Aquagga takes top prize at PNW Climate Week event for its battle against ‘forever chemicals'
Aquagga CEO Dhileep Sivam makes his winning pitch at a PNW Climate Week contest held in Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Brent Roraback)
Six early-stage climate and deep-tech startups faced off at a pitch contest and happy hour in Seattle as part of PNW Climate Week. Entrepreneurs, investors and climate tech enthusiasts packed the Thursday evening event at Stoup Brewing on Capitol Hill.
The competing companies are tackling a variety of sustainability challenges, including solar panel recycling, deployment of residential heat pumps and AI-assisted ocean floor surveys.
The panel of judges and the crowd both crowned Aquagga as the winner, awarding the startup $1,500 in prize money. The company is developing portable, modular units for destroying PFAS 'forever chemicals' that for years have been used in food packaging, carpets and fabrics, water-repellent clothing and non-stick pans.
The chemicals are used to repel water, stains and grease, but they escape from products and contaminate drinking water across the U.S. and are even detected in breast milk.
In his presentation, CEO Dhileep Sivam showcased how his startup's technology directly addresses customer pain points. Aquagga eliminates all forms of PFAS while treating wastewater contaminated with additional pollutants, offering a cost-effective onsite alternative to expensive transportation and incineration processes.
The crowd and judges consider the top pitch at a PNW Climate Week event at Stoup Brewing. (GeekWire Photo / Brent Roraback)
'We're building something that's going to be really attractive for our customers,' Sivam said.
The CEO noted that Aquagga, which launched in 2019, is scaling operations for bigger cleanup projects. The company has secured new contracts with 3M and landed a three-year Colorado deal to process unwanted firefighting foam containing PFAS.
The contest's judges were Rodrigo Prudencio, managing partner at Propeller VC; Gabriel Scheer, senior director of innovation for the investment nonprofit Elemental Impact; Dana Robinson, a member of the climate-focused, angel investment group E8; and Alex Young, senior associate at Energy Impact Partners.
The event was hosted by E8 and Gliding Ant Ventures, an organization supporting startups pursuing low-carbon technologies.
PNW Climate Week is a 10-day regional conference focused on the clean-energy transition with events held in Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue, Portland, Vancouver, B.C., and Bellingham. It runs until Friday.
Read on to learn more about the startups, and find more of GeekWire's sustainability tech coverage here.
The CEO of startups competing in a PNW Climate Week pitch contest from left: Heather Alvis of Electra; Dhileep Sivam of Aquagga; Alexander Gutierrez of L5 Automation; Jason Puracal of ZILA BioWorks; Victoria Price-Doucet of StrateSea; and Robert Benjamin of Aris Hydronics. On the right are Virginia Emery and Jared Silvia of Gliding Ant Ventures and co-hosts of the event. (GeekWire Photo / Brent Roraback)
Business: Building devices that destroy costly, hard-to-treat PFAS chemicals.
HQ: Tacoma, Wash.
Leadership: CEO Sivam has held leadership roles at Intellectual Ventures and Breakthrough Energy, and served as entrepreneur-in-residence at the University of Washington's Clean Energy Institute.
Business: Providing sustainable heating and cooling systems and water heaters in residential settings. The startup designs, sells and installs the systems and provides follow-up data and support.
HQ: Milwaukie, Ore.
Leadership: Robert Benjamin, founder and CEO, has been a startup advisor, a director and founder in marketing and film production, and studied mechanical engineering.
Business: Offering solar panel recycling that includes partnerships with collection centers, transportation to certified recyclers, repurposing with nonprofits where possible, and tracking.
HQ: Bellingham, Wash.
Leadership: Heather Alvis, founder and CEO, was an operations specialist at Renew Solar, a California company offering solar panel recycling, and held leadership roles overseeing software engineers and business operations at multiple companies.
Business: Developing agricultural robots as a service that can provide crop data from in the field and harvest produce, beginning with strawberries.
