 since its founding in 2011; these startups, with a survival rate of 88 percent, have collectively created more than 16,600 jobs and raised more than $12.5B in funding. For more information, visit www.greentownlabs.com or follow Greentown on LinkedIn.

About Fraunhofer USA

Fraunhofer USA Inc. is an independent U.S. nonprofit applied research organization, established in 1994 and affiliated with the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Europe's largest applied research organization, with 75 institutes, 30,000 employees, and $3.5 billion in annual research revenue. Fraunhofer USA conducts contract R&D for industry, state governments, and federal agencies, developing and validating technologies across advanced manufacturing, materials, software systems, AI, and energy. Its three applied R&D centers, each embedded within a major U.S. research university, draw on the global Fraunhofer network to bring transatlantic research capabilities to U.S. industry, closing the gap between laboratory discovery and commercial deployment in service of a stronger industrial base, skilled job creation, and long-term societal progress. For more information, visit www.fraunhofer.org or LinkedIn.

C2V Initiative Media Contact
Christelle Torres
Brand Strategy Consultant
Urban Future Lab
[email protected] 

SOURCE Greentown Labs