Welcome

Onat Dogruer is the President and co-founder of Archer Power Solutions. Onat has been in the entrepreneurial space for over 15 years. He received his MBA from Fordham, and has been boating since he was five. He has been in the marine air conditioning service field and moved to the Chesapeake area seven years ago. He realized the need for a smarter, more efficient air conditioning option while anchored in the Bay in the still August heat.

Based in Maryland, Archer Power Solutions has designed and developed an innovative battery-operated air conditioner system for "off-grid" use that can be used with any DC power, including solar. The smart system utilizes proprietary electronics that control the system by collecting data from sensors and constantly calculating and calibrating the compressor's performance and other unique electronic components based on environmental needs. These advanced electronics also minimize the amount of power draw the unit needs. Archer Power Solutions’ design also focuses on ease of installation and user-friendly maintenance.  The company has already commercially manufactured a drop-in, install-it-yourself marine air conditioner. Air conditioning without the dependence on noisy, carbon-heavy, oil-based, and fuel-consuming generators is possible.

Dr. Dung Minh Hoang aims to develop innovative, nature-based solutions for nutrient recycling, water processing, and waste treatment. Dr. Minh has over nine years of experience as a research scientist at the New York University – School of Medicine. His academic background includes an Engineering and a Master's degree in microelectronics from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse (INSA de Toulouse, France) and a Ph.D. in Bio-Medical Engineering.

Aquatic Circle is an advanced water filtration system that provides water clarity without chemicals. Aquatic Circle has designed a nature-based water filter with limited maintenance. The product has a modular design with a patented coupling method between modules facilitating the swapping of dirty filter modules for clean ones while keeping the biological filter chamber intact.  The Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) has already proven Aquatic Circle technology in aquaponics farming. While customer survey at the fish-keeping expo AquaShella shows customer potential for large fish tanks. 

Carbon Plus is commercializing a new method to produce high-strength carbon fibers from inexpensive carbon black derived from methane pyrolysis. This process provides low-cost carbon fibers, significantly reducing energy consumption while producing green hydrogen. The new manufacturing processes will make carbon fibers more widely available and affordable for structural and composite material applications beyond their current market uses. 

The team combines Maryland’s best, including team lead Canhui Wang, an Assistant Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University; Chao Wang, an Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University and Prof. Liangbing Hu from the University of Maryland. Adding to this robust collective, Prof. Satish Kumar and Dr. Kishor Gupta, both leading experts in carbon fiber research from Georgia Tech, bring their specialized knowledge to the project.

CUPtech (Catalytic Upcycling of Plastics Tech) has developed a novel process for the catalytic conversion of waste plastics via a common refining process known as hydrocracking to valuable chemical building blocks. The process has been tested to accept low-value mixed waste plastic feedstock like the blue bin recycling container. The process has been demonstrated at a laboratory scale to produce high-value aromatic products (e.g., benzene, toluene & xylene (BTX)). CUPTech has received DOE/ARPA-E funding for process development and FEL-1 modeling of a demonstration facility. The IP on catalyst formulation and hydrocracker reactor design has been filed with JHU.

CUPtech has been co-founded by multi-time business builder Steven Davey and Dr. Chao Wang, Associate Professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and the Director of the Nano Energy Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

Jonah Erlebacheris a co-founder of ETCH, Inc and a professor at John Hopkins University. He is recognized for his advances in materials for energy technologies, computational materials science, and new methods for manufacturing nanostructured metals.

ETCH is a startup spun  out of Johns Hopkins, commercializing a new, proprietary technology that  decomposes natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon inexpensively and in a  way that produces no CO2 emissions. ETCH’s technology overcomes challenges by  increasing energy efficiency, simplifying process flow and unit design, and  reducing system footprint. ETCH technology is projected to produce hydrogen at  a much lower price than any other method. They also produce solid carbon as a  potentially valuable by-product. ETCH has several patents that are submitted  and issued and were awarded a $4.1   million ARPA-E/OPEN 2018.  

Team Leader Bob Gatte

Bob Gatte, recently retired CTO of WR Grace, is CEO of HighT-Tech Catalyst.  HighT-Tech's patented method of manufacturing and tuning of high entropy catalyst materials will create high performance, perfectly mixed and stable multi-element catalysts.  This technology enables energy-efficient, clean and low-cost catalyst manufacturing; enables discovery of new materials and performance optimization; enables multiple catalyst functions within one material; and enables alloying of low-cost elements to replace noble metals.

