Activate

Activate Fellows are leading the future of clean energy in California, with three fellow companies named among the eight awardees of the 2025 CalSEED Prototype Award. Congratulations to Aepnus Technology, led by Bilen Akuzum and Lukas Hackl, Westwood Aerogel, led by Patricia McNeil, and Sunchem, led by Daniel T. Sun. As the award announcement points out, “Each company stood out for its bold ideas and potential to transform California’s energy landscape.” With this funding, made possible by New Energy Nexus California and the California Energy Commission, Aepnus plans to build a pilot system in Oakland to electrify and decarbonize the production of critical commodity chemicals. While Westwood Aerogel and Sunchem will continue making strides in insulation and water purification, showing how cutting-edge materials can drive sustainability. CalSEED and similar programs are vital to the growing ecosystem supporting science entrepreneurs. By combining Activate’s resources and additional funding opportunities, Activate Fellows can continue to scale transformative technologies and shape a more resilient, sustainable future. Read more about the CalSEED Prototype Awards: https://lnkd.in/gKJimf5X

We are excited to announce that Nelumbo has been acquired by Kuraray in order to accelerate the global expansion of Nelumbo's breakthrough products, expand their base of chemistry expertise, and to provide new value and products to the market. We look forward to this new future with Kuraray and our continued growth and success! Contact info@nelumbo.io for inquiries

Six Activate Fellow-led companies have been named to TIME’s list of the World’s Top GreenTech Companies of 2025–including Fervo Energy, which made the top 20! Although they were all founded less than a decade ago, these fellow companies are already being recognized for tackling some of the most urgent challenges in hard tech, from decarbonizing industries to transforming energy storage. Our fellows and the other companies that have made the list are a signal of the growing momentum in science-driven innovation. Out of the 8,000 companies considered, the following Activate fellow companies were named among the winners in the following categories: 🔋 Energy Storage & Distribution: Antora Energy led by David Bierman, Justin Briggs, and Andrew Ponec ♻️ Circular Economy: Brimstone led by Cody Finke, Ph.D. ⚡ Renewable Energy: Fervo Energy led by Tim Latimer & Jack Norbeck as well as Tandem PV led by Colin Bailie & Chris Eberspacher 🏗️ Built Environment: Sublime Systems led by Leah Ellis ✈️ Carbon Capture & Offset Solutions: Twelve co-founded by Etosha (Eee-tah-sha) Cave and Kendra Kuhl To all the innovators, funders, and partners pushing the frontiers of climate tech: this moment belongs to you too. Let’s keep building a future where bold ideas scale! See the full list here: https://lnkd.in/gTQrm6jr #TimesMagazine #GreenTech #ClimateTEch #Entrepreneurship

Activate just won East Bay Economic Development Alliance's 2025 Innovation Award in the Catalyst category as an “organization fueling entrepreneurship and enacting meaningful change in the community through training and mentorship”! Activate Berkeley managing director Jill Fuss, fellowship manager Abbey Thompson, and senior fellowship associate Caroline Kushel were present to accept the award on behalf of Activate with our friends Todd Pray and Thomas Kirchstetter from Cyclotron Road cheering from the audience. 🎉 From being a nominee in 2019 to taking home the award in 2025, our growth reflects the strength of our fellows and the broader ecosystem we’re building in Berkeley together with Cyclotron Road. We’re proud to stand alongside Activate fellows who have been recognized with this award in previous years, including Twelve, co-founded by Etosha (Eee-tah-sha) Cave and Kendra Kuhl, and Nelumbo, Inc, led by Lance Brockway and David Walther. It is a huge honor to be recognized for our role in fueling deep-tech innovation and empowering scientists to turn breakthroughs into real-world impact. Congratulations to all the incredible finalists shaping the future of innovation!

Check out the new episode of the Entrepreneurs for Impact (EFI) podcast with Chris Wedding to hear more about how Activate Fellows get a head start on becoming successful technical founders. Activate’s Cyrus Wadia dives into how Fellows take on a major shift in mindset: from a scientific and technical focus that’s all about seeking an objective truth about a particular scientific challenge, to a business-focused POV that's also about running a business, finding a commercial market, getting the technology de-risked, and getting the solution into the world. One proof point stands out in the conversation: 96% of the companies that have come through the Activate Fellowship are still active. Cyrus points to Activate’s strong community and network as one of the things that gives Activate Fellows a huge advantage.

