West Gate Fellows: Four Innovators Working on Critical Minerals, Geothermal Power, and Advanced Batteries

A new cohort of West Gate fellows is working to advance clean energy technologies, with a focus on producing critical minerals domestically, generating affordable geothermal energy, and building ultralight and advanced batteries. These four startup founders are part of a larger group of seven, and they are receiving support from experts at a national laboratory to help turn their ideas into reality.

The fellows’ projects aim to address key challenges in the energy transition, such as reducing reliance on foreign sources for critical minerals and improving battery performance for electric vehicles and other applications. Geothermal energy, if made more cost-effective, could provide a consistent source of renewable power. By collaborating with laboratory researchers, the fellows hope to accelerate the development and commercialization of their technologies.

This article is the first in a two-part series profiling the seven newest West Gate fellows. The second part will introduce the remaining three founders and their work.