Last week, the Techcrunch Disrupt Battlefield Winner was crowned. This year a climate tech company won — Minerva Lithium!

They won the coveted TC Battlefield Cup, $100,000 prize money and the interest of top tier VCs in what I can only imagine is their upcoming fundraise.

What do they do?

They have produced Nano Mosaic a method for extracting critical materials from brine in just three days. The Minerva Lithium team reports they can extract lithium using just 30,000 gallons of water and their polymer framework in just three days.

Why was this an unlikely win?

These entrepreneurs have built a frontier business outside of Silicon Valley. Coming here as an 'away team' to win one of the biggest startup events of the year. The founders Daewood and Rathnayake hail from the North Carolina Research Triangle an impressive clean tech community of entrepreneurs. This is a powerful story about how entrepreneurs across the country are building groundbreaking companies, building jobs and reimagining the American tech landscape.

Why is this important?

Lithium is in high demand, more so than gold, these days due to the trend to electrify everything. Lithium is a key ingredient in the production of modern lithium-ion batteries. Mining is expensive both monetarily and environmentally. Further, we lack domestic mines needing to rely on China. The ability to access Lithium plentifully, cleanly, and without foreign dependency is a critically important problem to solve. For details on their process check out the Techcrunch article.

The future

Other rare earth materials are similarly difficult to extract and lack global access. The Minerva team has set their sights on future processes using their Nano Mosaic material to extract nickel, cobalt, and other critical material.

Who is the team

The team started this venture as a research project spin-out from the University of North Carolina GreensboroUNCG and later received an NSF grant using the money to discuss challenges with stakeholders involved in the lithium and battery space to learn how to find product-market fit. co-founded by Sheeba Daewood and Hemali Rathnayake.

What’s next for the ML team?

TC Disrupt is a time for startups to make a splash and investors to discover the next big thing. Undoubtedly, the biggest splash a company can make is to win the Battlefield. Many top tier VCs adding climate tech to their thesis and even building new funds around this theme. I am heartened to see climate as an investment thesis reach the mainstream, again…

The sub-text in the world economy, while difficult, leads me to be opportunistic. The businesses that are created during downturns are clear-eyed about their value and how customers pay for it. There are no out-of-control valuations or bliztscaling mirages. This backdrop is ideal for climate tech as these companies are committed to providing measurable results across a triple bottom line of planet, people, and profit.

@Minerva team, if you are fundraising I would be honored and grateful to join the round! Further, I would be happy to provide strategic design support as an advisor. Full disclosure, this is not financial advise about what I think others should invest in. I have no affiliation with this company and have never met them.

The unlikely clean tech winners of Techcrunch Battlefield, Minerva Lithium

Last week, the Techcrunch Disrupt Battlefield Winner was crowned. This year a climate tech

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