On December 1st, 2023, UC Berkeley’s Cleantech to Market (C2M) program hosted its 16th annual Summit event in the Haas School of Business’ Spieker Forum. The day featured presentations on eight early-stage companies C2M students had worked with over the course of the Fall Semester. The content focused specifically on the companies’ cutting-edge technologies and the beachhead markets the students had identified. Given the exciting potential of the technologies – and the BERC members who were sprinkled throughout the various teams – we are thrilled to share a bit about each participating company.
C-Quester
Mitico, formerly known as C-Quester, is a Los Angeles, CA-based company in the field of carbon capture. They specialize in developing an integrated solution for point-source carbon capture from industrial sources. Their technology is out of Caltech and aims to offer simple capture and tracking solutions at a fraction of existing carbon capture solutions. Below, BERC’s VP of Events, Georgine Co, walks the audience through an Industry Scorecard her C2M team developed for the C-Quester team.
ChemFinity Technologies
Brooklyn, NY-based ChemFinity is a company specializing in the development of advanced chemical synthesis and processing technologies. Their focus lies in creating more efficient, sustainable, and safer methods for addressing environmental challenges like “critical mineral recovery, water purification, and gas separations.” The company’s technology was spun out of UC Berkeley’s College of Chemistry. Below, BERC’s VP of Marketing, Matt Witkin emphasizes the important role critical minerals will play in the in the energy transition. This included a shoutout to October’s BERC Resources Symposium, which focused on Mineral Management!
CleanInnoGen Energy Solutions
CleanInnoGen (CIG) is a green hydrogen production company based out of Ottawa, Canada. Their deep tech aims to decarbonize heavy industry using waste heat to generate low-cost hydrogen on-site. The company’s core technology was validated by the Clean Energy Research Lab at the Ontario Tech University (OTU) over the course of a decade. Below, BERC’s VP of Membership, Alyssa D’Cunha highlights a few key technological differentiators of CIG’s green hydrogen offering.
Emission Free Generators
Headquartered in San Diego, CA, Emission Free Generators (EFG) has developed a portable, hydrogen-based generator, which only requires a recyclable cartridge and water for fuel. Given the compact nature of the technology, it can be easily transported and serve as a substitute for emission-producing diesel-based generators as a backup or off-the-grid power-source.
REEgen
Ithaca, NY-based REEgen has a bio-based solution that can extract rare earth elements from the likes of coal ash and e-waste, turning various waste streams into sources of key materials for the clean energy transition. Not only does this capability have the potential to assist in the diversification of the global REE supply chain, but it also reduces the need for mining and other environmentally damaging processes. The company’s promising technology comes out of Buz Barstow’s lab at Cornell University.
Roca Water
ChloBis Water, formerly known as Roca Water, is a Madison, WI-based company specializing in advanced water purification via its energy-efficient desalination battery. The company’s focus is “based on the patented discovery that bismuth can serve as a practical and efficient chloride-storage electrode, providing unique opportunities to develop novel approaches for both seawater desalination and wastewater treatment.” The company spun out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Scope Zero
San Francisco, CA-based Scope Zero has created a Carbon Savings Account (CSA), which offers a revolutionary take on a traditional health savings account where funds are instead applied to personal emissions reduction efforts. For employers, the CSA serves as a retention tool – by helping employees reduce their cost-of-living expenses – while also decreasing Scope 3 emissions. The company was founded by two master’s students at Stanford University.
Tyfast Energy
TyFast has a cutting-edge battery technology and is headquartered in San Diego, CA. Their LVO Anode technology far outcompetes existing lithium-ion battery technologies on key aspects including charging speed, battery life-cycle, and safety. The company is based on a discovery at UC San Diego. Below, BERC’s VP of Sponsorships, Erik Better, takes the audience back to 10th grade Chemistry class and reminds them of how batteries work before diving into Tyfast’s technology.
