DENVER - Today, the Global Business Development division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced that 17 Colorado companies and eight researchers have been awarded Proof of Concept and Early-Stage Capital and Retention grants through OEDIT’s Advanced Industries Accelerator Program. These grants promote the growth and sustainability of advanced industries in Colorado by driving innovation, commercialization, and public-private partnerships that move this vital aspect of Colorado’s economy forward in communities across the state.
“The advanced industries account for nearly 30% of Colorado’s total wage earnings, approximately 30% of total sales revenue, and nearly 35% of the state’s total exports. The Advanced Industries Accelerator program is a national model, strengthening this critical part of Colorado’s economy by supporting companies developing disruptive and innovative technologies. By providing direct funding and enabling recipients to leverage third-party capital, we are supporting transformative commercial product development and end-use applications while growing businesses and supporting new jobs,” said Michelle Hadwiger, Director of Global Business Development at OEDIT.
This cycle recognizes Colorado researchers and companies that are developing high-impact and transformative technologies. Principle Investigators (PI) Raja Rajasegar and Reza Nazemi and EsterCycle are advancing clean energy and sustainability solutions, including hydrogen turbines, carbon-to-fuel conversion, and chemical recycling. ExoPower and Tempo Works are developing autonomous and industrial systems, with in-motion robotic charging and automated concrete finishing. Additionally, Jura Health, Onconaut Therapeutics, and PI Sunil Kumar are driving breakthroughs in rare disease diagnostics, cancer therapeutics, and high-throughput drug discovery.
The Proof of Concept grant is intended to help Colorado research institutions speed up applied research in the advanced industries as well as commercialize products and services in partnership with the private sector. The Early-Stage Capital and Retention grant supports businesses commercializing innovative and disruptive technologies in the advanced industries that will be created or manufactured in Colorado.
The Advanced Industries Accelerator Program received 119 applications this grant cycle, which were reviewed in a multi-stage process by committees of business, technical and financial experts in the seven advanced industries. Final recommendations were approved by the Economic Development Commission on November 20, 2025, and the awards announced today represent a total of $5,233,363 in funding.
The next application cycle for Proof-of-Concept and Early Stage Capital and Retention Grants will open on January 5, 2026 and applications will be due February 26, 2026.
Proof-of-Concept Grants:
Colorado School of Mines, PI Qiuhua Huang - Golden, CO $150,000: Developing an artificial intelligence-powered decision support platform to reduce wildfire risk from electric utility operations.
Colorado School of Mines, PI Raja Rajasegar - Golden, CO $149,472: Developing a next-generation hydrogen turbine that delivers zero-carbon, NOx-free power with higher efficiency than conventional turbines.
Colorado School of Mines, PI Sihua Shao - Golden, CO $150,000: Developing an autonomous multi-drone system for detecting and quantifying methane leaks in the oil and gas industry.
Colorado School of Mines, PI Samantha Webster - Golden, CO $150,000: Developing a novel electrodynamic powder feeding device for advanced metal additive manufacturing.
Colorado State University, PI Reza Nazemi - Fort Collins, CO $150,00: Developing an electrochemical process that converts captured carbon dioxide and water directly into dimethyl ether.
Colorado State University, PI Yulia Maximenko - Fort Collins, CO and University of Denver, PI Dacen Waters $200,000: Developing a transformative probe technology that integrates atomic-scale imaging with in-situ quantum control.
University of Colorado Boulder, PI Jarrod Schiffbauer - Boulder, CO $85,023: Developing graphene-based aerogels for scalable high thrust efficiency solar photothermal propulsion.
University of Denver, PI Sunil Kumar - Denver, CO $150,000: Developing a high-throughput drug discovery platform for generating synthetic protein mimetics.
Early-Stage Capital and Retention Grants:
Actuate - Denver, CO, CO $250,000: Developing a hardware-agnostic building management system for small-to-midsize commercial buildings to enable predictive maintenance, improved operational efficiency, and reduced energy use.
Aquarry, Inc. - Golden, CO $152,000: Developing a carbon dioxide removal platform that converts pit lakes at closed open-pit mines into carbon sinks.
EsterCycle LLC - Arvada, CO $250,000: Developing a chemical recycling platform that converts mixed petroleum and bio-based polyester plastics into their fundamental monomers.
ExoPower Inc. - Grand Junction, CO $150,000: Developing in-motion capacitive wireless charging technology to keep industrial mobile robots operating continuously.
Farmshare, Co. - Denver, CO $250,000: Developing a cloud-based operations management software to transform independent meat processors into a coordinated regional network.
HapWare Inc. - Golden, CO $250,000: Developing a wearable system that delivers real-time non-verbal communication cues to individuals who are blind or low-vision.
Jura Health, Inc. - Lakewood, CO $250,000: Developing an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered system for rapid rare disease diagnosis.
LightStanza - Boulder, CO $250,000: Developing an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform that automates and optimizes daylight and electric lighting design for buildings.
Onconaut Therapeutics, Inc. - Aurora, CO $246,868: Developing a first-in-class inhibitor of a protein that drives tumor growth, metastasis, and drug resistance in colorectal and other solid tumors.
Onza Corp. - Denver, CO $250,000: Developing a solid-matrix technology that stabilizes ozone for safe, transportable use in food preservation and sterilization.
Osmopure Technologies, Inc. - Boulder, CO $250,000: Developing a new class of pressure-driven distillation membranes to remove contaminants from water.
SPARK Corporation - Greenwood Village, CO $250,000: Developing an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform that optimizes energy use across commercial building systems.
Tempo Works Inc - Arvada, CO $250,000: Developing autonomous concrete grinders to automate the grinding and polishing of large floor areas.
ThinkOrbital Inc. - Boulder, CO $250,000: Developing an in-orbit X-ray inspection system for satellite characterization.
Vega Surgical, Inc. - Aurora, CO $250,000: Developing a bedside neurosurgical procedure solution for treating chronic subdural hematomas.
Vona Oncology LLC - Aurora, CO $250,000: Developing a novel small molecule designed to target aggressive triple-negative breast cancer.
Zero Homes - Denver, CO $250,000: Developing a smartphone-based digital assessment and design platform that simplifies home electrification