Rice U. know-how startup Syzygy Plasmonics raises $76 million in newest funding spherical | Rice Information | Information and Media Relations

HOUSTON – (Nov. 16, 2022) – Syzygy Plasmonics, a Houston-based startup fueled by know-how developed at Rice College, has introduced $76 million in Sequence C financing led by Carbon Direct Capital — one of many largest rounds of funding for a enterprise spun out of a Rice lab.

Syzygy is targeted on commercializing deep decarbonization of chemical manufacturing processes. The corporate’s efforts mix new photocatalyst know-how — the product of many years of analysis by Syzygy co-founders and know-how advisers Naomi Halas and Peter Nordlander of Rice’s Laboratory for Nanophotonics — with a novel reactor that makes use of frequent low-cost supplies to fabricate hydrogen, ammonia, methanol and different chemical compounds, fairly than counting on thermal power. The result’s a scalable, renewable, common platform that makes use of totally different feedstocks to drive elementary chemical reactions whereas decreasing feedstock waste and producing fewer emissions.  

“Syzygy is hyper-focused on aligning power, know-how and sustainability,” stated Syzygy chief know-how officer and co-founder Suman Khatiwada, who holds a doctorate in supplies science and nanoengineering from Rice. “The tasks we’re delivering are concentrating on zero-emissions hydrogen from inexperienced ammonia, low-emissions hydrogen from combustion-free steam methane reforming, and sustainable fuels created from carbon dioxide and methane. This know-how is the way forward for chemical manufacturing.” 

Khatiwada was lively within the Rice entrepreneurship ecosystem and attended the Rice Alliance Ignite Entrepreneurship Trek to Silicon Valley. He was cofounder of Massive Delta Techniques (now EnPower), with two different Rice PhD college students, Charudatta Galande and Neelam Singh, based mostly on know-how from the lab of Rice professor Pulickel Ajayan. Massive Delta Techniques is a graduate of Class 2 of the Rice Alliance’s OwlSpark Tech Accelerator.

Syzygy’s buyers are lively contributors at Rice Alliance Vitality Tech Enterprise Boards, the place Syzygy has pitched, together with Aramco Ventures, Chevron Know-how Ventures, Equinor Ventures, EVOK Improvements, GOOSE Capital, Sumitomo Company and Toyota Ventures. Choose Sequence C contributors have entered into industrial agreements with Syzygy to help their decarbonization objectives.  

“Ahead-thinking firms have moved past setting decarbonization objectives to executing on them,” stated Syzygy CEO and co-founder Trevor Greatest. “Syzygy is exclusive in that our know-how can allow, low-carbon options to supply for each the hydrogen and the broader chemical manufacturing market.”