That’s a wrap on the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit! Last week, we were in Washington, D.C. gathering with government partners, industry visionaries, scientists, and engineers driving forward cutting-edge energy technologies. Through our partnership with ARPA-E, we are able to leverage powerful government support to bring transformational innovations to market. A total of 35 Activate Fellows and alumni presented their energy breakthroughs at the ARPA-E Summit as speakers and exhibitors showcasing the powerful possibilities that can be achieved when our resources are combined. More highlights: 🎉 We gathered leaders, innovators, and visionaries in the energy community for a vibrant networking reception in partnership with IQT (In-Q-Tel) and DCVC. 🤝 Activate’s Jill Fuss spoke on a panel about diverse sources of capital. Hot tip: Startups should look to partner with corporates for more than just money—there is potential to leverage their expertise in areas such as product development, deployment, and scaling. 💡 Activate team members and fellows participated in an ARPA-E Technology-to-Market training that simulated various valleys of death and how to navigate them with a focus on long-term impact. It’s been a busy month of connecting and convening for Activate and our fellows, and the momentum continues! See you this week in Denver at National Renewable Energy Laboratory IGF or next month at SF Climate Week. #ARPAE2025 #EnergySummit

Activate plays a crucial role in bringing hard tech innovations to market by bridging the gap between academia and commercialization. Activate Fellow alum Josué J. L. exemplifies the power of this support, transforming breakthrough science into real-world impact. Josué, now a leader in the scientific community, recently co-authored an article in Science Magazine that highlights how programs like the Activate Fellowship empower Ph.D.s to take their innovations beyond the lab. We’re proud to see him inspiring the next wave of science entrepreneurs and proving what’s possible when scientists are given the time, funding, and support to lead. The link to read the full article is available in the comments.

Congrats to the Activate fellows whose companies were named by Fast Company as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025! 👏 Copper, led by Sam Calisch, is named among the Most Innovative Companies in the Sustainability space. 👏 Anthro, led by David Mackanic, is listed among companies leading the way in Energy. 👏 Antora Energy, led by a trio of Activate fellows -- David Bierman, Justin Briggs, and Andrew Ponec -- is also named a leader in Energy innovation. These Activate Fellows and their companies are listed alongside some of the most iconic brands in the world like NVIDIA and Google, along with notable innovators like Rivian and Rocket Lab. Here's what landed Copper, Anthro, and Antora on the list this year. Copper was started with the goal of making electrification easier and access to clean energy ubiquitous. Adele Peters highlights their Charlie induction stoves: “Copper’s new induction stove comes with something unexpected inside—a powerful battery. The feature gives the appliance several advantages. First, it means that the stove can be installed without expensive rewiring in a kitchen, even in an older house.” Anthro is described by Alex Pasternack who says their “‘advanced’ electrolyte material isn’t like other kinds: Made with a patented, bendable polymer, it’s not flammable, and it provides a mechanical strength that prevents short circuit incidents while helping the battery achieve improved cycle life.” Anthro’s approach is built for scale: their technology requires no changes to the existing manufacturing infrastructure, including today’s giga-factories. Antora Energy is primed for use by heavy industries that require dependable, high temperatures for their processes. Alex writes “Wind and solar are too often stranded from the storage that can make them as cheap and reliable as coal. Antora’s shipping-container-size thermal batteries, made of 3-foot blocks of carbon, store electricity from renewables in the form of white hot heat, which can be converted to electricity or simply used as heat for industrial processes.” Congrats again to Copper, Anthro, and Antora!  https://lnkd.in/ekxmwYzp

As Kevin See, Head of Ecosystem at Activate, stated during this panel “Emerging hardtech startups are in a race to create value with limited resources. We need to work together to unlock the expertise, the support, and the infrastructure in a capital efficient way.” In our first joint appearance since announcing our partnership in December, The Engine and Activate hosted a panel during #CERAWeek exploring how to turn breakthrough science into a market-ready solution. Together, we’re making sure scientists and engineers have the momentum and resources they need to turn breakthrough research into real-world solutions. 🌱 Want to be a part of the ecosystem fueling the next wave of entrepreneurial scientists? Learn how you can contribute: https://lnkd.in/gtGe-J7W

Geothermal is one of the most promising sources of untapped renewable energy—literally. According to Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals, Inc. co-founders Carl Hoiland and Joel Edwards, “there’s enough energy underground to power the globe,” but most of it is still undiscovered. That’s where their company comes in, leveraging R&D breakthroughs in AI and advanced sensing technologies to identify new geothermal sites at an unprecedented rate. Now the leader in next-generation geothermal discovery, Zanskar has had to overcome the challenges of establishing itself in a “market that didn’t really exist yet.” According to co-founders Hoiland and Edwards, they had to “help kickstart the industry” themselves in order to get to scale. How did they do this, how did Activate’s early support make a difference? Where are they headed next? Read the link in comments to find out more.