There is a special kind of energy when a technology solution comes to life in a community.
At Elemental Impact, a core strategy of our non-profit investing model is to be on the ground with projects, engaging stakeholders, opening facilities, and driving conversation. After 15+ years, we know that fostering meaningful partnerships between entrepreneurs and local partners—schools, farmers, homeowners, mayors, and workforce providers—lead to local adoption, deployment success, and lasting impact. That’s why we invest more than capital; our team provides critical expertise and resources for project deployments.
Groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings are one part of our hands-on, tailored coaching strategy. These milestones are much more than just a ceremonial moment—they are a chance to share collective progress and bring together the local builders and change agents central to a project’s long-term success.
This year, Elemental has had the privilege of elevating 12 key projects across our portfolio. Below, we are excited to showcase a few from this past year.
2025 Deployment Highlights
Nitricity Groundbreaking (Delhi, CA)
In California’s Central Valley, amid the rows of almond orchards and expansive farmland, Nitricity broke ground on a first-of-a-kind (FOAK) fertilizer plant that will tackle one of agriculture’s most foundational challenges: organic nitrogen fertilizer—an essential ingredient crops need to grow. This event brought together farmers, partners, and community members to celebrate the start of construction and to showcase how sustainable agriculture can take root locally. With funding unlocked by Elemental’s D-SAFE investment, the facility is expected to deliver 1.4 million gallons of liquid organic fertilizer per year, abate 9,754 tons of CO2 over 3-5 years, and create 15-20 local jobs. Elemental supported Nitrcity on the event from advising on the run of show and media strategy to providing recommendations on local vendors to work with. Local Elemental team members joined the celebration to give remarks and participate in the breaking of ground.
Forum Mobility Ribbon Cutting in Long Beach (Long Beach, CA)
Situated at the busiest port in the country on the site of a former gas station, Forum Mobility launched a FOAK charging hub serving heavy-duty trucks at the Port of Long Beach in January. The facility boasts 9 megawatts of power—enough to get truckers recharged and back on the road in about 90 minutes. At full capacity, the depot will serve over 200 trucks a day and is projected to offset more than 90,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions. The event drew 200 attendees, including key policymakers, investors and port operators—with speeches from the Elemental team alongside local leaders like the Mayor of Long Beach, Rex Richardson and the Chair of the California Energy Commission, David Hochschild. The Elemental team provided support on event strategy, media engagement, and photography, and joined the event to celebrate this milestone in person.
Bedrock Energy Groundbreaking (Hayden, CO)
Bedrock Energy’s project deployment in Colorado marks a significant milestone in scalable geothermal drilling technology for commercial and multi-family buildings—cutting costs while simultaneously creating new jobs. At scale, Bedrock’s technology can help their customers save 50% on energy costs and reduce building greenhouse gas emissions by more than 25%. Our team supported the Bedrock crew through event and partnership strategy—including securing attendance from two Senators and facilitating several press connections.
Glacier and Recology Facility Tour (Seattle, WA)
In Seattle, Glacier Robotics and Recology hosted a facility tour and technology demonstration at a material recovery facility (MRF) utilizing Glacier’s AI-powered sorting robots. As we watched the system sort items—from bottles to toothpaste tubes—Recology’s CEO Salvatore Coniglio said “What excites me most is how Glacier’s robots boost recycling and make work safer.” MRFs like this are facing severe workforce turnover, with some facilities replacing positions up to five times a year. Glacier’s robots are making these jobs safer while helping facilities pinpoint where value is lost, like aluminum cans mistakenly headed to landfill. Compact enough to install in a day, Glacier’s systems are 60% more affordable than competitors. With Elemental’s support on logistics, press, and storytelling, the demonstration spotlighted their work to local leaders and community members, setting them up to scale the technology across the U.S. and beyond. Elemental team members attended the event to speak about our work together, what Glacier’s technology unlocks from an environmental and local level, and how we’re supporting the company’s continued growth.
Fervo Energy Site Visit (Milford, UT)
At the edge of the Utah desert, Fervo Energy broke ground on Cape Station, the world’s largest next-generation geothermal project. With innovations like faster drilling in hotter conditions and dependable enough for data centers, Fervo is redefining renewable baseload power—moving 10–30x faster than Department of Energy projections from just a few years ago. And more speed drives lower costs. But what makes the project truly extraordinary is the human story behind it: from former hog farm employees joining the local team to a Geothermal Apprenticeship Program at Southern Utah University, supported by Elemental. “This partnership is so powerful; it’s transformational for our region,” said Melynda Thorpe, the university’s workforce development expert, speaking about the internship and its 22 graduates. Our team worked closely with Fervo and SUU to coordinate and participate in a roundtable focused on expanding the program’s success and creating multigenerational job opportunities across other fields at the university.
Plantible Foods Ribbon Cutting (Eldorado, TX)
We put our (cowboy) boots on the ground to celebrate Plantible’s fully operational FOAK commercial facility. In a region better known for cattle ranches and game hunting, this site is producing sustainable and cost-effective plant-based protein at scale. From community leaders and co-investors to state officials and local partners, the energy around the event reflected something deeper: real economic momentum for this rural Texas town. The Elemental team supported Plantible through event strategy, agenda development, press release drafting, and targeted outreach that secured attendance from local, state, and workforce representatives. We also took to the mic to share remarks and stories about the project and our investment. Since 2022, Plantible has added 30+ local jobs, launched a university internship program, and is actively upskilling talent from within the community, lifting the median income in Schleicher County by ~60%. As one local shared, “It’s exciting to see a company building roots here and creating new jobs.”
Our team is passionate about supporting the companies we invest in through their deployment journey. The moments we get to celebrate progress together is what it’s all about. With each of these moments, the throughline is clear: when innovation and catalytic capital meet local impact, the gap between early and impact gets smaller.
Elemental will keep doing what we do best—helping entrepreneurs bridge the last mile between innovation and deployment, and showing what’s possible when communities, investors, and innovators pull in the same direction.
See more projects taking shape. Follow our First of a Kind, Next to Scale series for stories from the teams building the next chapter of climate innovation.
The post The Projects Powering What’s Next appeared first on Elemental Impact.
