Shell-NREL Accelerator Selects Five Startups Advancing Renewable Fuels and Carbon Conversion Technologies
The Shell GameChanger Accelerator's seventh cohort selection highlights significant progress in developing technologies that convert waste and carbon dioxide into sustainable aviation fuel and other valuable energy products, supporting the transition to net-zero emissions.
The Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL has selected five startups for its seventh cohort, focusing on technologies that could transform waste materials and carbon dioxide into sustainable fuels. This multimillion-dollar program, developed in collaboration between Shell GameChanger and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), provides each selected company with $250,000 in nondilutive funding to accelerate technology development through access to NREL's research expertise and facilities.
This year's cohort represents two strategic innovation areas: future feedstocks and electrochemical pathways to fuels. The selection reflects Shell's Powering Progress strategy and NREL's mission to deliver integrated energy solutions. According to Yesim Jonsson, Shell's GCxN program manager, these innovations directly support Shell's ambition to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 while creating value through transforming waste and emissions into valuable fuels and chemicals.
Two companies are focusing on future feedstocks, including Aquora Biosystems from Ann Arbor, Michigan, which develops next-generation organic waste biorefineries to produce renewable natural gas and synthetic aviation fuel. The program will support transforming Aquora's wet organic waste into ketones for downstream SAF production. Consolidated Carbon from Austin, Texas produces industrial hemp-based materials to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide without impacting food production, with GCxN assisting in optimizing hemp feedstock pretreatment.
Three companies are working on electrochemical pathways to fuels, including RenewCO2 from Somerset, New Jersey, which develops electrocatalytic conversion technology transforming carbon dioxide into fuels using only water and electricity. SKYRE from East Hartford, Connecticut uses advanced electrochemical processes to convert carbon dioxide into high-value fuels like methanol, while Sora Fuel from Cambridge, Massachusetts produces synthetic jet fuel by converting atmospheric carbon dioxide using highly efficient electrolyzers. For more information about the program, visit GCxNREL.com.
Johanna Jamison, GCxN program manager at NREL, noted that these companies are tackling complex challenges in waste and fuel production with creative approaches. The technical collaboration through GCxN helps de-risk emerging technologies and clear their path to scale and impact. The program has demonstrated effectiveness in accelerating development, with startups typically joining at Technology Readiness Level 4 and graduating at Level 6.
With this seventh cohort, GCxN's total portfolio now includes 28 startups that have collectively raised more than $940 million and hired over 486 people. The continued growth of the program underscores the increasing importance of public-private partnerships in advancing clean energy technologies that can address climate challenges while creating economic opportunities in the evolving energy landscape.