Jerrold Wang

Consumer IoT More...

February 21, 2020

Snowcookie

Smart skiing system that consists of sensors on body and skis, software analytic tools, and a smartphone app

The company was founded by Martin Kawalski and Piotr Lukasik in Switzerland to develop a smart skiing system that helps consumers analyze their skiing skills; between 2016 and 2018, the company raised several rounds of investment funding, with undisclosed amounts from Intel Capital, Swiss Startup ... read more.
Company Snapshot

Jerrold Wang

Consumer IoT More...

February 21, 2020

Shoppar

Smart retail platform based on camera and thermal sensor as well as digital signage solution with real-time adjustable content

Smart retail platform includes an edge computing device called AiCE and an online system; AiCE consists of a smart camera and thermal sensor to collect consumers' demographic and behavioral data Developed a digital signage technology that can detect how deeply the consumer is interested in the ... read more.
Company Profile

Charles Willard

Accelerating Materials Innovation More...

February 21, 2020

Poseidon Plastics

Developing a glycolysis-based depolymerization process

The company was founded by a joint venture between Green Lizard Technologies, Panima Capital, and Abundia Industries in December 2018 under the name Apeiron Plastics Limited; while Panima Capital and Abundia Industries are investment and capital management groups, GLT is a spinout of Queen's ... read more.
Company Snapshot

Chloe Herrera

Owning the Energy Transition

February 21, 2020

Soteria Battery Innovation Group

Battery separators and current collectors with a focus on Li-ion battery safety

Develops and licenses battery separators and current collectors; also leads a consortium of battery developers and manufacturers to enable Li-ion battery technology adoption Co-founded by Brian Morin, who previously founded Dreamweaver International and developed its separator technology; Carl Hu, ... read more.
Company Profile

Lewie Roberts

Digital Transformation

February 21, 2020

Rahko

Quantum machine learning software

Rahko develops quantum machine learning (QML) software for near-term quantum computers, primarily aimed at chemical simulation at the quantum level. The company built a platform called Hyrax for prototyping and testing QML algorithms; Hyrax includes an application library (common, pre-built quantum ... read more.
Company Snapshot

Kristin Marshall

Accelerating Materials Innovation More...

February 20, 2020

Xampla

Biodegradable plastic alternative made from pea protein

Xampla was founded in 2018, but its core technology is based on academic research conducted over the past 10 years by Tuomas Knowles at the University of Cambridge. Knowles began his research by investigating the mechanism for how spider silk proteins can be "untangled and aligned" at a ... read more.
Company Snapshot

Lewie Roberts

Digital Transformation More...

February 19, 2020

VueReal

Mass transfer of microLEDs

VueReal develops a massive parallel cartridge-based printing process (not pick-and-place) for printing micro- and nanodevices; this primarily includes microLEDs for displays but also other types of semiconductor devices like flip-chip, vertical, and sensors. In addition to its microprinter and ... read more.
Company Snapshot

Arij van Berkel

Owning the Energy Transition

February 19, 2020

Hygge Power

Smart power outlet with backup battery for appliance-level backup power, scheduling, and monitoring

Founded by Caleb Scalf, Roy Moorefeld, and Max Lewin in 2017 and has since participated in the Boomtown and UpRamp accelerator programs; in March 2018, it was selected for the Free Electrons accelerator program Has raised $1.9 million in seed funding and grants so far and is currently raising an ... read more.
Company Profile

Miraj Mainali

Autonomous Systems 2.0 More...

February 18, 2020

DreamVu

Omnistereo solid-state camera hardware and software platform for autonomous robots

The company was founded by Rajat Aggarwal (CEO), Rohan Bhatial (COO), and Anoop Namboodiri (CSO); founders have expertise in computer vision, virtual reality (VR), robotics, circuit design, and software engineering from academia and from companies including Siemens; DreamVu raised an undisclosed ... read more.
Company Snapshot

Chad Goldberg

The Future of Mobility

February 18, 2020

Shared micromobility 101: Lessons learned from leading companies

Recent investments, valuations, and product deployments related to shared micromobility have grown rapidly, thanks in part to the promise these devices show to decarbonize mobility, reduce congestion, and reshape transport in urban settings. However, the rapid rise in the popularity of these ... read more.

Analyst Insight

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Industrial Power Symbiosis: Finding Cost-Effective Cases for On-Site Power Generation

Coverage Areas: Future Grid More...

Planned Publication Date: March 2020

When and how will industrial customers of electricity find it most cost-effective to source their own electricity from on-site generators? This report will match power generation technologies with the industries that can benefit from their use and secondary benefits, such as heat and hydrogen production.

How 3D Printing Software Will Accelerate the Development of 3D Printing

Coverage Areas: Accelerating Materials Innovation More...

