SiNode Systems Wins Sustainable Practice Impact Award for Creating Batteries that Last Longer and Charge Faster

Washington, DC – Chicago-based company SiNode Systems has won this year’s Sustainable Practice Impact Award to honor a company that develops clean technologies, implements sustainable practices, or provides exceptional educational opportunities to university students. The award will be presented during a luncheon on Saturday, March 25th in Washington, DC as part of VentureWell’s annual Open conference.

SiNode Systems is being honored for their silicon graphene composites which enable longer lasting, faster charging batteries for mobile devices or laptops as a replacement for today’s unsustainable demand on lithium-ion batteries. SiNode Systems also hopes to evolve its technology to work for cars. Last year, the company was awarded a $4 million contract from the U.S. Department of Energy and major automotive companies to develop a better car battery.

“SiNode is a great example of the impact that students can have as technological innovators, founders, and the agents that commercialize and scale research break-throughs,” said Phil Weilerstein, president of VentureWell.

The award will be presented to SiNode Systems CEO and Co-founder Samir Mayekar at a Saturday luncheon at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, DC. The award ceremony will feature a keynote address by John Warner, president and chief technology officer of the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry. Warner is a green chemistry pioneer and the recipient of the 2014 Perkin Medal, widely acknowledged as the highest honor in American Industrial Chemistry.

“We are thrilled to support the Sustainable Practice Impact Award as well as our 20+ year investment in VentureWell. SiNode’s creation of a longer-lasting battery exemplifies our foundation’s commitment to a concept called ‘impact inventing’ – inventions with the triple purpose of creating positive social impact, being environmentally responsible and the ability to develop into a financially self-sustaining business,” said Carol Dahl, Executive Director of The Lemelson Foundation, which supports the award.

Past award winners have gone on to major breakthroughs. On the anniversary of winning the Sustainable Practice Impact Award last year, the company DrinkWell announced a dramatic expansion of its efforts, launching a new initiative to build 700 water pumps in Bangladesh that will reach 20 million people. DrinkWell uses a micro-franchise model to establish local water businesses in arsenic-affected areas of Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, and beyond.

The Award ceremony is a highlight of VentureWell’s Open conference, an annual gathering of students, faculty, business leaders, and investors to discuss the role of science and technology in higher education. This year’s conference has a special focus on boosting innovation-led entrepreneurship on college campuses.

About VentureWell

VentureWell is a not-for-profit organization that supports an emerging generation of science and technology inventors and the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems critical to their success. VentureWell builds communities of practice among faculty in higher education and helps early-stage innovators develop products and ventures that improve life for people and planet. Inventions created by VentureWell grantees are reaching millions of people in more than 50 countries and helping to solve some of our greatest 21st century challenges. Visit www.venturewell.org to learn how we inspire inventors to transform game-changing ideas into significant social impact.