Twelve
Twelve plans to recycle CO2 emissions into liquid fuels and chemical precursors cost-competitively with petroleum-sourced products. Pairing their technology with renewable electricity and using water and electricity as the only inputs, Twelve's industrial processes would be carbon neutral and even carbon negative for some products. The core of their technology is an energy-efficient reactor that is scalable and readily integrated into a number of industrial manufacturing process flows. Twelve was in the inaugural cohort at the Cyclotron Road accelerator at Lawrence Berkeley Labs, was the winner of the Transformational Idea Award at the 2015 DOE/Caltech FLoW competition, and won Fortune's clean tech startup competition.
Team Members
Kendra Kuhl (PhD ChemE/SLAC), Etosha Cave (PhD, ME), Nicholas Flanders (MBA/MS E-IPER), and Prof. Tom Jaramillo (ChemE)
Read the Innovation Spotlight about Twelve
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Twelve named in Fast Company's list of the world's most innovative companies in 2022 March 2022
California startup Opus 12 aims to help polluters recycle carbon dioxide May 2020
Opus12 in Science article: how renewable energy is helping industry wean itself off carbon feedstocks October 2019
Opus12 wins Keeling Curve Prize October 2019
Opus12 among the 18 Finalists for the World Materials Forum startup challenge in Nancy, France April 2019
Opus 12 wins R&D 100's Special Recognition Award November 2018
There's a renaissance happening for energy entrepreneurs November 2018
Etosha Cave Makes the Grist 50 List July 2018
Can California's Carbon Queen Recycle Pollution? July 2018
Opus 12 and SoCalGas Simplify Conversion of CO2 Into Storable Renewable Energy May 2018
Why Some of the Most Groundbreaking Technologies are a Bad Fit for the Silicon Valley Funding Model April 2018
Opus12 makes CNBC's list of start-ups proving innovation isn't dead November 2017
Opus 12's Cyclotron Road profile
Opus12's Kendra Kuhl is featured in Motherboard's Humans of the Year April 2017
Kuhl, Flanders, and Cave all make Smithsonian mag's "8 Innovators to Watch" feature March 2017
How Opus 12 is pushing us toward a Star Trek future February 2017
Roddenberry Foundation's grand prize for transformative innovation goes to Opus 12 February 2017
Stanford startup founders stress the need for a sustainable energy support network October 2016
Flanders featured in Stanford Energy Seminar panel on clean tech entrepreneurship October 2016
Opus 12 wins top prize in Ashton Kutcher's "Change the World" competition for innovation October 2016
Kuhl selected by MIT Technology Review as one of "35 Innovators Under 35" September 2016
Flanders selected by Forbes for its "30 Under 30" in the Energy category January 2016
Opus 12 wins Ocean Exchange's Bit Pitch competition November 2015
Fortune's clean tech startup prize goes to Opus 12 September 2015
Opus 12 takes home Transformational Idea prize in CalTech's FLoW competition June 2015
Opus 12 featured in New York Times piece on Silicon Valley clean tech scene February 2015