HQ: Los Angeles area
Leadership: Alexander Gutierrez, founder and CEO, co-founded the space robotics company Astrobotic Technology and was a research engineer at Lockheed Martin for nine years with a focus on robotics and process automation.
Business: Engineering technology using AI to analyze vast quantities of undersea videos collected for offshore construction of wind power and laying cables, and naval surveys for detecting mines and other anomalies.
HQ: Portland, Ore.
Leadership: Victoria Price-Doucet, co-founder and CEO, was director of data and AI for Slalom; a researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and private companies; and global supply chain director with Nike.
Business: Developing plant-based resins and epoxies to replace high-carbon alternatives with an initial focus on equipment for skiing and snowboarding.
HQ: Renton, Wash.
Leadership: Jason Puracal, co-founder and CEO, was a leader in real estate and sustainable infrastructure in Nicaragua, and executive director of the East Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue, Wash.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Wire
9 minutes ago
- Business Wire
GTJAI Achieved 'Carbon Neutrality' at Operational Level for the Third Consecutive Year
HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Guotai Junan International Holdings Limited ('GTJAI' or the 'Company', stock code: a company of Guotai Haitong Group, is pleased to announce that while actively saving energy and reducing emissions, it has successfully offset its Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions totaling 609.29 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent for the year 2024 by subscribing to the carbon credits issued under the international Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). This marks the third consecutive year that GTJAI has achieved 'carbon neutrality' at the operational level, demonstrating the Company's leading practice and commitment to green operation. The carbon credits come from 'Guoluo Grassland Sustainable Management Project' located in Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. It is dedicated to the restoration of degraded grassland ecosystems, based on the holistic nature of the ecosystems, in line with the concept of ecological civilization construction, and to effectively respond to the challenges of climate change. The project is also the first grassland carbon project in China receiving both VCS certification and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards (CCB) - CCB-Biodiversity Gold Level certification. In recent years, GTJAI has been continuously reducing its operational carbon footprint through systematic energy saving and emission reduction initiatives, which is the core support for the achievement of 'carbon neutrality', including vigorously implementing energy-saving renovation of office space, deepening digitalization and paperless transformation, and implementing stringent waste management (100% safe recycling of hazardous waste by 2024). Solid internal emission reduction efforts, combined with carbon offsetting through high-quality carbon credits, enabled the Company to achieve 'carbon neutrality' at the operational level. Adhering to the core philosophy of 'finance for the country, finance for the people, finance for the good', GTJAI has always placed sustainable development at the core of its corporate strategy. The Company is committed to supporting the real economy through financial services while facilitating the green transformation of its corporate clients. In 2024, the Company successfully completed 90 sustainable finance projects covering green bonds, sustainable bonds and green sector IPOs with a total issuance volume of HK$179.8 billion, significantly broadening the financing pipeline for the green industry. Meanwhile, the private equity sector is actively engaged in the sustainability sector, with more than half of its investments focusing on ESG-related industries. Looking ahead, GTJAI will deepen the level of ESG governance, fully integrate ESG factors into its operations and management processes, further leverage its professional strengths and enhance the level of green financial services capabilities. Through innovative products and services, GTJAI will proactively contribute to the realization of the country's 'dual carbon' goal and promote the high-quality development of the economy and society. About GTJAI Guotai Junan International ('GTJAI', Stock Code: a company of Guotai Haitong Group, is the market leader and first mover for internationalization of Chinese Securities Company as well as the first Chinese securities broker listed on the Main Board of The Hong Kong Stock Exchange through initial public offering. Based in Hong Kong with subsidiaries in Singapore, Vietnam and Macau, GTJAI's business covers major markets around the world, offering high-quality and diversified comprehensive financial services for clients' overseas asset allocation. Core business includes brokerage, corporate finance, asset management, loans and financing, financial products, which cover three dimensions including individual finance (wealth management), institutional finance (institutional investor services and corporate finance) and investment management. GTJAI has been assigned 'Baa2' and 'BBB+' long term issuer rating from Moody and Standard & Poor respectively, as well as an MSCI ESG 'A' rating, Wind ESG 'A' rating and SynTao Green Finance 'A' rating in ESG. Additionally, its S&P Global ESG score leads 84% of its global peers. The controlling shareholder, Guotai Haitong Securities (Stock Code: is the comprehensive financial provider with a long-term, sustainable and overall leading position in the China's capital markets. For more information about GTJAI, please visit
