Fostering Ventures of Change
In the TomKat Center’s tenth year of Innovation Transfer it awarded eleven new grants to Stanford teams tackling sustainability challenges.
A decade of seeding solutions
The Innovation Transfer Program was launched to help externalize Stanford innovations and inventions. The program supports entrepreneurial teams from across the university, who, under the guidance of Stanford faculty members and expert mentors, move their advances toward commercialization. Grants are awarded to develop and iterate prototypes, refine business plans, conduct customer trials and market research, and establish commercial viability.
Compounding impact
Since its inception in the fall of 2013, the Innovation Transfer Program has granted $6.8 million to 119 Stanford teams to advance new ventures that impact problems in energy and sustainability. The new awardees join a robust and supportive ecosystem of founders, many of whom have led companies to achieve significant market traction resulting in over $2.3 billion in external follow-on funding and combined enterprise value exceeding $8.2 billion.
2023-24 Grantees
The eleven teams that were awarded Innovation Transfer Grants are using both technological and business model innovations to address challenges in energy efficiency, agriculture, resource discovery, recycling, nature-based carbon sequestration, and the energy transition.
ElectroFlow Technologies uses renewable electricity to convert low grade saltwater brines into zero-carbon, battery grade lithium chemicals. Team: Eric McShane (Postdoc, Chem E), Evan Gardner (Postdoc, Chem E), Prof. Matteo Cargnello (Chem E, PI)
FLOWS Energy designs and operates biogas-based microgrids to supercharge energy recovery from organic wastes. Team: Jose Bolorinos (Postdoc, CEE), Kurt Tsuo (MPP, Harvard Kennedy School), Prof. Meagan Mauter, (CEE & SLAC, PI)
Focal’s smart, high-efficiency, electric heating system provides individualized comfort to people in all environments while making operations seamless. Team: Raj Tilwa (MBA, GSB), Rohan Pandya, Prof. Rishee Jain (CEE, PI)
Insitu Energy helps fossil fuel asset owners optimally transition to zero-carbon alternatives. Team: Sankalp Banerjee (MBA), Prof. Adam Brandt, (ESE, PI)
Mizu Risk Lab offers AI-enabled water risk analytics for agriculture. Team: Tomo Kumahira (MS Environmental Resources / MBA), Ryo Takanashi (MS Environmental Resources / MBA), Jared Isobe (MS CS), Prof. Gretchen C. Daily (Environmental Science, PI)
Mobius is automating recycling supply chains for companies, to help them turn their waste into an asset. Team: Cinnamon Sipper (MS ME), Amy Zhou (MS ME), Elena Wagenmans (MS ME), Prof. Xiaolin Zheng (ME, PI)
NatureAssets is unlocking nature-based solutions investments for companies. Team: Johanna von der Leyen (MA International Policy, MSc Environment and Resources), Ruth Appel (MS CS, PhD Political Communication), Prof. Gretchen Daily (Env Sci, PI)
Permit Pal provides an end-to-end platform that enables renewable energy project developers to quickly and comprehensively survey and respond to concerns in local communities. Team: Emily Capstick (MA, FSI), Camila Sanchez (MS, Statistics, Aditri Bagirath (MS, CS), Prof. Rob Dunbar (Oceans, PI)
Phoenix Materials decarbonizes concrete by using refined industrial waste additives. Team: Krish Mehta (MBA/ MS), Jorge Osio-Norgaard (Postdoc, Chem E), Prof. Stefan Reichelstein (GSB, PI)
Prophecy is developing an AI data platform to significantly accelerate the development of denser, more sustainable housing development by reducing the burden of navigating each jurisdiction’s uniquely complicated entitlement process and political environment. Team: Andrew Fang (BS, CS), Ben Choi (MS, EE), Prof. Jackelyn Hwang (Sociology, PI)
Terra AI is improving critical resource development with advanced intelligent systems. Team: Anthony Corso (Postdoc, Aeronautics and Astronautics), John Mern (PhD, Aeronautics and Astronautics), Prof. Mykel Kochenderfer (Aeronautics and Astronautics, PI)
Watch the videos created to highlight Innovation Transfer's 10th anniversary. These brief videos feature past awardees speaking about their ventures and the sustainability challenges they are tackling.
This article is part of the TomKat Center Spotlight series designed to highlight the impact and trajectory of the work of faculty and students who received funding through our Innovation Transfer Program, TomKat Solutions, and Graduate Fellowships. Stanford University does not endorse any non-Stanford entities, programs, products, or services listed in the article.
