Sep 23, 2025

Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL Announces Five Startups for Seventh Cohort

The Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL (GCxN), a multimillion-dollar, multiyear program developed in collaboration between Shell GameChanger and NREL, a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory, has selected five startups to participate in its seventh cohort. GCxN identifies and advances emerging technologies with the potential to power the future global energy landscape.

Aligned with Shell’s Powering Progress strategy and NREL’s mission to deliver integrated solutions for an affordable, secure energy future, this year’s cohort features companies innovating across two strategic areas: future feedstocks and electrochemical pathways to fuels. Selected startups will each receive $250,000 in nondilutive funding to collaborate with NREL researchers and leverage the lab’s world-class facilities to accelerate technology development.

The seventh GCxN cohort includes two companies focusing on future feedstocks:

  • Aquora Biosystems (Ann Arbor, Michigan): Aquora Biosystems is developing next-generation organic waste biorefineries to produce in-demand biofuels like renewable natural gas and synthetic aviation fuel (SAF). GCxN will support transforming Aquora’s wet organic waste into ketones for use in downstream SAF production along with analysis of techno-economic and life cycle aspects. Aquora Biosystems will collaborate with NREL Researcher Cody Wrasman.
  • Consolidated Carbon (Austin, Texas): Consolidated Carbon produces industrial hemp-based materials to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide without impacting food production. GCxN will assist with optimizing pretreatment of hemp feedstocks and investigating the impacts of various strategies on techno-economic and life cycle aspects. Consolidated Carbon will work with NREL Researcher Darren Peterson.

They join three companies working on electrochemical pathways to fuels:

  • RenewCO2 (Somerset, New Jersey): RenewCO2 develops electrocatalytic conversion technology that transforms carbon dioxide into fuels and chemicals using only water and electricity. GCxN will support reactor design, characterization of fuel properties, and techno-economic analysis. RenewCO2 will work with NREL Researcher Cody Wrasman.
  • SKYRE (East Hartford, Connecticut): SKYRE uses advanced electrochemical processes to convert carbon dioxide into high-value fuels and chemicals such as methanol and synthetic gas. GCxN will help advance SKYRE’s CO2RENEW system by designing optimized feed and production manifolds and evaluating product separation techniques. SKYRE will collaborate with NREL Researcher Nick Thornburg.
  • Sora Fuel (Cambridge, Massachusetts): Sora Fuel produces synthetic jet fuel by converting carbon dioxide from air using a highly efficient electrolyzer that avoids energy-intensive regeneration steps. GCxN will support the design of improved subscale electrolyzer cells that consider degradation pathways and other scale-up considerations. Sora Fuel will work with NREL Researcher K.C. Neyerlin.

“These five companies are tackling complex challenges in waste and fuel production with creative approaches, from unlocking underused biomass to pioneering carbon-to-fuel pathways,” said Johanna Jamison, GCxN program manager at NREL. “Through technical collaboration, GCxN helps de-risk emerging technologies and clear their path to scale and impact.”

“Shell is proud to support GCxN as it continues to catalyze breakthrough innovation,” said Yesim Jonsson, Shell’s GCxN program manager. “This new cohort reflects our commitment to scaling technologies that transform waste and emissions into valuable fuels, chemicals, and materials. These kinds of innovations directly support Shell’s ambition to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 and to create more value today.”

Cohort 7 brings GCxN’s total portfolio to 28 startups. GCxN portfolio companies have collectively raised more than $940 million and have hired more than 486 people. On average, startups join GCxN at a Technology Readiness Level of 4 and graduate at 6, demonstrating the program’s effectiveness in accelerating development and commercialization.

Shell GameChanger | https://www.shell.com/what-we-do/technology-and-innovation/innovate-with-shell/shell-gamechanger.html

NREL | https://www.nrel.gov/