SEONGHOON WOO, CEO AND COFOUNDER OF AMOGY / JOSEPH AMBROSIO, CEO OF UNIQUE ELECTRIC SOLUTIONS
A champion of emission-free mobility and an electric vehicle pioneer are the latest companies to complete the Clean Energy Business Incubator Program’s challenging commercialization gauntlet.
Brooklyn-based Amogy, which focuses on ammonia as a sustainable and ecological energy source, and Holbrook-based Unique Electric Solutions, a spinoff of engineering hub Unique Technical Services offering end-to-end vehicle conversions to clean EV systems – are the latest CEBIP graduates, joining alumni ThermoLift, Re-Nuble, Qunnect, modelizeIT, Edgewise Energy and Bonded Energy Solutions.
While each was responsible for (and ultimately successful at) its own custom-designed business-development CEBIP metrics, the most recent grads have relied heavily on each other – both as CEBIP classmates and as early-stage enterprises finding their way in the clean energy world.
Amogy CEO Seonghoon Woo and Unique Electric Solutions CEO Joseph Ambrosio each credited the other’s enterprise with a large share of his own company’s success, with Woo calling collaborations between the two startups “extremely critical” and Ambrosio labeling Amogy “the rocket ship organization that UES needs to team with.”
“As a disruptive technology, Amogy is providing options for energy storage for electric vehicles,” Ambrosio notes. “UES and the entire EV industry need this.”
“Batteries and fuel cells are only part of the answer,” he adds. “Amogy addresses the other part of the challenge, which is to have options for stored energy for transportation based on industry and geographic locations.”
That partially sums up the goings-on at Amogy, which was founded by Woo and other MIT engineers with a shared vision for a decarbonized transportation center. Ammonia quickly emerged as their environmentally friendly propellant of choice – and UES was exactly the right partner to “demonstrate our technology in a variety of mobility platforms in an aggressive timeline,” according to Woo.
“While Amogy has developed its innovative ammonia-to-power technology, we rely on the rest of the value chain, including power electronics, vehicle retrofitting and commissioning,” the CEO says – all things that have been “entirely enabled by UES's technology and support.”
“Such collaboration has together demonstrated the future potential of Amogy's technology, which has helped the company raise large fundings from global investors,” Woo adds.
Both CEOs also praised the management and execution of the CEBIP commercialization program. Woo, who brought great ambitions (Amogy aims to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by 5 billion metric tons by 2040) to the incubator in 2021, credited the program with turning a seed-stage startup with five staffers into a 150-employee international enterprise with more than $200 million in outside funding.
“Various CEBIP programs, including regular advice from the Advisory Board, helped Amogy establish basic operational fundamentals and … connect with important local stakeholders in the New York and Long Island areas, including local suppliers, manufacturers, regulators, certifiers, vendors and more,” Woo adds.
Ambrosio agrees, calling the business incubator program a “massive asset for UES in the local and national marketspace.”
“The entire CEBIP team is available literally around-the-clock to listen, help and mentor,” Ambrosio says. “It's also been a power bridge to Stony Brook University and its ecosystem, which has been a tremendous source of project work, interns, teaming opportunities with sponsored research and access to state and federal funding programs.”
Diplomas in hand, both Amogy and UES are ready to make big commercialization splashes. With a Series B funding round underway, UES is keen to introduce its zero-emission electric drive systems throughout the automotive, truck and bus industries – and with the EV industry heating up fast, “we have many years ahead of us,” according to Ambrosio.
“We are expanding our manufacturing base with the support of Empire State Development, with a recent grant to help UES manufacture battery packs in New York State,” the CEO says. “And we hope to keep cultivating the relationships at CEBIP and Stony Brook to develop new opportunities.”
Woo says Amogy’s next big milestone is the successful commercialization of ammonia-to-power technology for the marine industries. In another collaboration with UES, the Brooklyn-based innovator is already working on the world’s first ammonia-powered, zero-emission sea vessel – a next-generation tugboat currently under construction in upstate Kingston.
Amogy is also developing plans to “deploy our products in various markets in the United States and European countries subsequently” – and as it does, it will keep CEBIP’s lessons close at hand, according to its CEO.
“As the first mover in a new industry, it will be critical to deploy the product timely, safely and reliably,” Woo adds. “That will determine the future success of Amogy and its partners.”