The Clean Energy Trust, a nonprofit organization that makes seed investments and provides patient, hands-on support to help entrepreneurs scale and succeed, recently announced the inaugural cohort for its Clean Energy Trust (CET) University Accelerator, a business accelerator that supports student entrepreneurs working on impactful cleantech solutions based in the Mid-Continent region of the United States. Two of the five teams selected represent Case Western Reserve University.

According to a release from the organization, participating student teams will be connected with industry advisors and receive hands-on support and pitch coaching from the experienced Clean Energy Trust team to help accelerate their businesses. 

The CWRU teams are:

EnvironFlo

EnvironFlo provides an effective, cost-friendly and green solution for oil spill clean up using a superhydrophobic coating on a mesh screen to separate oil from water with over 99% efficiency. Team members include:

• Nathan Ewell, Case School of Engineering, chemical engineering
• Akash Menon, Weatherhead School of Management, business administration (MBA second-year)
• Oluka Okia, Case School of Engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering
• Krista Schoonover, College of Arts & Sciences, mathematics and chemistry
• Italo Silva, Case School of Engineering, macromolecular science and engineering

STARS Sensors, LLC

STARS Sensors develops a self-powered sensor device and data analytics/visualization dashboard for power generation plants and other industrial applications. Team members include:

• Emmett Donnelley-Power, Case School of Engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering
• Aparna Paul, Case School of Engineering, chemical engineering
• Bridget Powers Beggs, Case School of Engineering, materials science and engineering
• Rohan Sinha, Case School of Engineering, electrical engineering, and Weatherhead School of Management, economics 
• Ran Wei, Case School of Engineering, electrical engineering

About the program

The CET University Accelerator takes place remotely during the summer beginning and culminates in a demo day in the fall, when teams will showcase their businesses to cleantech ecosystem stakeholders and compete for cash prize awards.

The CWRU teams, which are part of the ThinkEnergy Fellowship Program, received sponsorship from the AEP Foundation and the Case Alumni Association Foundation.

Read the full release from The Clean Energy Trust.