Status: ALUMNI
State: MI
Project Term: 06/09/2016 - 05/31/2022
Program: OPEN 2015
Award: $4,919,998

Zakuro

This endeavor continues an OPEN 2015 project, focusing on scaling the technology initially developed by the University of Michigan from lab to pilot scale. Zakuro LLC (Zakuro) will develop a solid state battery using lithium lanthanum zirconate (LLZO), which is a ceramic electrolyte that contains no flammable liquid. LLZO is manufactured with a lithium-free anode, which substantially simplifies assembly. Zakuro aims to scale up production of the ceramic electrolyte pellets from a lab-scale batch process to an industry-standard, roll-to-roll process to enable efficient application of the…

Status: ACTIVE
State: WA
Project Term: 07/01/2020 - 06/30/2023
Program: BETHE
Award: $1,000,000

Zap Energy

A Z-pinch fusion device has an electrical current driven through the fusion fuel, creating self-generated magnetic fields that compress and heat the fuel toward fusion conditions. While a Z-pinch with no equilibrium flows has rapidly growing instabilities that disrupt the plasma within nanoseconds, the Z-pinch can be stabilized if an axial plasma flow varying strongly enough with radius is introduced. This sheared-flow stabilized (SFS) Z-pinch may be the simplest and most compact of all known controlled-fusion approaches, as it does not require magnetic coils nor any external heating systems…

Status: ALUMNI
State: WA
Project Term: 07/30/2019 - 07/29/2022
Program: OPEN 2018
Award: $6,767,334

Zap Energy

Zap Energy will advance the fusion performance of the sheared-flow stabilized (SFS) Z-pinch fusion concept. While the simplicity of the Z-pinch is attractive, it has been plagued by plasma instabilities. Like traditional Z-pinch approaches, the SFS Z-pinch drives electrical current through a plasma to create magnetic fields that compress and heat the plasma toward fusion conditions. The innovation of the SFS Z-pinch is the velocity gradient across the radius of the Z-pinch—in other words, the outer edge of the plasma column is moving at a different velocity than the center—which stabilizes…

Status: ACTIVE
State: MA
Project Term: 09/08/2022 - 06/07/2024
Program: Exploratory Topics
Award: $499,611

Zephyr Innovations

Zephyr Innovations is developing an alternative to the standard, vapor-compression (VC) driven air conditioner that uses no synthetic refrigerants. Zephyr’s solution employs evaporative cooling preceded by efficient liquid desiccant dehumidification. The key challenge in any desiccant-based dehumidification system is the removal of moisture from the desiccant so it can be reused. This is typically done by heating the desiccant to boil off water. Zephyr’s differentiator is its desiccant regeneration system which avoids direct desiccant heating and doubles dehumidification and cooling…

Status: Selected
State: TX
Project Term: 05/09/2023 - 05/08/2026
Program: EVs4ALL
Award: $3,100,000

Zeta Energy

Zeta Energy’s battery design features a three-dimensional lithium (Li) metal anode architecture and class of sulfurized carbon (SC) cathodes to produce stable and safe devices. Zeta Energy will build on these innovations to create a new anode with a high Li content that is also highly accessible and rechargeable and avoids dangerous Li dendrite formation. The complementary physical and chemical features of the cathode and anode will enable transformational high charge rates and long-term stability while also minimizing performance losses at low temperatures. Battery cost is reduced by using…

Status: ACTIVE
State: CA
Project Term: 08/17/2021 - 08/16/2023
Program: ECOSynBio
Award: $1,053,000

ZymoChem

ZymoChem has created fermentation processes that convert sugars into polymer precursors using microorganisms with novel enzyme-based pathways that avoid the loss of the sugar’s carbon as CO2. ZymoChem will develop two transformational innovations that combine (1) inexpensive metal catalysts from abundant metals for converting electricity and CO2 into formate and (2) electricity-compatible fermentation systems that enable microbes to co-utilize formate and sugars for the production of a high-volume platform fuel and chemical intermediate. The project team is engaged in a strong technology…

Status: ACTIVE
State: CA
Project Term: 08/20/2021 - 02/19/2024
Program: ECOSynBio
Award: $3,177,642

ZymoChem

ZymoChem will develop carbon- and energy-efficient biocatalysts capable of co-conversion of one-carbon molecules and biomass-derived substrates to a high-volume platform fuel and chemical intermediate. The team will demonstrate a carbon-conserving process decoupling growth and production. Most bioprocesses using microbes and renewable feedstocks to make fuels and chemicals are unprofitable, precluding their adoption on the industrial scale. When most microbes convert renewable feedstocks to fuels and industrial chemicals, they waste more than 33% of the input carbon in the form of CO2 during…