— Written by Pique Action Team

Building Big: The Scale-Up Era 🏗️

Commercial scale-up is the industrial transition of moving lab-tested hardware into full-scale manufacturing facilities. Bridging that gap means grinding through brutal engineering bottlenecks, capital requirements, and supply chain gridlocks. Our NextNow alumni refuse to stay grounded. They are expanding factories, securing major federal awards, and proving that climate hardware is ready for prime time.

Clean Aviation & Zero-Emission Skies ✈️

Twelve officially opened AirPlant One in Moses Lake, Washington, launching America’s first commercial e-jet fuel facility. Their electrochemical process transforms captured carbon dioxide, water, and renewable electricity into synthetic fuel, pulling jet propellant right out of thin air. Revisit their origin story in our original NextNow episode.

Heart Aerospace completed the maiden flight of its X1 demonstrator, the largest battery-electric aircraft ever flown. Tipping the scales at over 25,000 pounds with a 106-foot wingspan, the aircraft completed a 27-minute test flight using five dollars worth of electricity. Catch their early journey in our NextNow spotlight. Talk about high-flying returns on investment.

Battery Power & Supply Chain Resilience 🔋

Nth Cycle entered negotiations for up to $100 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to construct Project SHIELD. Their electroextraction plant in the Southeast will process 24,000 metric tons of domestic black mass annually, keeping critical battery minerals spinning in a continuous loop. Check out our deep dive on their electroextraction tech.

Coreshell Technologies secured a $50 million DOE award to scale domestic battery production using metallurgical silicon anodes. Swapping traditional graphite for domestic silicon boosts cell energy density while giving American battery manufacturing a charge. Revisit our feature on their nano-layer coating here.

Liminal Insights teamed up with Waygate Technologies to deploy inline ultrasound inspection tools across battery factories. Scanning cell interiors right on the assembly line gives manufacturers an acoustic checkup, catching microscopic flaws before batteries ship out. Watch our original feature on Liminal.

Circular Materials & Touchable Tech 🪵

Felled urban trees usually end up ground into mulch or rotting quietly in municipal landfills. Cambium flips that script by rescuing local timber, converting municipal wood waste into high-performance Carbon Smart Wood™. Following an $18.5 million Series A round to scale mass construction, they hired a new CFO to steer national expansion.

The coolest part? You can actually run your hands along their climate solutions in the kitchen aisle. Their solid white oak butcher block countertops are now available at Lowe's, bringing a touchable climate win right into home renovations. Check out our original spotlight on Cambium to see how barking up the right tree yields serious concrete-replacing power.

Community Announcements 📣

Harvard C-CHANGE Gathering in NYC! 🗽

• What: An exciting gathering hosted by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE). Connect with alumni, friends, and leaders working at the intersection of public health and climate action. Plus, Pique Action CEO Kip Pastor will be taking the stage as part of the panel discussion!

• Learn More & RSVP: Check out event details and registration here.