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Forager Station
Frederick, Maryland’s Forager Station, is making a major contribution to solving the global lithium shortage. The venture's mission is to increase the availability of lithium for everyone. It has a patent pending lithium refining technology with higher extraction efficiency, significant water savings, and applicability to more customer types than other technologies on the market. Forager Station’s customers are in the produced water industry, the salt mining industry, and the geothermal lithium brine industry. One major focus area is to create the first commercially viable lithium extraction tech that works for Appalachian lithium brines, enabling a new green industry to form.
Patrick Ho, founder of Forager Station, was born in Maryland and grew up catching blue crabs on the Chesapeake Bay. This has instilled in him the sense that with the right tools, life can come from the sustainable bounty found in water. He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia and a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In school, he focused on machine design, entrepreneurship, and biomedical technology. His career spans roles in medical device reliability and software development for various industries. Patrick's passion for deep tech and sustainable solutions drives the company's mission to scale global lithium abundance
SpinQi
SpinQi is a Rockville-based spin-out of Weinberg Medical Physics, which has successfully launched billion-dollar companies. SpinQi is working with two-dimensional materials (e.g., MXene) to build capacitors for energy storage needs of HVDC transmission lines and offshore wind facilities, with applications to electric vehicles and directed energy. Unlike conventional capacitors and ultracapacitors, the SpinQi capacitors are optimized for high voltage, increasing the energy density by orders of magnitude. The new high-voltage high-energy density (HV-HED) capacitors still have the rapid charge and discharge advantages of conventional capacitors.
Dr. Mair is a materials scientist who received a PhD from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at NIST. He then came to the Weinberg Medical Physics incubator and is a founder of the SpinQi spin-out from that incubator. Dr. Mair is an expert in the synthesis of macroscale shape-defined structures with nanoscale specifications. He is the developer of the MXene high-voltage capacitor, which features unprecedented energy storage and discharge capabilities.
Redhelm Labs
Redhelm Labs is revolutionizing the drone industry with its innovative wireless long-range in-flight recharging technology powered by laser. This groundbreaking solution eliminates the need for risky manual battery swaps during flights and significantly reduces dependence on gas-powered drones. Currently, Redhelm Labs is backed by a DARPA SBIR Phase 1 contract and has successfully completed the MEIA Pre-accelerator, further validating its potential in the market.
Redhelm Labs was founded by Neil Sorkin, a graduate of the University of Maryland with a major in Computer Science and a concentration in Statistics; Neil has a robust background in machine learning and computer vision. Neil's previous experiences include impactful roles at the US Naval Research Lab, Reinventing Geospatial Inc., and AT&T, where he developed key technological innovations. An active participant in industry conferences and academic collaborations, Neil continuously seeks to push the boundaries of UAV efficiency and safety in operational environments. He envisions a future where power beaming safely liberates us from the constraints of wired power. This vision reflects his commitment to enhancing human capabilities and driving technological advancement.
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