Third Derivative and RMI Launch Industrial Innovation Cohorts to Accelerate Decarbonization of Steel Cement and Chemicals

Boulder, CO— August 26, 2024 — RMI and Third Derivative are launching the Industrial Innovation Cohorts initiative supported by a $2 million grant from The Lemelson Foundation.

>> In Other News: Advancing Geothermal Energy: A New Era in Clean Power

Heavy industry produces the most widely used materials you see in your daily lives, from concrete and steel for buildings to chemicals and plastics for consumer products. Industry is responsible for 30% of global carbon pollution — and half of that is caused by the production of cement, concrete, iron, steel, chemicals, and plastics. Without innovation — and bringing that innovation quickly to commercialization — these industries could become the world’s biggest emitters within a decade.

This initiative will assemble three groups of startups aimed at decarbonizing the cement, steel, and chemicals industries and provide resources to help them advance and scale novel technologies. While some solutions exist to reduce emissions from these carbon-intensive sectors, innovation gaps remain due to factors such as high capital costs, long asset lifetimes, and stringent customer requirements. As part of the initial grants made by The Lemelson Foundation’s recently launched $50 million Climate Initiative, Third Derivative and RMI aim to bridge those gaps, giving more than a dozen startups access to market insights, expert support, and industry connections they need to secure capital and deploy their technologies.

“Steel, cement, and chemicals are tough to decarbonize for a lot of reasons,” said Rushad Nanavatty, Managing Director of Third Derivative, “They have formed the backbone of modern life — produced at scale, cost-effectively, and reliably — for decades. Their massive, long-lived plants and intricate value chains demand many innovations working in concert. But visionary founders are finding ways to produce them without carbon pollution, and our mission is to accelerate their path to market.”

The three cohorts will recruit innovators who are tackling the major sources of pollution to produce these materials in the following ways:

Cement and Concrete:

Reducing or replacing the use of clinker, the primary source of emissions, reducing or eliminating fossil fuel use, and sequestering or capturing and utilizing pollution.

Iron and Steel:

Enabling and improving hydrogen-based direct reduction of iron, introducing novel iron reduction methods, and reducing demand through enhanced post-consumer scrap recycling, supply chain and design innovation, and alternative materials.

Chemicals and Plastics:

Improving plastics circularity, “defossilizing” chemical production through renewable feedstocks, and improving the efficiency of energy-intensive manufacturing processes and high-temperature reactions.

The cohorts will prioritize technologies aimed at the largest pollution challenges and will consider solutions across the value chain, including material and energy efficiency, and enabling technologies like green hydrogen, electrification of industrial heat, and clean firm power.

Applications to join the cohorts will open on August 26 and close on October 26, 2024. Third Derivative and RMI will select and support 5–10 climate tech startups for each cohort.

“The climate crisis requires fundamental transformation of the global economy,” states Eric Lemelson, president of The Lemelson Foundation. “In addition to powering our homes, businesses, and transportation with cheap, carbon-free renewable energy, we must rapidly reduce the heavy emissions of the ‘hard-to-abate’ industries, including steel and concrete. As an inventor, my father Jerry recognized the central role played by invention in solving so-called ‘wicked problems’ like climate change. I know that if he were alive today, he’d be as thrilled and inspired to support the work of RMI and Third Derivative to realize full industrial decarbonization as we are.”

“Cement, steel, and chemicals are the building blocks of society — other than water, these are the most used materials in the world,” said Bryan Fisher, RMI managing director. “They are also some of the most difficult to decarbonize. Innovation will play a critical role in reducing emissions from these industrial sectors, helping turn ambitious investments from public and private players into scalable climate solutions. Many promising technologies are already emerging, and we are excited to work with members of the Industrial Innovation Cohorts to get them to the next level of commercialization and adoption.”

Sign up for RMI’s Tech & Innovation newsletter for the latest information on this opportunity, and visit Third Derivative’s website for eligibility requirements and more information on how to get involved.

About Third Derivative

Third Derivative, RMI’s global climate tech accelerator, is accelerating the rate of climate innovation. With a mission to build an inclusive ecosystem that rapidly finds, funds, and scales climate tech innovation globally, Third Derivative’s vertically integrated startup accelerator unites investors, corporates, market and policy experts, and startups to work together to increase the success and speed to market necessary to achieve a 1.5°C world. The Third Derivative ecosystem includes corporate partners with a combined market cap of over $4 trillion, investors with a combined $12 billion in assets under management, and hundreds of startups reflecting climate innovations solving for all major emissions sectors. Learn more at www.third-derivative.org.

About RMI

RMI is an independent nonprofit, founded in 1982 as Rocky Mountain Institute, that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut climate pollution at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; Abuja, Nigeria; and Beijing.

About The Lemelson Foundation

Based in Portland, Oregon, The Lemelson Foundation harnesses the power of invention and innovation to accelerate climate action and improve lives around the world. Inspired by the belief that invention can solve many of the biggest economic and social challenges of our time, the Foundation helps the next generation of inventors and invention-based businesses to flourish. The Lemelson Foundation was established in the early 1990s by prolific inventor Jerome “Jerry” Lemelson and his wife Dorothy. To date, the Foundation has made grants totaling over $300 million in support of its mission. You can learn more about The Lemelson Foundation here.