From Tony Stark to Obi Wan Kenobi: Meet 4 (of 7) West Gate Fellows and Their Technologies

A national lab program called West Gate is helping four startup founders develop new energy technologies, with an eye toward eventually reaching consumers and industry. The two-year fellowship, run through the National Laboratory of the Rockies, gives entrepreneurs access to lab equipment and expertise to move their ideas toward commercial use.

The technologies are early-stage and mostly aimed at industry rather than individual homes for now. One company, Big Blue Technologies, wants to manufacture magnesium metal in the U.S., a material used in lighter batteries and cars, currently imported because no U.S. company has made it since 2021. GeoKiln is developing a way to produce hydrogen fuel by heating underground iron-rich rock, aiming for costs low enough to compete without subsidies. Last Wave Energy is building batteries that strip out up to 95% of the inactive material found in typical lithium-ion batteries, making them lighter and cheaper to produce, with potential uses in drones, electric vehicles, and even electric planes. Orva Energy is using artificial intelligence to develop sodium-ion batteries, an alternative to lithium that relies on more abundant, cheaper materials and could eventually help with large-scale energy storage.

None of these technologies are available to buy or install yet. They are still in development, working through testing and scale-up with lab support. For homeowners, this is a glimpse at technology that could eventually affect battery costs, energy storage, or fuel supply chains, but there is no product or program to act on today.