The Carbon to Value Initiative Announces Year 4 Startup Cohort for its Carbontech Accelerator Program

Climatetech leaders from the Urban Future Lab, Greentown Labs, and Fraunhofer USA Welcome Nine Startups to the Initiative

SOMERVILLE, Mass. and HOUSTON and BROOKLYN, N.Y., Sept. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Carbon to Value Initiative (C2V Initiative)—a multi-year collaboration from NYU Tandon School of Engineering's Urban Future Lab (UFL), Greentown Labs, and Fraunhofer USA to catalyze the carbontech ecosystem—enthusiastically announces nine startup participants for the fourth year of its carbontech accelerator program.

The C2V Initiative received 123 applications from 29 countries, representing a wide variety of carbontech innovations, including point source and direct air capture (DAC); carbon conversion into added-value products such as fuels, chemicals, and materials; and carbon sequestration and removal via enhanced mineralization and ocean alkalinization, biomass carbon removal and storage, and more. After a highly competitive deliberation and selection process, nine companies were chosen to participate in the fourth cohort of the C2V Initiative's accelerator program:

• Ardent (New Castle, Delaware, U.S.) is a process technology company that is developing membrane-based solutions for point-source carbon capture and other chemical separations.
• CarbonBlue (Haifa, Israel) develops a chemical process that mineralizes and extracts CO₂ from water, which then reabsorbs more atmospheric CO₂.
• MacroCycle (Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S.) develops a chemical recycling process to turn polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyester-fiber waste into "virgin-grade" plastics.
• Maple Materials (Richmond, California, U.S.) develops an electrolysis process to convert CO₂ into graphite and oxygen. 
• Oxylus Energy (New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.) develops a direct electrochemical process to convert CO₂ into fuels and chemical feedstocks, such as methanol.
• Phlair (Munich, Germany) develops a renewable-energy-powered Direct Air Capture (DAC) system using an electrochemical process for acid and base generation.
• Secant Fuel (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) develops a one-step electrocatalytic process that converts flue gas into syngas.
• RenewCO₂ (Somerset, New Jersey, U.S.) is developing an electrochemical process to convert CO₂ into fuels and chemicals, such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) or propylene glycol.
• Seabound (London, England) builds carbon-capture equipment for new and existing ships.

Over the six-month accelerator, which is designed to advance the startups' commercialization efforts and de-risk their carbontech innovations, the cohort will gain access to the C2V Initiative's Carbontech Leadership Council (CLC). The CLC is 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. Year 4 of the initiative will feature active involvement from all CLC member companies, offering startups exposure to a diverse array of market and business verticals in addition to tailored professional mentorship from some of the industry's leading professionals. The goal of these startup-corporate engagements is to foster collaboration opportunities across the carbontech ecosystem.

Current CLC members include BASF, Carbon180, the Consulate General of Canada in New York, Caterpillar, CO₂ Value Europe, Energy Impact Partners, Evonik, Fluor, Johnson Matthey, Shell, Veolia, W. L. Gore & Associates, and XPRIZE. The council is expected to continue to grow in 2024 and beyond; full details on the CLC and its representatives can be found here.

Since the C2V Initiative's inception, the program has supported 26 groundbreaking startups that have raised over $410M in follow-on funding, leading to partnership engagements and 500+ business relationships, technology advancement, and industry growth. Detailed results from Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 are available.

"Once again, the C2V Initiative has been able to select some of the most promising carbontech startups through a very competitive process with a 7 percent acceptance rate," said Frederic Clerc, Director of the C2V Initiative and Interim Managing Director of UFL. "The diversity of this cohort, in its technologies, products, geographies, and stages, makes it an amazing snapshot of the rapidly evolving carbontech innovation landscape. We can't wait to work with these impressive entrepreneurs!"

"C2V embodies NYU Tandon's commitment to bridging entrepreneurship and academic research, leading to vital climate solutions introduced to market," said Linda Ng Boyle, NYU Tandon Vice Dean for Research. "We're proud to welcome these new companies into our community and foster collaboration between their work and our faculty's cutting-edge carbontech research, including those being pursued in our Sustainable Engineering Initiative."

"The depth and breadth of carbontech innovations represented in this applicant pool speaks volumes to this growing and dynamic industry around the world," said Kevin Dutt, Interim CEO of Greentown Labs. "We're eager to support these nine impressive companies as they progress through this program and look forward to seeing how they engage with the CLC now and into the future."

"The Carbon to Value Initiative continues to drive remarkable innovation in its fourth year," said Dr. Thomas Schuelke, President of Fraunhofer USA. "The diverse technologies emerging from this program—from carbon capture to sustainable materials—showcase the immense potential for both climate impact and economic growth. We're proud to support these startups as they develop solutions that are critical for addressing global climate challenges."

The C2V Initiative will host a public Year 4 kickoff event on Sept. 19 at Greentown Houston and via livestream; registration is available here. To learn more about the C2V Initiative, visit its website.

About the Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon School of Engineering
The Urban Future Lab at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering is an incubator for best-in-class climatetech startups with a focus on clean energy and sustainable urban infrastructure solutions. A cornerstone of NYU Tandon's Sustainable Engineering Initiative (SEI), the UFL advances SEI's mission to develop new engineering strategies to avoid, mitigate, and remediate emissions responsible for climate change and environmental contamination, and that introduce novel ways to evaluate the impact of and adapt to these environmental challenges.

The UFL is home to four programs that support innovators on their journey to scale up and commercialize their businesses: ACRE is New York's longest-running climatetech incubator; Carbon to Value Initiative and Offshore Wind Innovation Hub bring innovative technologies and solutions to industry leaders; and the Innovate UK Global Incubator Programme supports entry in the U.S. for U.K.-based climatetech startups that can effectively grow and support the clean-growth goals of New York State. UFL also offers Clean Start, an advanced certificate from NYU for people seeking a transition into the climatetech sector.

Since 2009, UFL has supported 170+ startups with an industry-leading 88% company survival rate, raised $2.5B+ in venture capital, project finance, and grants, created 4,100+ jobs, and facilitated 100+ events with 2,000+ attendees per year.

For more information, visit ufl.nyc, LinkedIn, Instagram, and sign up to our newsletter. For more information about NYU Tandon, visit engineering.nyu.edu.

About Greentown Labs
Greentown Labs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit accelerating climatetech innovation and commercialization by empowering entrepreneurs and enabling collaboration. As the largest climatetech startup incubator in North America—with locations in Somerville, Mass. and Houston, Texas—Greentown convenes the climatetech ecosystem to provide entrepreneurs the community, connections, and resources they need to thrive. Greentown is home to more than 200 startups and has supported more than 500 since its founding in 2011; these startups have collectively created more than 11,000 jobs and raised more than $6.5 billion in funding. For more information, visit www.greentownlabs.com or follow Greentown on LinkedIn.

About Fraunhofer USA
Fraunhofer USA, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit 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.

C2V Initiative Media Contact
Julia Travaglini
Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications
Greentown Labs
[email protected]

SOURCE Greentown Labs