JJ Innovative Materials aims to reduce carbon footprint in the construction industry by using carbon-negative materials. This venture has developed prototypes for drywall and wall tiles that are 95% made of sustainable ingredients or recycled by-products of existing industries like industrial hemp, pumice powder, hydrated lime, and fly ash. 

JJ Innovative Materials uses these sustainable materials in a process that does not require heating or cooling or any additional toxic chemical additives for fire/mold resistance, reducing the environmental footprint of industrial production. Overall, JJ Innovative Materials claims to have made a carbon-negative construction material that sequesters carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for each product they make.

CEO Taein D. Lee founded JJ InnovativeMaterials, has a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in Materials Science Engineering, and has published 10+ research journals on micro/nanoengineering techniques to control material properties. 

Director of Compliance Chu Ding has a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in Civil Engineering and is a licensed structural engineer and LEED Green Associate. He has worked for 3 years in structural engineering consulting and uses his experience to ensure regulatory compliance and provide a more applied perspective.

Director of Manufacturing Mark Wo has a B.S. from Johns Hopkins University in Materials Science Engineering; he boasts 5 years of experience in DIY contracting, 10+renovation projects, and real estate management. He works on day-to-day R&D operations and prepares the product for manufacturing.

The venture is currently operating in Baltimore and is finding a manufacturing site to develop its manufacturing technology. 

Pickups Technology is a climate-friendly hyperlocal supply chain system leveraging small businesses' collective free space and nearby neighbors' delivery capacity. This technology will help shipping carriers eliminate door-to-door services by vehicle for a net-zero carbon emission final mile. In addition, Pickup Technologies empowers local economies by passing those savings on to its small businesses and neighborhood partners.

Pickups Gabriel Cepeda, a multi-time entrepreneur, an alumnus of Baltimore's Upsurge Equitech Accelerator and has been highlighted by New York Times and Fox Business. 

  Pirl has developed next-generation electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to accelerate the transition to electrified transport. Using the latest Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology, they deploy stations that charge rapidly, have a lower environmental footprint, and delight owners with an engaging user experience. Pirl has an R&D partnership with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories and has received seed funding from TEDCO. 

Pirl was founded by Kobby Osei-Kusi, who has a Harvard Business School MBA and has managed the deployment of large power plants. 

  Sustainabli’s mission is to decarbonize scientific research. Fume hoods consume as much energy as 4 American houses and are a significant driver of energy waste within research labs. Sustainabli has built a fume hood management platform, Sashimi, to help research organizations reduce mechanical energy use by up to a third and meet energy reporting benchmarks. Sustainabli completed the MEIA Pre-Accelerator in 2021 and won the 2023 Pitch Dingman Competition and 2023 Do Good Challenge, the two premier pitch competitions at the University of Maryland.

Sustainabli was founded by Kevin Tu, an alumnus of the University of Maryland and a Churchill Scholar at the University of Cambridge; he is a published green chemistry researcher with 7 years of research experience at Johns Hopkins University and Duke University. 

Terra Fusion is a spinoff project from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and the University of Maryland College Park. The technology will generate a competitive energy source through plasma confinement at thermonuclear conditions to gain net energy from fusion energy. Terra Fusion approach has simplified the approach by developing a centrifugal supersonic magnetic mirror. This design will deliver a simple magnetic confinement configuration that can scale to a viable fusion power source at a fraction of the cost of competing technologies. 

Terra Fusion was founded by Professor Carlos A. Romero Talamás, whose research has focused on plasma physics and engineering, including high temperature plasma confinement, fusion energy, diagnostics, low temperature dusty plasmas, and magnet technology. 

Uplift Geosystems has developed a process to store CO2 and co-produce value add metals for clean technology supply chains. The venture has adapted methods proven to work in metallurgical and water treatment industries to store CO2 as solid magnesium carbonate, which can be used as a construction material. Uplift’s technology stems from research at the University of Pennsylvania supported by an ARPA-E award. Dr. Daniel Nothaft, Uplift’s founder, is a geochemist and entrepreneur experienced in carbon mineralization, environmental tracers, and R&D management.