The Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL (GCxN) has announced five startups for its seventh cohort, each receiving $250,000 in nondilutive funding to collaborate with researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This multimillion-dollar program, a partnership between Shell GameChanger and NREL, aims to identify and advance emerging technologies that could reshape the global energy landscape.
This year's cohort focuses on two strategic areas: future feedstocks and electrochemical pathways to fuels. In the future feedstocks category, Aquora Biosystems of Ann Arbor, Michigan, is developing organic waste biorefineries to produce renewable natural gas and synthetic aviation fuel (SAF). GCxN will support transforming wet organic waste into ketones for SAF and conduct techno-economic and life cycle analyses. Consolidated Carbon of Austin, Texas, produces industrial hemp-based materials to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide. The accelerator will help optimize hemp feedstock pretreatment and assess environmental impacts.
Three companies are advancing electrochemical pathways to fuels. RenewCO2 of Somerset, New Jersey, converts carbon dioxide into fuels using electrocatalysis with water and electricity. GCxN will support reactor design and fuel property characterization. SKYRE of East Hartford, Connecticut, uses electrochemical processes to convert CO2 into methanol and synthetic gas. The program will help optimize its CO2RENEW system and evaluate product separation. Sora Fuel of Cambridge, Massachusetts, produces synthetic jet fuel from airborne CO2 using an efficient electrolyzer. GCxN will assist in designing improved subscale electrolyzer cells and addressing degradation.
“These five companies are tackling complex challenges in waste and fuel production with creative approaches, from unlocking underused biomass to pioneering carbon-to-fuel pathways,” said Johanna Jamison, GCxN program manager at NREL. “Through technical collaboration, GCxN helps de-risk emerging technologies and clear their path to scale and impact.” Yesim Jonsson, Shell’s GCxN program manager, added, “This new cohort reflects our commitment to scaling technologies that transform waste and emissions into valuable fuels, chemicals, and materials. These innovations support Shell’s ambition to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050.”
Cohort 7 brings GCxN’s total portfolio to 28 startups, which have collectively raised over $940 million and hired more than 486 people. On average, startups join at a Technology Readiness Level of 4 and graduate at 6, demonstrating the program’s effectiveness. For more information, visit GCxNREL.com.