Planned Publication Date: March 2020

In the last few years, synergies between the design software space and 3D printing have become increasingly apparent. For example, generative design software takes advantage of 3D printing’s ability to expand manufacturability and vastly enlarges the explorable design candidate space. 3D printing simulation software models the stress profile of a part, and therefore predicts part failure before physically printing it. Within the 3D printing community, we are seeing a trend of 3D printing companies developing and strengthening their software components. Several major examples include Desktop Metal’s software for generative design, Markforged’s cloud-based software for part print optimization, and Arevo’s computer-aided design (CAD) and FEA-based software for 3D printing design and simulation. In this report, we review the most relevant 3D printing software technologies and argue that the formation of a 3D printing software thread (design, simulation, manufacturing, as well as workflow management and data security) with data control through the whole process will be crucial for 3D printing at industrial scale. We expect to see more 3D printing companies either develop their own software strategies or to partner with large software companies in the near future.

Scouting Innovations for Corrosion's Tough Problems

Coverage Areas: Accelerating Materials Innovation More...

Planned Publication Date: March 2020

Corrosion remains perhaps the most persistent challenge we face in the materials industry. New sustainability regulations are making this even more challenging, by pushing out chrome 6 and limiting the use of solvents. This report will scout early stage technologies, start-ups, and identify corporate approaches to tackling the corrosion challenge.

Net Zero Energy Buildings and their impact on the grid

Coverage Areas: Future Grid More...

Planned Publication Date: March 2020

Net zero energy buildings (NZEBs) are designed to generate as much energy as they consume and be as energy-efficient as possible. The increased availability of a variety of distributed energy resources in commercial and residential buildings is supporting the growth in deployments of NZEBs. This report looks to quantify the market for NZEBs, analyze the impact that these buildings have on the power grid, and provide a forecast of the future of energy in the built environment.

Innovating the Lithium Industry

Coverage Areas: Energy Storage More...

Planned Publication Date: March 2020

With many automakers heavily invested in battery electric vehicle (BEV) development and more than 1 million vehicles in annual sales, the electric mobility revolution is well underway. Yet even as more and more automakers announce aggressive electrification strategies, challenges facing the lithium industry could have significant impacts on the future battery and BEV markets. This report considers the gap between lithium supply and demand forecasts, the innovative companies looking to address the challenges in producing battery-ready lithium chemicals, and the established incumbents best positioned to take advantage of this critical market opportunity.

Biopolymer Vision 2020

Coverage Areas: Accelerating Materials Innovation More...

Planned Publication Date: March 2020

Bio-based polymers have garnered significant interest for replacing petroleum-based incumbents, but commercial success stories have been few and far between. Has the recent rise of interest in sustainability and worries about plastic waste changed the game for biopolymers? Or are the same economic challenges going to keep biopolymers consigned to a niche unless or until oil prices skyrocket? In this report, we update partnerships and production capacity to provide a new vision of the commercial future of bio-based polymers.

In the Path of Destruction: Preparing for Global Climate Change in the Chemical Industry

Coverage Areas: Accelerating Materials Innovation More...

Planned Publication Date: March 2020

While it is tempting to ignore the intangible consequences of climate change with regards to day-to-day business in the chemical industry, climate events like tropical storm Harvey in 2018, or the Rhine droughts of 2019, have shown significant short-term impact. While it is wishful thinking that such events were improbable and isolated, climate research shows that they will only grow more frequent as global temperatures continue to rise. Disruption to chemical production and distribution will, in turn, be made worse by an increase in climate-related extreme weather events, sea-level rise, temperature change, and drought over the next 50 years. Companies in the industry should be evaluating how their business will be impacted and prepare adaptation strategies to mitigate risk both in the short- and long-term. The current report assesses the industry's exposure to climate threats based on geographic location, production processes employed, and supply chain factors, and offers solutions for companies to build resilience and maintain a long-term competitive advantage.

Digital Therapeutics

Coverage Areas: Consumer IoT More...

Planned Publication Date: March 2020

Digital therapeutics are a key element of the ongoing digital transformation of healthcare. These tools support personalized yet scalable health services, which is critical where high costs and accessibility represent barriers to quality healthcare. This report will outline the landscape of digital therapeutics, demystify the challenges that they face, and provide an outlook on the future role of digital therapeutics in the healthcare landscape.

Framing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Current Status, Opportunities, and Challenges

Coverage Areas: Emerging Ecosystems in Agrifood and Health More...

Planned Publication Date: April 2020

Food, water, and energy are critical resources, and share intimate connections. This connection forms a nexus, with actions in one sector influencing the others. Historically, policy and strategy makers have often considered these systems independently, disregarding their inter-dependency. Growing concerns on the affordability and accessibility of resources, driven by climate change and population growth, are making it increasingly important to understand the impacts and influences each of these sectors has on its counterparts in the nexus. This report will discuss the current state of the water-energy-food nexus, looking into its benefits for corporations, and barriers to successfully navigating; it will highlight successful strategies by companies using the nexus for more efficient and sustainable resource management.

AR-enabling data processing and software components

Coverage Areas: Digital Transformation More...

Planned Publication Date: April 2020

Immersive and realistic overlay of virtual content onto a real-world image requires not only sophisticated hardware elements but also data processing. This study will dive into the necessary software components that enable AR experiences, describing critical computation steps such as simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), eye tracking, and image recognition for face, object, and gesture detections. We’ll also highlight various applications and developers that use these software elements in specific use-cases