Northeastern-spinoff Wins 2020 Cleantech Open Northeast
CEE Associate Professor Andrew Myers and Part-time faculty Jim Papadopoulos were named winners of the 2020 Cleantech Open Northeast. The Cleantech Open Northeast is a startup accelerator program, designed to help strengthen startups focused on cleantech innovation. The 2020 cohort of the accelerator featured 47 startups focused on various aspects of sustainability, including green tech, agriculture, clean energy, and more. The top four startups from the Northeast region will compete in a national pitch competition.
Myers and Papadopoulos entered the accelerator with their startup, T-Omega Wind. The startup is based around technology and research developed and patented at Northeastern. Through a recent MassCEC Catalyst grant, Myers and Papadopoulos have been developing this research with assistance from Laboratory Manager Mike MacNeil, Senior Laboratory Technician Kurt Braun, and undergraduate student Harrion DuBois. Myers, a structural engineer, has long focused on offshore wind, a clean energy resource with the potential to suppress a significant portion of CO2 emissions in the U.S. and the world.
For the U.S., there is enough wind power off the eastern seaboard to power the entire country. At Northeastern, Myers’ research has emphasized methods for improving offshore wind turbines that will make harvesting that energy more viable. Their reimagined wind turbine floats and is purposefully redesigned for ocean use. It’s lightweight but strong and easy to move because of its shallow draft. It’s designed intentionally to be buildable with only modest marine fabrication capabilities that exist in abundance all over the world. This is essential to scaling the technology, so turbines can be built quickly and in huge volumes to decarbonize significant portions of the global energy sector.
The accelerator assists participants with honing their message and the business side of their venture. This can include assistance with messaging, pitch development, mission statements, business models, and more. As winners of the Northeast division, Myers and Papadopoulos will receive a variety of bonus assistance to help them develop their idea even further and prepare to participate in the national competition. The national competition will involve a 10-minute pitch to a panel of judges, comprised of investors, industry leaders, experts in innovation, and representatives from government organizations.