For Immediate Release:
December 16, 2021
Bethesda Green Announces 2022 Accelerator Cohort
Montgomery County nonprofit Innovation Lab concludes rigorous search for new class of eco-entrepreneurs
Bethesda, MD – Today, Bethesda Green announced the members of its 2022 Innovation Lab Accelerator cohort, which will launch in January. Entrepreneurs who join the Innovation Lab are welcomed into a vibrant and collaborative community that is bolstered by the participation of industry and community leaders who share in our vision for a sustainable economy.
Councilman Andrew Friedson congratulated Bethesda Green for its robust and potentially game-changing group of entrepreneurs: “As Montgomery County’s District 1 Councilmember, I work tirelessly to accelerate economic development; as a proud member of the Bethesda Green board of directors, I am equally invested in sustainability-driven eco-entrepreneurs who will help the County reach its climate action and greenhouse gas emission goals while building successful new businesses. Bethesda Green’s incoming Innovation Lab Accelerator cohort represents some of the most dynamic, innovative, and exciting companies in recent memory and I can’t wait to see them succeed.”
Bethesda Green’s Innovation Lab supports leaders who are building for-profit business models around innovative and sustainable solutions to tackle environmental and social challenges. This sustainability-focused entrepreneurial ecosystem is built around Bethesda Green’s successful accelerator program and is designed to support entrepreneurs through all stages of the business life cycle. The 2022 cohort includes:
- Dr. Sunny Sanwar, an immigrant, engineer, a published author, serial entrepreneur, and a deep learning technologist who founded Dynamhex in 2018 in order to make carbon emissions measurement, reporting, and reduction easier. Dynamhex helps reduce greenhouse gasses by using its Decarbonization as a Service (DaaS) software to empower citizens, businesses, governments, and utilities to easily understand their current carbon footprint, model the impact of different possible actions, and track their progress toward climate goals. Learn more.
- Dr. Dietrich Ruehlmann, MBA, who has an extensive background in analytical technology development and experience launching laboratory instruments, medical devices, and IoT systems in start-up ventures and multinational companies, launched GaiaXus, LLC in 2021 to develop environmental monitors specifically designed for citizen scientists, students, and educators. GaiaXus’ IoT-connected devices combine the accuracy of laboratory instruments with the ease of use of consumer electronics. The first product will use next-generation sensor technology to acquire water quality data in a light, robust, and low-cost device. Learn more.
- Soner Haci, MBA, worked at international energy companies like Siemens, E.ON, ISTA and was responsible for business development and strategy in emerging markets and the MENA region before he launched I-NESS 360 in order to convert commercial spaces into data streaming sources to model human behavior and report how indoor circumstances affect that behavior. The I-NESS system has developed predictive models on usage trends and indoor circumstances to optimize space, energy usage, and operations without needing to invest in expensive BMS systems. Learn more.
- Dr. Margaret Kocherga is an award-winning early-stage entrepreneur, a trilingual, a TEDx speaker, and an educator. With a PhD in Nanoscale Science, and a specialty in organic and hybrid materials for organic electronic devices, and heavy metals’ reactivity and toxicity, Dr. Kocherga founded Margik to produce non-toxic materials for organic electronic devices, such as OLEDs, solar cells, and smart window tech to improve device stability, efficiency, and lifetime. Learn more.
- Megan Wakefield, JD, has been working in the sustainable agriculture space for over eight years, first as an attorney for urban agriculture projects in the City of Baltimore and then as a farmer, gardener, designer, and consultant. Megan co-founded Old Dominion Flower Co. as a streamlined wholesale local flower hub to make it easy for florists, event designers, and other floral businesses to purchase sustainably and locally grown flowers from farms throughout the region. Learn more.
- Kobby Osei-Kusi, MBA, has spent his career developing power plants at the AES Corporation. Before that, he was as an investment banker at Credit Suisse. Kobby founded Pirl to help customers map out existing assets and operations, simulate how customers respond to climate events and accumulates environmental data. Pirl’s initial focus is on blackouts, which have doubled over the last five years due to an aging grid, increased demand from electric vehicles, extreme weather events, and cyber-attacks. Pirl’s software helps customers understand the impact of blackouts, and their hardware provides energy storage solutions when the power is out. Pirl provides resiliency-as-a-service to help customers prepare and respond to climate change. Learn more.
- Dr. Christina Calvin has been developing and prototyping cleantech for the energy, waste management, and transportation sectors for 15 years, including for Schlumberger and ExxonMobil’s Upstream Research. Dr. Calvin founded Terran Material Resources to safely decommission and transport industrial-grade lithium-ion batteries to recycling facilities, using patent pending technology to address the root cause of the high cost of shipping hazardous waste by decreasing the hazards associated with shipment for public and private customers. Learn more.
Adam M. Roberts, Bethesda Green’s executive director, added, “Montgomery County has shown a sincere commitment recently to accelerate economic growth and address the climate emergency we all face. No organization is as equipped to address business development and environmental protection simultaneously as Bethesda Green, and I encourage everyone in the County to support this group of entrepreneurs as they nobly pursue massive business success.”
Founders interested in joining the Innovation Lab community are invited to contact the team or visit our website to learn more about our programs. We continue to accept rolling applications for both our Incubator and Amplifier programs, and partial scholarships are now available to women founders pursuing STEM-based R&D innovations through Incubator.
Editor’s Notes
About the Bethesda Green Innovation Lab
Bethesda Green’s vision is for Bethesda to be a sustainable urban ecosystem that enhances green living, ensures environmental protection, and facilitates growth of responsible businesses. Bethesda Green works to address environmental challenges locally by creating a sustainable, green community, built collaboratively through citizen engagement, environmental education, government partnership and innovative business development.
Bethesda Green’s Innovation Lab supports idea through seed stage companies, welcoming founders working on innovative solutions to elevate sustainability and promote environmental and social impact throughout the economy. Program areas of focus include:
1) Environmental Innovations: Clean Energy / Water / Clean Tech / Natural Resources / Circular Economy / Waste Management / Sustainable Fashion; and
2) Sustainable Food Systems: Agriculture / Food & Beverage / Packaging / Manufacturing / Distribution / Retail.
The Innovation Lab offers four distinct sustainability-focused entrepreneurial programs:
- The year-round Incubator program is designed to help entrepreneurs build a self-paced program to accommodate their schedules and vision while they work through the hurdles of early-stage business formation and launch. This program is open to all mission-aligned founders in the DMV region, including but not limited to those working in STEM / R&D.
- The competitive Accelerator program involves a fast-paced, high-touch, 4-month intensive curriculum with a focus on investment readiness and commercialization assistance.
- All financial award recipients automatically join the Innovation Lab Residency Program, where they continue to receive access to the many benefits and resources offered to Innovation Lab members for up to four years.
- The year-round Amplifier program provides support to validation and growth stage companies who have received outside investment and seek to benefit from the growing Bethesda Green community.
Contact:
Patty Simonton, Director, Be Green Business
patty@bethesdagreen.org
202.425.6576
