Carbon Plus Team Wins First Place at UC Berkeley C2M Summit After Strategic Commercialization Collaboration

As a culmination of Carbon Plus’s participation in the UC Berkeley Cleantech to Market (C2M) program, where we worked closely with a multidisciplinary team on real-world business building, market analysis, and commercialization strategy, we are thrilled to share that the Carbon Plus team was awarded First Place at the 2025 C2M Summit. The award was announced at the summit hosted by UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, recognizing Carbon Plus among a highly competitive cohort of cleantech startups.

See award announcement: UC Berkeley Haas.

The C2M program, hosted by UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, connects high-potential climate-tech ventures with interdisciplinary student teams to accelerate commercialization strategy and market readiness. After being selected as one of only eight startups from a highly competitive applicant pool, Carbon Plus partnered with an exceptional C2M student team to dive deeply into business model refinement, market analysis, customer segmentation, and go-to-market strategy.

Over the course of the program, the C2M team worked closely with Carbon Plus, alongside industry advisors and Berkeley Haas faculty, dedicating hundreds of hours to rigorous research, thoughtful analysis, and strategic recommendations. This hands-on collaboration culminated at the 2025 C2M Summit, where participating teams presented their findings to industry professionals and an independent judging panel.

We are proud to share that Carbon Plus received the First Place Award, a distinction that reflects both the quality of the students’ work and the strength of Carbon Plus’s commercialization trajectory. In addition to recognition, the award includes a $40,000 prize, underscoring the importance of translating cutting-edge climate technologies into commercially viable solutions.

“Winning first place at the C2M Summit validates the hard work of our C2M partners,” said Canhui Wang, CEO of Carbon Plus. “This experience has been truly impactful: the insights we gained into market opportunities and customer priorities are already shaping how we approach commercialization. We are deeply grateful to the students, faculty, and organizers who made this collaboration possible.”

Carbon Plus looks forward to applying the strategic insights from the C2M program as we advance toward key business milestones, including industry engagement, pilot programs, and future funding efforts.

To learn more about UC Berkeley’s Cleantech to Market (C2M) program, please visit the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business website.

You can also read our original announcement about joining the C2M program here:

Carbon Plus Selected for UC Berkeley’s Cleantech to Market (C2M) Program.

From ARPA-E Innovation to Startup: The Origin of Carbon Plus Technology

The technology behind Carbon Plus Inc. was born out of a pioneering research project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E). The original project, titled Electrothermal Conversion of Methane into Hydrogen and High-Value Carbon Fibers, with a total funding of $2,250,000, set out to transform methane, one of the most abundant and underutilized hydrocarbons, into two critical products: clean hydrogen fuel and low-cost carbon fibers.

The project developed an electrothermal conversion process that directly converts methane into hydrogen while simultaneously producing high-strength carbon fibers. Unlike conventional carbon fiber production, which relies heavily on costly polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursors and energy-intensive furnaces, this method leveraged an electric shock-based process to achieve dramatic reductions in both cost and energy use.

The project demonstrated that this approach could cut carbon fiber production costs by more than half, while reducing energy consumption and emissions compared to existing methods. The dual benefit of generating clean hydrogen alongside advanced carbon materials also positioned the technology as a potential game-changer for decarbonization across multiple sectors, from mobility to infrastructure and energy storage.

After the initial ARPA-E project concluded, the team’s success led to additional ARPA-E Plus-Up funding of $750,000, which provided critical support for scaling the technology and laying the foundation for commercialization through Carbon Plus Inc.

Today, Carbon Plus is carrying this innovation forward, developing low-cost, multifunctional carbon fibers and carbon/carbon composites for a wide range of industries. What began as a bold research experiment under ARPA-E has evolved into a startup mission: enabling Carbon Fiber for broader industry adoption.

Read more about the original ARPA-E project here: Electrothermal Conversion of Methane into Hydrogen and High-Value Carbon Fibers

Carbon Plus Selected for UC Berkeley’s Cleantech to Market (C2M) Program

Carbon Plus Inc. is proud to announce its participation in the 2025 Cleantech to Market (C2M) program at UC Berkeley. C2M is a nationally recognized accelerator that pairs emerging cleantech startups with teams of MBA students, PhD scientists, and industry mentors to refine commercialization strategies and accelerate the path from lab to market.

The C2M cohort is highly selective, bringing together companies tackling some of the toughest challenges in energy, climate, and sustainability. Carbon Plus was chosen for its breakthrough in low-cost, methane-derived carbon fiber, which could reshape industries far beyond aerospace by making carbon fiber affordable for automotive, infrastructure, and clean energy applications.

Our technology slashes the cost of high-performance carbon fiber by 50–80%, reduces energy usage by nearly 80%, and opens the door to a wider range of industries, from fuel cells and additive manufacturing to automotive and mobility.

Through the C2M program, Carbon Plus will:

• Engage with industry experts and customers to validate market needs.

• Refine go-to-market strategies and identify beachhead markets.

• Explore strategic partnerships with companies across the automotive, energy, and advanced manufacturing sectors.

“C2M gives us a unique opportunity to sharpen our commercialization plan with direct input from industry and investors,” said Canhui Wang, CEO of Carbon Plus. “Our mission is to make advanced carbon fiber both affordable and sustainable, enabling adotpion far beyond aerospace, and this program is a key step toward scaling that vision.”

Participation in C2M builds on Carbon Plus’s strong momentum following recent ARPA-E funding, state support, and industry interest from leading corporations across automotive, materials, and energy.

We’re excited to work with the C2M team to accelerate the deployment of next-generation carbon fiber and composites, enabling lighter, stronger, and more sustainable products for industries worldwide.