Startups in the carbon capture and carbon removal space are given an opportunity to take part in a new program that could back the growth of their innovation. The collaboration of industry leaders in the space – Carbon to Value (C2V) Initiative launched Year 3 of its accelerator program, in collaboration with its Carbontech Leadership Council (CLC), and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
The three organizations are welcoming applications from innovative startups with carbontech solutions for the accelerator’s third cohort. Applications are open till March 31, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Applicants can learn more and apply here.
The categories that the accelerator is interested in supporting are:
- Carbon capture, including atmospheric or point source (esp. from hard-to-decarbonize sectors) capture;
- Carbon conversion to added-value products like CO2 mineralization into building materials, CO2 conversion to fuels (e.g. SAF), and chemicals (and related feedstocks like syngas);
- Carbon dioxide removal (CDR), such as ocean alkalinity enhancement, enhanced rock weathering, etc.;
- Enabling technologies like Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems for carbontech (software and/or hardware), financing and insurance, carbon markets
All startups in these categories are sought after to apply, including overlapping technologies that are not listed above. The program is also appropriate for startups that have a TRL (Technology Readiness Level) of four to seven and are actively investigating product-market fit and seeking partnerships.
Relevant: Cleantech Open Accelerator Accepts Applications For Its 2023 Program
The C2V Initiative is a collaboration by the Urban Future Lab, Greentown Labs, and Fraunhofer USA. It is a multi-year, multi-stakeholder engagement aiming to accelerate cleantech innovations and supports new companies every year with its annual cohort of carbontech startups.
The Carbontech Leadership Council (CLC) is C2V Initiative’s enterprise that aims to boost collaboration. It is an invitation-only group of corporate, non-profit, and government thought leaders who foster commercialization opportunities and identify avenues for technology validation, testing, and demonstration.
Members of the CLC are senior executives representing diverse industries that have made formal commitments to reducing carbon emissions in their core businesses and beyond.
The new cohort will gain access to the CLC and will be offered exposure to this diverse array of market and business professionals. The big vision of the engagement is to foster collaboration opportunities across the carbontech ecosystem.
NYSERDA is currently supporting the C2V Initiative, providing funding to advance New York State’s climate and clean energy goals and accelerate the development and deployment of carbontech across the state.
“The Carbon to Value Initiative and participating companies are bringing forward the technologies New York State needs to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the hardest-to-reach sectors of our economy… NYSERDA looks forward to working with our partners to accelerate carbon-management solutions as part of achieving New York’s ambitious climate action goals,” commented NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris.
Relevant: 22 Startups Join The Carbon Removal ClimAccelerator Program
Over the last three years, the accelerator of the Carbon to Value Initiative has supported 18 groundbreaking startups, chosen from a pool of more than 230 applications which have led to partnership engagements, technology advancement, and industry growth.
“Our secret sauce is our ability to collaborate – with Tandon faculty, other incubators, with non profits and with large corporations working in this field – all in the service of these brilliant innovators… Over the last two years we nurtured more than 150 interactions between the CLC members and startups,” added Pat Sapinsley, Managing Director at the Urban Future Lab – one of the founding member organizations of the C2V Initiative.
