C&EN 10 Start-Ups to Watch announced for 2023

Chemical & Engineering News announces 2023 list of 10 chemistry start-ups to watch

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2023 — Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), an independent news outlet of the American Chemical Society, unveiled its annual list of 10 chemistry start-ups to watch. The companies were chosen from among hundreds of firms suggested by readers and identified by C&EN reporters, who scoured the chemical, biotech, and materials world for young companies with great promise. The magazine’s writers and editors narrowed the list down to the final 10, and the Nov. 13 C&EN cover story profiles these companies and their potentially world-changing innovations.

“This is the ninth year of ‘10 Start-Ups to Watch,’ and each year I’m excited about the companies we present,” says Michael McCoy, interim editor-in-chief of C&EN. “Each year, I also wish we could highlight more of the fascinating young firms we learn about. To me, this is evidence that chemistry will always be a source of innovation that can be translated into viable businesses.” 

Here are 2023’s 10 start-ups to watch, along with a brief explanation for why each is being recognized: 

Belharra Therapeutics: Trying to turn the undruggable druggable. 

Cypris Materials: Self-assembling copolymers create a rainbow of structural colorants.

DePoly: Recycling complex plastic waste for a circular economy.

Elicit Plant: Phytosterols could boost crop yields under drought conditions. 

H2Pro: Making green hydrogen cheaper with a two-step electrolyzer. 

Halda Therapeutics: Using bifunctional small molecules to say RIP to cancer cells. 

Mitra Chem: Speeding up discovery and scale-up of low-cost battery materials. 

Septerna: Revitalizing GPCR drug discovery. 

Sublime Systems: Eliminating carbon dioxide emissions from cement production with electrochemistry. 

Trillium Renewable Chemicals: Making carbon fiber and polymers greener through biobased acrylonitrile.

And featured in the “on our radar” section: Flo Materials (endlessly recyclable plastics), Jupiter Ionics (ammonia synthesis with fewer greenhouse gas emissions), Quino Energy (cheaper electrolytes for flow batteries), Sóliome (sunscreen made from a molecule found in human eyes) and Umaro Foods (bacon made from seaweed protein). 

Keep an eye out for next year’s 10 startups to watch. Nominate a company for the 2024 list by clicking here; nominations are due by Aug. 1, 2024. 

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