Activate

We are thrilled to announce that Activate has accepted a record 62 new scientists with 50 groundbreaking companies into our fellowship! Chosen from an impressive pool of over 1,000 applicants, the 2024 #ActivateFellows have been selected for their pioneering work across critical sectors such as energy, transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture. Stay tuned for updates on what these exceptional scientists and engineers are up to! Read more about our newest cohort: https://lnkd.in/gWhtyucB

Congratulations to Activate company Calectra (Pauliina Meskanen and Nate Weger, Cohort 2024) for raising $2M in funding and receiving major media coverage for their work to decarbonize industrial heat.

Join us for this Cohort 2025 Application Webinar to learn more about the Activate Fellowship, the application and selection process, and to get your questions answered live by our team! #BecomeAnActivateFellow Activate transforms scientists and engineers into founders. The two-year Activate Fellowship provides early-stage science entrepreneurs with funding, technical resources, and unparalleled support from a network of scientists, engineers, technologists, and fellow entrepreneurs. Applications open September 4th! For more information about the fellowship and this year's application process and to sign up for application updates, visit https://lnkd.in/gXqS7Sy.

The urban landscape is hiding a surprising climate culprit in plain sight: buildings. 🏢 In major cities like New York, up to 70% of greenhouse gas emissions come from heating and cooling buildings, not cars as you might imagine. Thalo Labs, founded by Brendan Hermalyn, is tackling this overlooked source of climate change with an end-to-end system that measures building emissions in real-time, pinpoints ways to boost efficiency, and can even remove anything remaining with small, modular direct air capture units that enable targeted carbon capture right onsite. Curious to know more? Dive into Thalo Labs' innovative approach in this month's newsletter. #climatetech #cleantech #sustainability #innovation #climatechange

Join us for an exciting evening of networking and innovation at the Activate Networking Happy Hour co-sponsored by Czero in Golden, Colorado! Get a chance to meet Activate fellows, alumni, staff, and Activate’s community of supporters. Huge thanks to Guy Babbitt, CEO of Czero Inc. for their partnership on this event! Register now and join us for an evening of networking: https://hubs.la/Q02LY2Lj0

Launching a startup based on chemical or materials innovation is an extremely challenging process. Scientists have to master team management, understand investor pitching, and navigate numerous obstacles. Many who try will fail. Yet despite the difficulties in funding and the low odds of success, some scientists are still pursuing this path. Why? Because “the system is not working fast enough or well enough to solve these big systemic problems” that require science innovation, says Activate CEO Cyrus Wadia, in this compelling story in C&EN. As the article points out, Activate Fellows are some of the scientists leading the charge to show that jumping from the lab to the C-suite of a startup is not only possible but also a key way to bring scientific research to market and impact the world. We highly recommend checking out this engaging deep dive by reporter Matt Blois, in which the rocky road of the science entrepreneurship landscape is explored. The piece features multiple Activate Fellows including Sudharsan Dwaraknath (Quorum Bio, Cohort 2022), Andrew Wang and Richard May (Standard Potential Co., Cohort 2024), and Raymond Weitekamp (polySpectra, Cohort 2015)–as well as Activate chief fellowship officer Brenna Teigler, PhD. And if you're a scientist wanting to push the boundaries of what's possible with entrepreneurship, check out our application page on our website. 2025 applications open on September 4, 2024. https://lnkd.in/gBVzi3mG

Yesterday, August 15, Stony Brook Economic Development had the privilege to host Activate NY's Fellows for a tour of Stony Brook University's Research and Development Park. The Fellows were given an overview of Economic Development's centers and areas, including Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology (CEWIT) At Stony Brook University, Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC), Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence (SPIR) at Stony Brook University, LIMEP - Long Island Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Center for Integrated Electric Energy Systems (CIEES), Stony Brook Small Business Development Center, Long Island High Technology Incubator (LIHTI), and Stony Brook Intellectual Property Partners. After the team presented an overview of each center and their ongoing projects, the Fellows were given a tour of the CEWIT and AERTC facilities. Economic Development looks forward to future collaborations with Activate NY's Fellows and the potential to bring their ideas to the marketplace. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e5TyBux8 #StonyBrookEcoDev #ActivateFellowships #CEWIT #AERTC #Fellows #ActivateNY

Why PhD to CEO? C&EN’s cover features the highs, lows, and pivotal moments in Standard Potential Co.'s founding journey with me and Richard May in the battery startup world. Journalist Matt Blois spent 9 months with us, weaving our story with Sudharsan Dwaraknath & Quorum Bio's in biotech, and Laura Stoy, PhD & Rivalia Chemical Co.'s in minerals. Matt includes all the intricate details seen in our labs and discussed in our conversations. Also featured are enablers like Activate's Cyrus Wadia & Brenna Teigler, PhD as well as Breakthrough Energy 's Ashley Grosh that empower scientist founders to derisk the path to market. This piece was a great chance to reflect on Standard Potential’s path to date. Excited to continue the story! Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/eYsZ-e5y

🌍Sustainable Fuel, ♻️Recycling Aluminum, 🎹Jazz Piano, 🛰Space Tech, and ✨ More On the latest episode of #ClimateTechCoffee, Peter Godart, Co-founder and CEO at Found Energy, joins Matt to share how the company is converting scrap aluminum into a powerful fuel. Tune in to hear more about how Found Energy is setting new standards in the climate tech arena. 📻 Listen to the episode exclusively on Substack👉 https://lnkd.in/gbxTAYRu #climatechange #cleantech #greentech #aluminum #sustainablefuel

Around 20% of current & alumni Activate Fellows applied more than once before receiving the Activate Fellowship. #BecomeAnActivateFellow Have you applied to the Activate Fellowship before? Please join us for an informative webinar designed to assist you in applying again with best practices on:  - Updating your application - How to pivot if you are applying with a new idea - Reapplying with the same project/technology Applications open September 4th! For more information about the fellowship and this year's application process and to sign up for application updates, visit https://lnkd.in/gXqS7Sy.