The Michigan State University Innovation Center has a success story in RedoxBlox, an innovative company founded by MSU faculty members James Klausner and colleague Jörg Petrasch in 2020. The company went on in 2024 to win the Innovation Center’s Startup of the Year after being transformed from a promising MSU technology into a potentially major player in the clean energy sector, even recently celebrating a remarkable $40.7 million Series A funding round led by Prelude Ventures. The company’s impressive trajectory has been further bolstered by the appointment of new CEO Pasquale Romano, former President and CEO of ChargePoint.
What began as groundbreaking research at MSU has blossomed into a promising startup venture, with RedoxBlox’s innovative thermochemical energy storage systems positioning the company at the forefront of industrial decarbonization efforts. The MSU Innovation Center played a pivotal role in RedoxBlox’s journey, collaborating with the founders to create an optimal structure for investment and providing crucial support through the MSU Research Foundation.
This strategic partnership has helped the faculty-led company secure not only substantial private funding but also significant government grants, including $6.7 million from the Department of Energy and $8.9 million from the California Energy Commission. With estimates suggesting the company could reach half a billion in revenue by 2030, RedoxBlox exemplifies the MSU Innovation Center’s commitment to fostering groundbreaking technologies with real-world impact.
To read more about RedoxBlox, click on any of the following stories:
Redoxblox Raises $40.7M to Support Clean Energy Storage for Industrial and Grid Applications
Redoxblox raises $31M to commercialize its energy storage ‘booster’
Redoxblox Raises $40.7 Million for ‘Thermochemical’ Energy Storage
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About the MSU Innovation Center:
The MSU Innovation Center combines research partnerships, technology transfer, and startup support for MSU faculty who aim to see their research applied to make the world a better place.
Composed of Business Connect, MSU Technologies, and Spartan Innovations, the MSU Innovation Center aims to amplify the impact of faculty research and drive economic growth while positively impacting society to solve real-world challenges with cutting-edge ideas.
Through mutually beneficial, long-term partnerships with the private sector, we connect MSU faculty with companies for corporate-sponsored research collaborations. We also play a key role in facilitating the commercialization and public use of technologies and copyrightable materials, moving MSU’s innovations from the lab to the marketplace. Importantly, we provide significant support for faculty entrepreneurs in establishing startup companies based on technologies developed at MSU.