Activate Updates: February 2023

Activate Updates

Feb 28

Written By Leanna Yu

This Month's Features

Houston Emerges as Innovation Center of the Energy World
In Memoriam: Alexei Marchenkov

Plus

Activate Fellow wins
Ecosystem news
Job opportunities

From Oil to Ions: Houston Emerges as Innovation Center of the Energy World

Houston, the United States’ fourth largest city, is an industrial powerhouse with several claims to fame, including being known as “Space City” and the energy capital of the world.

But what will Houston be known for in the future? The city is boldly striving for a new title: the energy transition capital of the world.

Keep Reading

In Memoriam: Alexei Marchenkov

We in the Activate community are deeply saddened by the passing of Alexei Marchenkov on January 31, 2023. He was 53.

Activate has supported over a hundred fellows since its inception, and each fellow has a story. Each took the bold move to launch a hard-tech startup—sometimes against incredible odds. But it’s hard to think of anyone whose decision was bolder than Alexei Marchenkov’s.

Read On

Co-founded by Vince Romanin (Cohort 2017), Gradient announced $18M in Series A financing to design and develop Gradient’s second product, heat pump units for cold climates; focus on solutions for multi-family homes; add services like hardware monitoring, leasing, and demand-response services; and hire for new key roles.

Liminal, co-founded by Andrew Hsieh and Barry Van Tassell (Cohort 2016), announced its $17.5M Series A2 round. The funding will support product industrialization, team growth, and international expansion for its battery insight technology.

Co-founded by Andee Wallace (Cohort 2022), Robigo announced its $7M Seed funding round to demonstrate the plant-disease-reducing efficacy of its product in the field and expand its capabilities to address a broader range of crops and diseases.

In January, we hosted an exclusive event in Washington, DC that brought together federal partners, Activate Fellows, and our team to discuss how to move towards supporting more entrepreneurial scientists through the Activate Fellowship. In his keynote address, Erwin Gianchandani, the U.S. National Science Foundation’s assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, emphasized: “Activate is the gold-standard for entrepreneurial fellowships for scientists.”

Track our fellows' progress in real-time on our social media feeds.

IN OUR ECOSYSTEM
Upcoming events, relevant opportunities, and what we're reading.

Upcoming Events

The 2023 AAAS Annual Meeting will convene in Washington, DC and online from March 2-5. The event will feature sessions, lectures, and workshops on multi-disciplinary STEM research.
CERA Week will take place in Houston, TX from March 6-10, bringing together thought leaders, policymakers, and executives from across energy, finance, technology, and industry to discuss the intersection of energy, climate, and security.
As part of CERA Week, the Rice Alliance Energy Venture Day on March 7 will be a fast-paced event connecting nearly 40 energy ventures with venture capitalists, corporate innovation groups, industry leaders, academics, and service providers. Ventures (including AeroShield, co-founded by Elise Strobach and Kyle Wilke, Cohort 2020) will give three-minute pitches followed by a networking reception.
The Hello Tomorrow Global Summit will take place in Paris from March 9-10. The Summit brings together founders and innovators presenting solutions to the greatest challenges of our time alongside investors, thought leaders, and industry experts. Let us know if you’re planning to attend!
The thirteenth annual Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Energy Innovation Summit will be March 22-24 in Washington, DC. The ARPA-E Summit is the preeminent event of the year for professionals addressing America’s top energy challenges and supporting the latest energy technologies as they build a path to the marketplace. If you’re planning to attend the Summit and would like to join us for an exclusive event on March 22, please reach out.
The Carbon Unbound Summit will take place in New York City on May 11-12, with a focus on offering unrivaled networking opportunities to meet other like-minded leaders and scaling partners from across the world, as well as delivering the latest market insights through panels, presentations, pitching, and breakout sessions.

Relevant Opportunities

Funded by California Energy Commission's EPIC program, CalSEED works to advance clean energy concepts to commercial readiness by providing $150K in funding and professional development assistance. CalSEED seeks applications from individuals, businesses, and nonprofits that are working on early-stage innovations—from concept to basic prototype. Apply by March 5.
The Startups for Semiconductor Sustainability Initiative is a mentorship program and pitch event for innovators with sustainable technologies that can drive impact in the semiconductor industry in the areas of emissions, energy, and circularity (water and waste). Applications are due March 13.
The Offshore Wind Innovation Hub (OWIH) is a new, world-class offshore wind accelerator led by Equinor in partnership with bp. Startups that have innovative solutions for the offshore wind industry are invited to apply for the inaugural cohort by March 27.
The Carbon to Value (C2V) Initiative—a unique partnership among Urban Future Lab at New York University-Tandon, Greentown Labs, and Fraunhofer USA, and supported by NYSERDA—is a world-class partnership accelerator program, bringing exclusive access to industry leaders and nonprofit experts who are shaping the carbon-tech marketplace of tomorrow. Apply by March 31.
Cleantech Open is looking for the world's most promising startups in the clean-tech industry! Apply by April 16 to the 2023 accelerator to gain access to a full business development program that includes expert mentors, investor networking opportunities, industry connections, and a chance to compete regionally and nationally for cash prizes and in-kind services.
Climate Vine is a membership community meant to accelerate individual and collective climate impact. Each curated group of experts has diverse backgrounds, ranging from policy, investment, corporate, non-profit, entrepreneurship, and tech & science. The annual membership starts with a three-month themed cohort, during which members spend about one to three hours a week in curated small groups, socials, and off-the-record conversations with climate leaders. Applications are rolling.
The U.S. National Science Foundation's Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) program assists researchers and innovators from academia, nonprofit, and public organizations in accelerating the development of breakthrough technologies and speeding solutions forward. Researchers can now receive up to $1M for translational research, technology scale-up, and demonstration. The first proposal deadline is May 2.

Activate Voices

Ally McKinney (Cohort 2022) was featured on Auburn University’s #GINNing podcast to discuss how Solopulse’s signal processing and data transmission technology enables radar to perform at its full potential.
Leah Ellis (Cohort 2020) spoke with MIT Technology Review about how Sublime Systems’ technology decarbonizes the cement production process by replacing the heat in the cement-making process with electricity.
Jack Norbeck (Cohort 2019) spoke at the SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference, outlining how Fervo Energy is using extended-reach horizontal drilling and staged fracturing techniques to develop commercial geothermal energy in northern Nevada.
Qunnect (co-founded by Mael Flament, Cohort 2021) announced the construction of a new fiber loop that expands its quantum networking hotbed, GothamQ, from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Connecting New York University (NYU) to the Navy Yard, Qunnect is poised to unlock quantum internet capabilities for customers in financial services, critical infrastructure, and telecom in the New York City metropolitan area.

Want us to highlight an upcoming event or relevant opportunity in next month's newsletter? Let us know.

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