$2.7M+ to Support NJ Clean Energy Startups with Demo Projects

On Jan 3, 2025

The New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology (CSIT) awarded over $2.7 million in grant funding to 11 New Jersey startups under Round Two of the Pilot Clean Tech Demonstration Grant Program. The funding will support pilot demonstration projects from startup companies creating technologies that mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

“The innovative ideas of New Jersey entrepreneurs are essential to helping the state achieve its clean energy goals,” said CSIT Executive Director Judith Sheft. “Awardees under Round Two of the Pilot Clean Tech Demonstration Program are developing technologies that will address the carbon footprint of concrete, divert packaging waste from landfills, and the infrastructure needed to support the transition to electric vehicles, exemplifying New Jersey’s standing as a hub of innovation.”

According to New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “New Jersey’s startup companies are at the forefront of creative and transformative technologies that will move New Jersey closer to its goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2035.”

In 2023, the NJEDA awarded more than $3.6 million to 14 startup companies under Round One of the pilot program. Combined, both rounds have awarded over $5 million to support demonstration projects conducted by innovative New Jersey companies, accelerating the commercialization and deployment of clean energy technologies.

“Congratulations to the 11 grant awardees of the Pilot Clean Tech Demonstration Grant Program,” said CSIT Chair and BioNJ President and CEO Debbie Hart. “CSIT is proud to support innovative startups that are advancing clean tech breakthroughs that have the potential and promise to become environment-altering, commercially viable solutions — a testament to the extraordinary innovation emerging from New Jersey.”

Funding for Round 2 of the Pilot Clean Tech Demonstration Program is provided through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the NJEDA and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) to support early-stage, New Jersey-based clean tech companies.

“The NJBPU is excited to partner with our sister state agencies to support New Jersey-based clean energy start-ups through the Clean Tech Pilot Demonstration Grant Program,” said NJBPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy. “The Clean Tech Pilot Programs build on New Jersey’s long history of innovation by helping develop and deploy new technologies that can play an important role in mitigating the effects of climate change, benefiting us all in the future.”

A full list of awardees can be found below:

• AIVacua LLC (Somerset County): Demonstrating an innovative spray flash distillation technology to be an integrated part of a cost-effective and scalable solution for use in water treatment.
• Amatec Inc. (Essex County): Created an alternative material to cementitious concrete: high-density gypsum (HDG) concrete, which enables the company to eliminate the culprit behind concrete’s enormous carbon footprint.
• Bezwada Biomedical (Somerset County): Demonstrating and testing the innovation of proprietary biodegradable polyurethanes developed by the company for use in packaging and consumer product applications to avoid greenhouse gas emissions by diverting the waste from landfills.
• Cecilia Energy, Inc. (Essex County): Demonstrating a modular, microwave-based system that upcycles plastic waste into hydrogen and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), addressing plastic waste management.
• Coulomb Technology, Inc. (Somerset County): Demonstrating a 5Ah zinc-ion battery for use in energy storage applications, which are safer, faster charging, and half the cost of incumbent Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries.
• EV Edison (Hudson County): Achieved full proof of concept for a mobile electric vehicle (EV) charging platform to deliver mobile EV charging to small, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles, establishing EV charging sites “on-demand.”
• InnoSepra LLC (Warren County): Demonstrating its biogas-upgrading technology at a wastewater treatment plant or landfill in New Jersey, which upgrades raw biogas to 92-98 percent purity methane.
• NanoSepex Inc. (Middlesex County): Demonstrating innovative membrane technology and process for use in solvent recovery and recycling, biofuel refining, and treatment of aqueous waste streams containing low-concentration solvents and volatile organic compounds.
• Pollux Technologies (Middlesex County): Developing a novel filter monitoring technology for use in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, which sends sensor data or post-processed soil parameters to a cloud server via a Wi-Fi or 5G cellular network with Internet of Things capability.
• PureLi Inc. (Somerset County): Demonstrating an interfacial crystallization process with superior performance in extracting lithium from saline water sources compared to current commercial operations, improving the throughput by 60 to 80 times and doubling lithium selectivity.
• PureNanoTech Inc. (Morris County): Demonstrating a next generation nanobubble technology designed to enhance wastewater treatment processes, improving efficiency and effectiveness.

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