On Feb. 5, Future Use of Energy in Louisiana—or FUEL—hosted its inaugural Super Pitch competition in New Orleans, awarding $175,000 in grants to Louisiana energy startups in the process.
Launched in January 2024 and led by LSU, FUEL comprises more than 50 private and public partners working together on Louisiana’s energy transition and the decarbonization of the state’s industrial corridor. Read more about the massive partnership here.
FUEL’s Super Pitch competition saw four startups—Encore CO2, MaxBoring, NovaSpark Energy and Zentech Concrete Solutions—showcase their innovations through 10-minute pitches followed by 10-minute Q&A sessions with a panel of judges.
So, who took home the top prizes?
First Place ($100,000): Zentech Concrete Solutions
With a stated goal of “revolutionizing pavement preservation,” Baton Rouge-based Zentech has developed a protective pavement coating that produces zero or negative carbon emissions. The startup uses Louisiana-sourced materials like recycled coal plant waste and river sand to produce a concrete mixture that it says offers greater durability, flexibility and cost savings compared to traditional concrete seals.
Second Place ($50,000): Encore CO2
Encore, also based in Baton Rouge, aims to pioneer a new era of chemical manufacturing with its carbon recycling solutions. The startup’s electrolyzer technology combines CO2 with water to create ethanol, a chemical used to make alcoholic drinks, disinfectants, fuels and more. Notably, Encore is using carbon emissions from a local brewery to produce the world’s first hard seltzer made from CO2.
Third Place ($25,000): NovaSpark Energy
NovaSpark, a Houston startup with an office in Baton Rouge, has developed the world’s first mobile atmospheric hydrogen generator, which takes water out of the air and turns it into hydrogen on the go. The innovation has both commercial and military applications—backup fueling, disaster recovery and improved energy resilience, to name a few.
Fourth Place: MaxBoring
MaxBoring, another Baton Rouge startup, aims to transform waste into energy by capturing natural gas burned in flares and turning it into electricity. The company is exploring ways to reduce the electricity costs and power demands of data centers. As the fourth-place winner, MaxBoring was awarded the opportunity to connect with Baton Rouge’s Innovation Catalyst, a nonprofit venture development organization.
