Enventix, Inc. employs a patented thermocatalytic pyrolysis-reformer pathway to convert dry plant biomass waste into hydrogen, biofuel blend stock, biochar, and wood vinegar. This approach results in high conversion efficiency and flexibility in feedstock variability, producing multiple valuable products at a commercial scale of 230–460 tons per day while addressing energy security, sustainable farming, and carbon reduction.

Impact: Enventix’s technology has the potential to transform biomass waste into valuable products like biofuels and fertilizers, reducing the need for open burns and landfilling, improving local air quality, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions, with a carbon intensity range of -7 to -11 gCO2e/MJ.

Flex Power Control‘s Smart Power Integrated Node (SPIN) is a Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) product providing a 10kW bidirectional charging system, expandable to 30kW, for whole-home backup using an electric vehicle. 

This system integrates advanced power electronics to manage DC loads, including solar, stationary storage, and EVs, enabling both on-grid and off-grid operation. It can also island at home during power outages and export power to the grid upon request.

Impact: The SPIN product uses the growing number of EV batteries as a new category of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), helping to stabilize the electric grid during peak demand. Its unique bidirectional charging capability using the Combined Charging Standard (CCS) sets it apart from other products, making it a valuable asset for grid resilience and energy management.

EvolOH is developing a cost-effective, scalable water electrolyzer stack using anion exchange membranes (AEM) that rely on earth-abundant materials like steel and plastic, avoiding the need for rare earth elements. This innovative approach enables high-volume manufacturing of electrolyzers with 100% domestic supply chains, achieving significant cost reductions and efficiency improvements in green hydrogen production, with proven performance benchmarks in efficiency, current density, and durability.

Impact: EvolOH’s low-cost electrolyzers can produce green hydrogen more affordably than current technologies, offering substantial savings compared to battery storage for long-term renewable energy storage. This transition to green hydrogen could save California approximately $80 million annually and significantly reduce CO2 and NOx emissions, aiding in decarbonizing the state’s energy and transportation sectors.

Evolectric is creating a hardware and software solution for retrofitting existing combustion engine commercial vehicles with new battery-electric powertrains. This innovative approach leverages AC-based overnight charging, reducing thermal impact and GHG emissions while enhancing vehicle efficiency and longevity. Evolectric offers a cost-effective and scalable pathway to transition commercial fleets to zero-emission vehicles by using modular software and hardware for retrofitting.

Impact: By reusing existing vehicle chassis, Evolectric lowers the economic and environmental costs of manufacturing new electric vehicles. Their retrofit kits, produced in California, enable rapid deployment and scalability, offering a faster and more cost-effective solution for fleet owners, especially small and medium-sized businesses, to transition to electric vehicles.

Kfobix invented a lightweight, low-cost, and durable superhydrophobic nano-composite coating called K-FobiX. This innovative coating can be easily applied via airbrush or drone to prevent ice formation on power lines and wind turbines, enhancing electrical distribution safety and renewable energy efficiency. The nanocomposite achieves superhydrophobic properties without fluorinated chemicals, maintains light transmittance of around 80%, and lasts up to four years.

Impact: K-FobiX has the potential to significantly reduce maintenance costs for energy transmission lines by 24.2% and prevent ice buildup on wind turbines, improving their efficiency and performance. This leads to lower operational costs and increased reliability of renewable energy infrastructure, aligning with California’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

Twelve is pioneering a scalable electrolyzer technology that converts carbon dioxide into essential building blocks for chemicals and fuels. The initial focus is sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced through the Fischer-Tropsch process from electrolyzed carbon monoxide. Twelve is constructing a groundbreaking CO2-to-SAF plant, with their SAF certified for up to a 50% blend in jet engines under ASTM D7566 Annex A1. The project aims to enhance the performance and durability of the membrane electrode assembly, the electrolyzer’s core component. Twelve’s electrolyzer can efficiently utilize excess electricity, promoting renewable energy’s economic viability and reducing overall electricity costs.

Impact: Twelve’s SAF offers significant environmental advantages, including 80% less fine particulate matter and over 90% less ozone than petroleum jet fuel. Additionally, SAF emits less NOx and SOx, benefiting residents near California airports, often low-income communities. Deploying this technology at scale could reduce CO2 emissions by 2-3 billion tons annually, mitigating climate change impacts such as wildfires and flooding.

