The Earth is taking a beating. But there is a growing legion of companies hustling to develop technologies to preserve the planet and its inhabitants. They’re attracting levels of talent and investment dollars that haven’t been seen before in the field.
For the first time, the GeekWire Awards is specifically recognizing companies in this sector with the new category of Sustainable Innovation of the Year.
The five finalists are Eviation, an electric aircraft pioneer; Membrion, a startup offering onsite treating wastewater; Pure Watercraft, a leader in electric boats; Recompose, a company providing nature-based burials; and Zap Energy, which is pursuing unlimited clean energy through fusion.
The GeekWire Awards recognize the top innovators and companies in Pacific Northwest technology. Finalists in this category and others were selected based on community nominations, along with input from GeekWire Awards judges. Community voting across all categories will continue until May 1, combined with feedback from judges to determine the winner in each category.
We’ll announce the winners on May 18 at the GeekWire Awards, presented by Astound Business Solutions. There are a limited number of table sponsorships available to attend the event. Contact our events team at events@geekwire.com for more information.
Submit your votes below and keep scrolling for descriptions of each finalist for Sustainable Innovation of the Year, presented by Wilson Sonsini.
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Eviation
The tech: Fossil-fuel free flights with electric aircraft.
The innovation: In September, Eviation’s all-electric Alice aircraft took its first test flight in Eastern Washington. After years of development, the plane flew for eight minutes and reached a maximum altitude of 3,500 feet before landing safely.
The initial flight was a nine-passenger aircraft. Eviation hopes to secure certification for the Alice aircraft from the Federal Aviation Administration and hit the market by 2027.
Eviation’s majority owner is the Clermont Group, a privately held conglomerate based in Singapore. The company is based in Arlington, Wash., and the plane’s electric propulsion system is provided by MagniX.
Past coverage: ‘It was wonderful’: Eviation’s Alice electric airplane wins praise after its first flight test
Membrion
The tech: Onsite treatment of salty and polluted water.
The innovation: Membrion, a University of Washington spinoff, created ceramic membranes that can provide desalination and remove heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic and copper.
Its main customers are U.S.-based, Fortune 100 firms that consume large quantities of water in their business operations. That includes companies in microelectronics, automotive, food and beverage, and oil and gas sectors.
Seattle-based Membrion was founded in 2016 by chemical engineering expert Greg Newbloom, who serves as CEO.
Past coverage: Membrion, a startup building ceramic membranes for wastewater treatment, raises $7M
Pure Watercraft
The tech: All-electric powerboats for the retail market.
The innovation: Pure Watercraft developed the Pure Outboard motor, a battery-powered engine that is a quieter, cleaner replacement for traditional gas-powered outboard motors.
In 2021, General Motors acquired a 25% stake in the company. The partnership allows the startup to combine its marine propulsion technology with the automaker’s engineering, supply chain and manufacturing capabilities.
The startup’s headquarters are on Lake Union in Seattle. The company launched more than a decade ago and is led by founder and CEO Andy Rebele.
Past coverage: GM acquires 25% stake in Seattle’s Pure Watercraft to accelerate future of electric powerboating
Recompose
The tech: A planet friendly alternative to burials and cremation.
The innovation: Recompose uses an organic technology to convert human remains into soil over a roughly 30-day period. The body is placed in a receptacle with organic matter such as straw and wood chips and natural processes break everything down into about a cubic yard of soil that is returned to families.
Washington was the first state in the U.S. to legalize human composting in May 2019. Oregon, Colorado, California and Vermont have followed suit.
CEO Katrina Spade founded the business — dubbed the world’s first human composting company — in 2017.
Past coverage: Seattle’s Recompose is raising more cash as human composting startup plans locations in other states
Zap Energy
The tech: Fusion, a potentially limitless, climate-saving source of electricity that’s safer than nuclear fission.
The innovation: Zap Energy has been chasing an efficient, commercially viable way to create fusion since 2017. The startup recently built its fourth generation fusion-producing device, and last year used the machine to create plasma, a superheated gas needed to generate fusion.
Now Zap is pursuing “breakeven” — the point at which its device generates more power that it uses.
Zap has offices in Everett and Mukilteo, Wash. It was co-founded by UW professors Uri Shumlak and Brian A. Nelson with technology developed in collaboration with researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The third founder is Benj Conway.
Past coverage: More funding for fusion: Seattle startup lands $160M and reveals technology breakthrough
Thanks to gold-level and category sponsors: Wilson Sonsini, JLL, Blink, BECU, Baird, Fuel Talent, RSM, Talent Reach, WTIA, Meridian Capital, Bank of America, and T-Mobile. And thanks to silver level sponsors: First Tech, Remitly, Fuel Talent, and SolluCIO Partners.
If interested in sponsoring a category or purchasing a table sponsorship for the event, contact us at events@geekwire.com.
