Caterra: ETH spin-off automates weeding with robots

Can robots make farming more sustainable? 🌱🤖 Manual weeding is costly. Herbicides are under pressure. The ETH Zürich spin-off Caterra is tackling both challenges with innovation — a laser-equipped robot that autonomously identifies and eliminates weeds. “The key challenge is: how robust can we make our robot, and how long will that take ?” says co-founder Aurel Neff. 👉🏻 Full interview: https://lnkd.in/dbxjX9db Patrick Barton Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering (D-MAVT), ETH Zurich Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS), ETH Zürich ETH Alumni ETH Entrepreneurship #startup #entrepreneurship #sustainability #smartfarming #robotics

How could robotics revolutionize the construction industry? Jan Petrš with his project Déploya backed by EPFL Startup, applies his multidisciplinary expertise to develop scaffolding systems that significantly increase safety and reduce costs on construction sites. Excited to see the next Steps!

2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: How Metal-Organic Frameworks Could Fuel the Next Wave of Startup Innovation The Nobel Committee just awarded the 2025 Chemistry Prize to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi for their work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). These porous materials are transforming how we approach gas storage, carbon capture, and drug delivery. With climate technology and advanced materials gaining momentum, this recognition points to major opportunities for startups in cleantech, energy, and biotech. At Johnson Strategic, we’ve helped founders navigate funding rounds in emerging technology sectors. Here are a few key insights we’re focused on: - Investment Potential: MOFs could attract significant venture funding for sustainable solutions, including efficient hydrogen storage and carbon capture. - Scaling Strategy: Early innovators will need solid financial and operational models to move from lab concepts to market-ready businesses. - Risk and Regulation: Managing intellectual property, R&D costs, and compliance will determine who succeeds in commercializing this science. How do you see this breakthrough shaping the next generation of green tech startups? Share your thoughts and follow Johnson Strategic for more perspectives on finance and innovation. #NobelPrize #Chemistry2025 #StartupInnovation #Cleantech #StrategicFinance

💧 The Future of Water Might Be in the Air What if tomorrow’s drinking water didn’t come from rivers or wells — but from the sky? ☁️ That’s exactly what Professor Omar Yaghi, from the University of California, envisioned. His pioneering work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) — materials that can capture humidity from the air and turn it into drinkable water, without using electricity — has just earned him a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. And this is no lab dream: Yaghi’s startup, Atoco, is now working to bring the technology to scale. 🌍 The timing couldn’t be more crucial. According to the UN, nearly 2.4 billion people already live under severe water scarcity, and by 2030, global demand is expected to exceed supply by 40%.

From lab coats to real-world scale 🧪➡️📰 We are proud to be featured in the University of Toronto Entrepreneurship 2024–25 Annual Report. Powered by AI + quantum chemistry, our visible-light photocatalysts can target a wide range of invisible contaminants, from dyes, heavy metals, and stubborn organics in your water. What started as bench runs is now moving towards pilots with miners, textile processors, growers, water corporations, and decentralized water plant operators. Huge thanks to U of T Entrepreneurship, to all the mentors, lab space, intros, and community that kept opening doors. Our Q4/Q1 pilot calendar still has spots left. If you’re planning 2026 water treatment system upgrades or curious about how we can add value on your current system to overcome the compliance pressure, now’s the moment to lock in early performance data, co-development support, and a first-mover story your stakeholders will remember. #UofT #cleantech #water #AI #materials #startup

A big step for research transfer: On October 10 Özgül Agbaba and her team officially founded MechSyn GmbH! MechSyn was born at the Kohlenforschung and uses #mechanochemistry to enable cleaner, more energy-efficient material synthesis without high temperatures, pressures, or solvents. This process can reduce CO₂ #emissions by up to 90% and lower production costs at the same time. To move from grams to kilograms, MechSyn is now developing large-scale ball mills and planning production facilities in the Ruhr region. “After years of preparation and research, we finally signed the contracts. Without the support of Prof. Ferdi Schüth, the institute, and our fantastic team, this would not have been possible,” says Agbaba. “Now we turn our research into real impact that respects both the planet and the people.” Congratulations to the entire team, we look forward to what the future holds for MechSyn! 🙌 #greenchemistry #sustaianbility #researchtransfer #startup

