Greentown Labs announces Go Make 2023 Program with Shell

Deadline: 4-Aug-23

Greentown Labs, the largest climatetech incubator in North America, and Shell, a global energy leader, are now accepting applications for Greentown Go Make 2023.

Designed to accelerate startup-corporate partnerships to advance climatetech, this Greentown Go program is focused on technologies for carbon utilization, storage, and traceability.

Greentown Go Make 2023 with Shell seeks to accelerate the transition to a net-zero-carbon economy through alternative carbon feedstocks for key commodities, biogenic and nature-based solutions, carbon storage and traceability solutions, and more.

Program Scope

• Alternative Carbon Feedstocks in Carbon-Intensive Commodities
  • Drop-in replacements for conventional hydrocarbon-based fuels (e.g., jet, ethanol, diesel).
  • Chemical building blocks, intermediates (e.g., Lower Olefins, Aromatics, Methanol Ethylene/Propylene oxides, glycols etc.) and polymers (e.g., PE/PET/Polyurethanes/Polystyrene etc.).
• Biogenic and Nature-Based Solutions
  • Soil amendments to improve soil carbon sequestration and stabilization processes within the agricultural sector (e.g., hydrogels, biochar).
  • Pre-treatment technologies to prepare bio-renewable feedstocks for biological conversion into products.
• Carbon Storage and Traceability Solutions
  • Carbon nanotubes and carbon sink materials (e.g., building, infrastructure, aggregate and composite materials that store carbon such as carbonates).
  • Novel manufacturing processes and materials that fix, react, or absorb CO2 over their lifetime.
• The program scope includes carbon-utilization applications across all conversion routes, with example technology types including but not limited to thermal catalysis, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and photoelectrocatalysis, as well as biological and biotechnological applications such as synthetic biology, bioelectrochemistry, fermentation, etc.
• Note: Pure play carbon capture technologies that do not have a utilization, storage, or traceability component; geological (subsurface) carbon storage technologies; carbon-transport technologies; Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR); and conventional applications for CO2 utilization (e.g., beverages, refrigeration, extinguishers, etc.) are not in scope.

Benefits for Startups

• A structured platform to engage leadership from Shell and explore potential partnership outcomes, including but not limited to technology validation and scaling mentorship, joint development, licensing deals, pilot projects, admittance to Shell GameChanger, and/or investment opportunities.
• $15,000 in non-dilutive grant funding.
• Mentorship, networking opportunities, and partnership-focused programming from the Greentown Labs community of climatetech startup experts.
• Exclusive access to the Greentown Labs and Shell networks.
• Desk space and membership within Greentown Labs for the duration of the program.

Eligibility Criteria

• Be available for virtual and/or in-person interviews after the application deadline, if selected for further rounds.
• Disclose the status of any intellectual property (IP) relevant to your submission. Do not submit confidential information in the application process. Awardees will enter into non-disclosure agreements in order to protect their intellectual property throughout Go Make 2023.
• Applicants may apply from anywhere in the world.
• If you are selected as a Go Make 2023 participant, a CEO/founder of your company will be required to attend all program events in order to enjoy full program benefits. A tentative timeline is as follows:
  • Kickoff Event: Sept. 27, 2023 (Boston, MA)
  • Workshop 1: Oct. 25-26, 2023 (Boston, MA)
  • Workshop 2: Dec. 13-14, 2023 (Virtual)
  • Workshop 3: Feb. 7-8, 2024 (Boston, MA)
  • Final Showcase: March 27, 2024 (Houston, TX)
• Greentown is committed to increasing diversity, maintaining an inclusive community culture, and creating a more sustainable planet for all. They welcome applications from founders and teams of all backgrounds, regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or whether or not they have a disability.

For more information, visit Greentown Labs.