In May, Argonne National Laboratory announced it would host a two-year incubator for emerging science startups, the first of its kind in the Midwest, called Chain Reaction Innovations.
Startups get a share of $4 million in funding, and will be embedded in Argonne with opportunities to use any of the national lab's resources, machinery and technology. They have access to advice, mentorship and training from Argonne's 1,600+ scientists and engineers, as well as connections to the larger business community in order to raise further funding.
Over the past six months, over 100 applicants from 22 states applied to be a part of the incubator. On Tuesday, Argonne, along with Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin announced the first four startups that will kick off Chain Reactions Innovations.
“Chain Reaction Innovators, with the support of Argonne National Lab, will help the next generation of entrepreneurs developing the technologies needed to combat climate change and advance a low-carbon economy,” said Secretary Moniz in a release.
Here's a look at the four entrepreneurs selected to the first Chain Reaction Innovations (descriptions per Argonne)
- Felipe Gomez del Campo, Ohio – Aerospace industry: Decrease the operating cost of jet engines by designing a new fuel nozzle that uses plasma-assisted combustion to burn fuel more efficiently during flight and idling.
- Ian Hamilton, Indiana – Recycling and energy generation industries: Create new long-lived, lightweight weather-independent power by recycling the by-product of nuclear waste decay to create electricity. This would reduce the need for nuclear waste storage and create a new power source.
- Tyler Huggins and Justin Whiteley, Colorado – Recycling and energy storage industries: Reduce expensive wastewater treatment costs and create a cheaper manufacturing process for high-performance carbon products. This will be accomplished by using wastewater to grow fungus to create tunable carbon-based products, such as battery electrodes.
- Chad Mason, Michigan – Transportation and energy generation industries: Decrease the cost of fuel cells by eliminating the need for the electrolytes to act as electronic insulators, which will decrease water management costs. Development of a low-temperature solid-state fuel cell to open the door for new applications for electrochemical devices.
The four startups were announced at an event at the Polsky Exchange in Hyde Park on Tuesday. The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago will be a mentor organization for Chain Reaction Innovations, and will help participants develop their business plans and attract investors. The Purdue Foundry, a Purdue University-affiliated business development organization, will also work as a mentor organization.
Chain Reaction Innovations was targeting early stage startups that have raised less than $1 million, with a focus on Midwest technologies, and aimed to bring in startups with high societal impact.
The incubator is partially funded by the US Department of Energy, which operates 17 national labs across the country. Argonne is the second lab, after Lawrence Berkeley, to launch an incubator of this nature.
Argonne will continue the program annually, and are currently accepting pre-applications to be notified when the next cohort application opens. Four to six innovators will be accepted annually to join the two-year program and receive $350,000 to spend on R&D and up to $110,000 annually in salary, benefits and a travel stipend.
“To meet the greatest global challenges in energy, sustainability and security, we need to support a culture of innovation that combines the risk-taking spirit of entrepreneurs with the expertise and capabilities of national laboratories,” said Paul Kearns, Argonne’s Deputy Laboratory Director for Operations and Chief Operations Officer in a release.
Watch the live stream of the announcement here:
