With a focus on supporting early-stage startups that are advancing carbon dioxide removal technologies, Gener8tor's latest accelerator program hopes to launch the next breakthrough in climate-tech innovation.
The Direct Air Capture (DAC) Accelerator will serve as a continuation of Gener8tor's Sustainability Accelerator, which was the Madison and Milwaukee-based organization's first-ever Chicago-based program.
"This expands on the sustainability work that we've been putting in the ground for the last couple of years," Ryan Jeffery, senior managing director of sustainability at Gener8tor, told Chicago Inno.
With the most active carbon capture projects of any state and robust agricultural lands and industrial footprint, Illinois is uniquely positioned to be a hotbed for direct air capture startups, a process that separates CO2 from the air in an effort to reduce the level of CO2 already in the atmosphere, said Jeffery.
Illinois has "a number of investments in direct air capture and carbon capture innovations already," he said. "There's a number of significant investments in agriculture and energy that make Illinois a prime place for us to be."
Jeffery pointed to the success of LanzaTech, a local cleantech company that converts carbon waste into sustainable fuels.
"We want to replicate that success and introduce these startups that are much earlier in their innovation and allow them to grow from the innovation that's already happening here," he said.
While startups across the United States working on carbon dioxide removal can apply, unlike some of Gener8tor's recent accelerators, technologies that can best utilize Illinois and the Midwest ecosystem will be given "greater weight."
Department of Energy backs Gener8tor accelerator
Gener8tor was among 13 semifinalists selected for the DAC Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize, a U.S. Department of Energy initiative to support technologies that reduce carbon dioxide pollution by removing it directly from the atmosphere. Semifinalists will receive a total of $1.3 million ($100,000 each) in support of direct air capture technologies.
Gener8tor's Direct Air Capture Accelerator will help five direct air capture startups with individualized coaching, mentorship, networking and supporter access, with the Clean Air Task Force serving as an advisor for the program. Should it demonstrate momentum toward implementation of its solutions, the accelerator could be up to compete for a grand prize of $750,000 or runner-up prize awards of $250,000 from the DAC EPIC Prize.
Based in Chicago, the 12-week program will be hybrid, with both virtual and in-person components.
