Ten chemistry start-ups to watch

“C&EN’s 2020 10 Start-Ups to Watch”
Chemical & Engineering News

Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society (ACS), has unveiled its annual list of 10 chemistry start-ups to watch. The companies were chosen from among hundreds of nominations submitted from readers and those compiled by the magazine’s writers and editors, who scoured the chemical, biotech and materials world for young companies with great promise. This week’s C&EN cover story profiles these companies and their potentially world-changing innovations.

In a year turned upside-down by the novel coronavirus epidemic, start-up founders and leaders have not lost their drive to solve difficult problems in drug discovery, waste recycling, sustainable materials and quantum computing. One firm, Aryballe, is developing a sensor that can mimic the human nose, a challenge chemists have grappled with for decades. Another group, Evrnu, is working to close the textile manufacturing loop by turning old clothes into new fabrics. And Natron Energy is creating safer, higher performing rechargeable batteries using Prussian blue pigment.

“I’m excited to share with our readers how the 10 start-ups we selected are working to tackle a range of important global challenges spanning different aspects of sustainability and human health,” says Bibiana Campos Seijo, Ph.D., editor-in-chief and vice president of C&EN Media Group. “We’re now in our sixth year featuring up-and-coming chemistry-based start-ups. Companies we’ve highlighted in past years have gone on to do great things, and we’re confident this year’s group will also be successful.”