• Dynamhex

  Participated · Seed · Mar 2021

  Dynamhex offers software that delivers energy consumption and carbon footprint data to corporate, utility and government clients. Its platform aggregates and presents metrics to help organizations measure and manage emissions and energy use. The company targets customers that need granular energy and environmental data to meet climate or regulatory goals. Dynamhex was founded in 2019 by Sanwar Sunny, a professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Baltimore. In 2024 the company raised a $1.5 million seed round to support growth. The financing included investments from regional and climate-focused funds as well as strategic investors.

• Datakwip

  Participated · Equity · Apr 2020

  Datakwip is a rapidly growing greentech building analytics company offering a data integration software platform to manage energy across buildings. Its software connects to new or existing energy management and building automation systems, metering, and Internet of Things infrastructures to centralize data management. The platform is designed to surface potential improvements and energy savings. The company was created by a University of Maryland, College Park alumnus. Datakwip is referenced in a Baltimore, Md. press release and has recently received external investment support, indicating early commercial traction.

• Manta Biofuel

  Led · Equity · Oct 2015

  Manta Biofuel grows and harvests algae in manmade ponds and converts it to oil using hydrothermal liquefaction, a high-pressure, high-temperature process. Its system includes solar-powered harvesters that skim algae and a licensed conversion technology from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The company operates a roughly 15-acre pilot production site and says that capacity is sufficient for pilot-scale production. Manta is a nine-person team based in IMET’s Harbor Launch incubator and uses the funding to build prototypes and pay staff and contract engineers. In the short term it plans to sell its oil as a drop-in replacement for No. 6 fuel oil for boiler heating; the long-term goal is to tune its oil for refineries as a direct replacement for fossil crude. The startup also highlights environmental benefits from harvesting algae blooms, such as improving water quality and marine oxygen levels. Manta Biofuel produces renewable, carbon-neutral crude oil from algae using a proprietary harvesting technique licensed from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The company converts collected algal biomass into crude oil via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). It recently established a large pilot production facility in Thurmont, Md. The company intends to use the new funds to develop a prototype of a portable, solar-powered, floating algae harvester that autonomously navigates waters and collects algae. Manta’s harvesting technology was invented by co-founder Ryan Powell. To date it has received over $530,000 in funding from various government and state programs.

No current team members are available.