July 26, 2023

Building a Better Tomorrow: Building Sector Pitch Day with IMPEL and Go Build 2023 with Saint-Gobain

We’ve had buildings on our brains recently—and with good reason! Buildings represent eight percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the sector is ripe for innovation as we completely rethink and reshape how we design, construct, and manage the built environment. Whether the solution is related to construction and demolition, materials and electricity, or heating and cooling, our built environment could benefit from a wide spectrum of emission-reducing and circular innovations. Two of our partners are particularly dedicated when it comes to shaping a net-zero built environment: IMPEL and Saint-Gobain, both of which we teamed up with recently to help startups with innovative solutions to transform the buildings sector.  

In May, we joined forces with IMPEL, a Department of Energy (DOE) tech-to-market program focused on building technologies, for our Building Sector Pitch Day at our Houston, TX, location—part of our rotating quarterly industry sector pitch days. The day kicked off with remarks from our very own Nour Ghadanfar, who introduced Reshma Singh, Senior Advisor at the Building Technologies Office of the DOE, and Ram Narayanamurthy, Deputy Director at the Building Technologies Office of the DOE. IMPEL supports innovators with solutions for net-zero built infrastructure that decarbonize, digitize, and democratize in pursuit of wellness and resilience for all. Both Reshma and Ram spoke of the need to advance innovations that can be adopted across the entire built environment in ways that are both cost-efficient and equitable.

Of the 10 startups featured at Building Sector Pitch Day, five were Greentown members (frakktal, Aeromine Technologies, Teknobuilt, SmartAC.com, and Sustonable) and five were companies led by IMPEL innovators (Cadence OneFive, Metavoxel, Modulous, BuildingGenius, and Humankind Homes). It’s worth noting also that jhana porter, Co-founder and CEO of frakktal, is also a 2023 IMPEL innovator—keep it up, jhana!  

The audience also heard from two leaders in the investment space who have a long history of advancing sustainable solutions in the built environment. Curtis Rodgers, Partner at Brick & Mortar Ventures—a venture firm dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs who "disrupt the way we design, construct, and maintain the built world"—spoke from the investor’s perspective, highlighting how Brick & Mortar delineates its different areas of focus: embodied carbon through the supply chain, construction efficiency, and facilities efficiency. Finally, we heard from Minas Apelian, long-time friend of Greentown and VP of Internal and External Venturing at Saint-Gobain—one of the world’s largest building materials companies and significant manufacturer of innovative materials solutions—who spoke to the company’s centuries-long history of leadership and innovation in the built environment. It’s worth noting that this was Minas’s final presentation at Greentown as a Saint-Gobain employee—we wish him well on a long and happy retirement and thank him for his many years of partnership!

Speaking of Saint-Gobain’s partnership, we’re seeking applications for our most recent Greentown Go program, Go Build 2023! Saint-Gobain is back for its third buildings-focused startup-corporate partnerships accelerator program—this time with a specific focus on enabling circularity and decarbonizing the built environment by revolutionizing buildings, old and new! The scope for Go Build 2023 extends to any innovative startups at TRL 3+ that are extending the lifecycle of building materials, developing alternative raw materials for the built environment, or advancing other enabling technologies for waste revalorization. Tell any startups in your network that could benefit from collaboration with Saint-Gobain to apply by Aug. 31! More info can be found on the program page.  

Stay tuned for more updates and outcomes from Go Build 2023, and be sure to follow along with IMPEL’s 2023 cohort of innovators! Thanks to both of these incredible partners for their work in creating the sustainable built environment of the future!

(P.S. Want even more details from our Building Sector Pitch Day with IMPEL? You can watch our full event recording and read the full event program! Stay tuned for an updated date for our Manufacturing Sector Pitch Day, which will be held later this fall instead of its original date of Sept. 21.)