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Why this Seahawks Sunday off from training-camp practice was a great day for Charles Cross
Charles Cross assuredly is happier about his contract situation today than he was yesterday. When asked about his contract situation Saturday at Seahawks training camp, the starting left tackle who is guaranteed to remain with Seattle through 2026 but wants to be here longer said he and his agent have not started talks with his team on a new deal. 'No, not yet,' he said. The 24-year-old and Seahawks first-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft also said Saturday: 'I want to be in Seattle for my career. That's something I've always thought of and wanted for myself. 'Hopefully, we can get something done and it'll go that way.' Then came Sunday. While Cross rested on a Seahawks day of from training-camp practices, the Los Angeles Chargers and Rashawn Slater re-set the top of the league's market for left tackles. The Chargers gave Slater, a 26-year-old two-time Pro Bowl selection, a four-year, $114 million contract with a eye-catching $92 million guaranteed, per multiple reports. Slater is now the league's highest-paid offensive lineman at an average of $28.5 million annually. Slater's deal is higher than the $27.55 million Trent Williams averages, at age 37, for the San Francisco 49ers. Those will be the comparisons the Seahawks and Cross' agents at Klutch Sports Group will use in negotiations on a multiyear extension Seattle general manager John Schneider would like to agree to with Cross before next year. Schneider and the Seahawks chose this spring to exercise their fifth-year option on Cross, at $17.56 million guaranteed for 2026. They did it to ensure their cornerstone left tackle remains in Seattle beyond his rookie deal that ends after the 2025 season. They also did it to buy time to strike a new deal beyond 2026 that would have a better salary-cap charge for next year than the $17.56 million currently on the Seahawks' books for Cross. Comparing Cross and Slater Slater's new deal sets the new, highest bar for left tackles. It will also raise the market value for the other left tackles that sign deals over the next year. That's the way NFL contracts and comparative values work. Timing is everything. Cross' agents will have a challenge to get the Seahawks to pay their client Slater money. Yet there's no doubt Cross' next payday got higher on Sunday. The Chargers selected Slater with the 13th pick of the 2021 draft. The Seahawks selected Cross with the ninth pick of the 2022 draft. He became one of the first-round picks Seattle got from Denver in the Seahawks' trade of Russell Wilson to the Broncos in March 2022. Cross has played 100%, 99% and 100% of the offensive snaps in his first three NFL seasons for Seattle. He missed three games because of a sprained toe in 2023. Slater was been selected to two Pro Bowls to Cross' none. Slater has more of an injury history than Cross. Slater missed 14 of 17 games in his second NFL season of 2022 because of a torn biceps. Another of the measurables agents use in negotiating contracts and making comps with teams on other NFL contracts is Pro Football Focus' player grades. That's particularly true for offensive linemen who don't have easily identifiable statistics of rushes, catches, yards and touchdowns. Cross graded 10th in the league out of 140 tackles rated by PFF last season. Slater was second in the NFL, per PFF. The 11 highest-paid offensive linemen in terms of annual average contract value begin at Slater's $28.5 million per year and go through the $20 million per season Detroit's Taylor Decker and Baltimore's Ronnie Staley get from their teams. Cross' agents will have easier times comping their client above Decker and Staley and $20 million per year. Both at 31, Decker and Staley are each seven years older than Cross. Cross' value rises in new Seahawks system Cross and Seahawks tackles have added value in the new outside-zone blocking scheme arriving offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is installing in this training camp. The point of attack for many of the outside-zone running plays is the gap between the tackle and the tight end. The ball carrier makes his decision where to cut and run based of the tackle's ability to drive his man through the destination zone of the called run. Cross is going to have a prime chance to showcase his worth this season, particularly in run blocking and again as the backside pass protector of a right-handed quarterback, Seattle's Sam Darnold. 'We're running off the ball,' Cross said Saturday, with a smile. 'It's very exciting just being able to run off the ball. Move the line of scrimmage and create holes for our backs and let them do their thing.' Cross the key in Kubiak's system for a lineman and a tackle in particular is 'making great decisions. Seeing the defense and being able to decide which decision is the right decision to make.'