Relyion Energy is pioneering an advanced energy storage system that utilizes repurposed electric vehicle (EV) batteries, extending their lifecycle and minimizing environmental waste. Their prototype integrates second-life EV batteries into a scalable system, enhanced by advanced control algorithms and machine learning for optimized performance. The system provides a sustainable and cost-effective solution for energy storage, crucial for supporting the transition to renewable energy and the electrification of transportation while promoting a circular economy by minimizing battery waste.

Impact: Relyion’s energy storage system significantly reduces upfront capital expenditures for energy storage by 30-50% compared to first-life battery systems. This cost-effectiveness, combined with extended battery life and improved performance, leads to long-term savings. Reduced strain on California’s electricity grid during peak times translates into lower energy costs for ratepayers, benefiting commercial and industrial users and underserved communities.

UNIGRID is advancing a sodium-ion 18650 cylindrical cell, a standardized battery form factor widely used in the industry. This innovation competes with lithium-ion (Li-ion) 18650s, offering a safer, more cost-effective energy storage solution. The sodium-ion battery addresses key challenges associated with current technologies, including cost, safety, and material supply chain issues. By leveraging low-cost, abundant, and domestically sourced sodium materials, UNIGRID’s battery reduces the bill of materials by 50% compared to lithium-ion batteries while being non-flammable and releasing no toxic fumes.

Impact: The advanced sodium-ion battery offers superior performance metrics, including lower cost, improved safety, a wider operating temperature range, and higher energy densities than lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries, ensuring more reliable and efficient energy storage.

Tyfast‘s innovation is a high-performance lithium-ion battery that replaces conventional graphite with a proprietary vanadium-based anode. This technology allows for ten times faster charging (under six minutes), ten times the cycle life (over 10,000 cycles), new charging capability below freezing temperatures (as low as -40°C), and enhanced safety due to the metal oxide anode. Tyfast designed the battery to meet the rigorous demands of heavy-duty and construction vehicles, providing continuous high power and reliability in challenging conditions.

Impact: The batteries’ enhanced safety features, including non-flammability and resistance to lithium-metal plating, lower the risk of battery fires and toxic fume emissions. These improved safety features are crucial for heavy-duty and construction vehicles operating near residential areas, reducing health hazards for communities and workers.

Nelumbo‘s innovation involves advanced surface treatments for heat exchangers in residential heat pumps, enhancing resistance to frost formation and accelerating frost shedding. This technology increases the operational efficiency of heat pumps, particularly in frosty conditions, by extending operating time and reducing defrost cycles. Additionally, Nelumbo’s surfaces enable the use of more efficient heat transfer designs that are otherwise prone to performance degradation due to frost, thereby supporting the transition of 14.5 million homes in California from natural gas furnaces to heat pumps.

Impact: Nelumbo’s technology can save over 2 billion kWh annually by transitioning electric resistance heaters to heat pumps three to four times more efficiently than traditional heaters. The significant energy saving from this technology helps reduce electricity consumption and peak load demand, contributing to a more resilient and efficient power grid in California.

The GridSweep instrument is an advanced hardware technology integrated with firmware and software that enhances grid reliability, efficiency, and solar deployment capacity. It measures the stability of distribution grids with inverter-based resources like solar power inverters and battery storage inverters. GridSweep uses a subsynchronously modulated electric heater to probe a 120-volt outlet while measuring voltage changes at a different location on the grid, providing parts-per-billion resolution. This technology increases the hosting capacity for solar generation resources, enabling more solar power deployment without grid replacement or upgrades.

Impact: By identifying faults and ignition points early, GridSweep can contribute to wildfire prevention and overall grid safety. Its precise measurement capabilities and low-cost deployment make it a valuable tool for enhancing the safety of California’s electricity grid, especially in areas prone to wildfires.

ChargePodX is developing a charging technology that provides a Level 3 DC Fast Charging experience using existing Level 2 (240V AC) infrastructure. This portable design eliminates the need for extensive construction of fixed charging stations, offering a flexible and efficient charging solution. ChargePodX’s portable DC-fast chargers can be easily deployed in various locations, ensuring accessibility in underserved regions and urban areas without complex installations.

Impact: ChargePodX’s portable DC fast chargers enable rapid deployment in diverse locations, bridging the gap in areas lacking permanent charging infrastructure. Portable fast chargers increase accessibility and convenience for EV owners, particularly in underserved and urban regions, encouraging wider adoption of electric vehicles and supporting California’s goal of increasing EV usage.