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has named the BRIDGES Engine — led by HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology with co-leads from Auburn University and the University of Tennessee — as a finalist in its NSF Regional Innovation Engines program. Out of more than 300 proposals nationwide, BRIDGES is one of just 15 teams advancing to the final round. The team previously progressed from the semifinalist stage following a virtual interview with the NSF review panel. The BRIDGES Leadership Team has been building a growing regional coalition for over two years. BRIDGES seeks to revitalize rural economies across the southeastern U.S. by growing specially developed agricultural grasses on low productivity farmland and transforming them into high-demand products, such as compostable packaging, car parts and construction materials. “Moving forward to the final round in the competition is a recognition of the dedication and innovation of the team behind BRIDGES, a coalition of more than 80 partners across industry, academia, and communities,” said Sam Jackson, PhD, HudsonAlpha’s director for the BRIDGES Engine. “NSF recognizes the strength of the plans we have proposed to drive lasting economic development across rural Alabama and Tennessee.”

With a new mission aimed at scaling the impact of science for good, we’re building a community where scientists and engineers can drive science into real-world impact. This September, #ActivateFellows pushed that vision forward with funding wins, major partnerships, and notable awards. Here are a few of the milestones they achieved this month: Nitricity (Jay Schwalbe & Joshua McEnaney, Cohort 2020) has closed a $50 million Series B funding round to expand across the US and into Europe as World Fund's first US investment. Bairitone Health (Meagan R. Pitcher, Ph.D., Cohort 2024) won the Smart Tech Showdown at Wearable Tech Ventures’ AI Summit. florrent (Jose LaSalle, Cohort 2023) has closed an oversubscribed $9.5M Seed-2 funding round to accelerate florrent’s production scale-up of Contoured Carbon™, their next-generation activated carbon material. Peter Godart (Found Energy, Cohort 2022) was recognized on the 10th Grist 50 list. Robigo (Andee Wallace, PhD, Cohort 2022) was awarded $1.25M in NSF Phase II SBIR funding to advance its engineered microbial solution for Sudden Death Syndrome in soybean. FAST Metals (Sumedh Gostu, PhD, Cohort 2025) and Foray Bioscience (Ashley Beckwith, Cohort 2022) were selected into the latest cohort of the Rio Tinto & Founders Factory Mining Tech Accelerator Program. Catch up on all the latest news from #ActivateFellows in our September newsletter: https://lnkd.in/guhzxKWY

Happy to be featured in Adam Rogers' latest article on the critical role federal science funding plays in fueling the next generation of deep tech. Our story at Berkeley Yeast is a perfect example. Before starting the company, I knew metabolic engineering could revolutionize the fermented beverage industry, but quitting my job with no money to fund the company seemed too risky. The NSF SBIR grant provided the activation energy I needed to go from a lab experiment to a flourishing biotech startup, helping hundreds of customers make higher quality beverages with a lower carbon footprint. The article explores how slashing funding for basic research—the crazy experiments—risks the trillion-dollar industries of tomorrow (think GPS, the internet, and GLP-1 drugs). It's the engine of R&D in this country, and we need to keep the pipeline flowing. Read the full piece to understand why the future of innovation depends on funding the science of today: https://lnkd.in/gTsHykym #ScienceFunding #SBIR #DeepTech #Biotech #Innovation #BerkeleyYeast

My UPSC teacher once said something that truly stayed with me — “No innovation ever goes to waste.” ✨ Even in fields like aerospace, where precision is everything and errors must be near zero, the technologies we build often find reciprocal innovations in other areas — like agriculture, energy, or everyday tech. For example, temperature-resistant materials developed for spacecraft are now used in greenhouses, food storage, and even farming tools. 🚀🌾 It’s a beautiful reminder that when we create something — no matter how specific — it often sparks progress far beyond its original purpose. 💡