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
Vibeathons Are Taking Over Hackathons To Rapidly Increase Innovation
Teams rapidly prototype new ideas using AI tools during a high-intensity vibathon session. It's 10 a.m. on a Thursday. Instead of back-to-back meetings and project updates, a team huddles over laptops in a buzzing workspace. Code is flying. AI tools are generating UI prototypes in real time. There's an energy that feels less like a corporate grind and more like a creative sprint. By 2 p.m., teams test a working prototype of an idea that didn't exist that morning but could lead to the next big innovation. Welcome to the age of vibathons, also known as vibe coding: high-speed, AI-powered innovation sprints designed for the next generation of problem-solving. Organizations such as Microsoft host these coding jam events where energy meets innovation. A vibathon is a shorter, more intense version of a hackathon that prioritizes speed, creativity and the use of AI tools to accelerate innovation. Unlike traditional hackathons that may stretch over 48 hours, vibathons often run for four to six hours. It reduces the risk of burnout. The goal isn't to ship a perfect product. It's to build something tangible and unleash creative momentum. Where hackathons reward brute-force effort and deep technical stacks, vibathons focus on velocity, product thinking andcross-functional collaboration. It's less about raw code and more about rapid prototyping and inspired decision-making. Speed Is The New Strategy In an era where the biggest bottleneck isn't technology but time, speed is a competitive advantage. Vibathons compress the innovation cycle, utilizing AI tools such as code generators, design assistants and smart workflows to transform rough ideas into usable prototypes within hours. Vibeathons aren't about aiming for flawless execution. Teams rapidly bring ideas to life through immediate, hands-on experimentation. They uncover what works by quickly exposing what doesn't, turning fast failures into valuable feedback loops. Why AI Is At The Center Participants are encouraged to use generative AI to streamline development. Writing code, generating wireframes, crafting product copy, even simulating user feedback focuses less on busywork and more on solving the actual problem; making the process more efficient positions the company as a leader in its particular market. Here's how to run a high-impact vibathon: Frame the sprint around a specific question or challenge. For example, you could ask: A cross-functional group collaborates in real time, transforming bold prompts into tangible ... More solutions. This shift opens the door to designers, product thinkers, marketers and team members without any coding experience to contribute meaningfully using AI tools as force multipliers. Use a timer. Limit each build phase to 60–90 minutes. Encourage quick, scrappy progress. Remind teams: this is about proof of concept, not production code. Provide access to a variety of AI tools such as coding assistants that generate code snippets, design generators that create UI mockups and no-code tools that automate repetitive tasks. Offer quick tutorials to level the playing field early, ensuring that everyone makes the most of these powerful tools. This step is crucial in fostering a collaborative environment. End with brief, high-impact demos. Focus the debrief on what teams learned, not just what they built. The real outcome is insight. Avoid turning this into a meeting recap. Instead, document big takeaways and new ideas sparked by the sprint. Let the momentum carry into the next work cycle. Real industry disruptors are those who rapidly experiment and learn. Vibathons create a container for that kind of thinking. They push teams to transition from planning mode to building mode without waiting for approval from above. They're not just fast. They're focused, energizing and deeply instructive. Because in the age of AI, the next big thing isn't built by committee. It's prototyped in an afternoon.
