Progressive Exploration for Industrial Discovery

This week: six traits to founder success, additive tipping point, new geothermal drills, biodegradable sneakers, enhanced rock weathering, PINNs for Humanoids, securing local supply chains.

May 04, 2025

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Capturing this week's zeitgeist

Each week as I curate media for you at the intersection of manufacturing, heavy industry, and emerging technologies, I'm reminded of why I started this newsletter. My assessment from the EQT Founders Test identified "Progressive Explorer" as my dominant trait—and it explains so much about our journey together.

Being a Progressive Explorer comes with a constant curiosity, a drive to seek fresh perspectives, and a willingness to challenge conventional thinking. My deep intellectual curiosity draws me to diverse knowledge sources—from factory floors to research papers, and Python codebases to executive boardrooms. I synthesize the zeitgeist to identify emerging patterns in how technology is transforming the business of industrials.

According to EQT Ventures, “Progressive Explorer” is one of six key traits predict founder success with a 99% accuracy rate. Check out The Founder Six and discover how you stack up.

Please take a moment and share Exponential Industry with colleagues and friends to spread the word of technological innovation in the physical world👇

Assembly Line

This week's most influential Industry 4.0 media.

🚀 How Beehive Industries, ORNL are advancing aerospace additive manufacturing

In 2015, Babu led UT and MDF researchers in a project with industry partner Aerojet Rocketdyne. Jones and other team members sought additive manufacturing solutions to aerospace supply chain challenges, including long lead times and quality issues for cast parts.

Specifically, they set out to 3D print aluminum parts for the RL10 liquid rocket engine manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne. Aluminum for additive manufacturing was still very low in technology readiness at that time, and they faced challenges from the start due to a lack of material and machine options. The team also had to find a machine big enough to produce rocket parts. At that time, the largest on the market was Concept Laser’s X-Line 1000, intended for prototyping small automotive engine blocks.

🖨️ Novel High Resolution 3D Printing Method for Metals and Ceramics

Micron-level resolution 3D printing for high volumes and low equipment cost, under $10,000 for ceramic parts.

⚙️ Beyond printing to metalworking:

TRUMPF Uses AI to Improve Laser Cutting Edges /TRUMPF/
ALM Positioners and Path Robotics Announce Strategic Partnership to Revolutionize AI-Powered Welding Automation /PR Newswire/
NovAI™ Control /Novarc on YouTube/

♨️ This Genius Drill Could Change Geothermal Forever

Geothermal energy is a great source of heat, especially when paired with a heat pump in your home. However, the cost of boreholes is often prohibitive, and only becomes more complex when in urban settings due to noise and obstructions. This is why Borobotics are working on a new robotic drill that can do the drilling with much lower noise and carbon emissions!

⚡ Energy of the future:

♨️ How Deep Could We Dig for Infinite Geothermal Energy? /Interesting Engineering on YouTube/ New field trials later this quarter are targeting a depth of 100 meters /Quaise Energy on X/
♨️ H&P Continues to Invest in Fervo Energy's Next-Generation Geothermal Efforts /H&P/
☀️ The Future Of Solar Doesn’t Track The Sun /Terraform Industries/

👟 Why Most "Biodegradable" Products Are Probably Fake

A San Diego startup, Algenesis Labs, says it's made the world's first 100% biodegradable sneaker — and that most of the competition is greenwashing. But what does it mean to be "biodegradable"? And are biodegradable plastics really better for the planet? Business Insider tested six brands' claims and explore why it's so hard to make an environmentally friendly shoe.

Why It’s So Difficult for Robots to Make Your Nike Sneakers /WSJ/

🦾🤖🦿 Physics-Informed Neural Networks With Unscented Kalman Filter for Sensorless Joint Torque Estimation in Humanoid Robots

✍️ Author: Ines Sorrentino, Giulio Romualdi, Lorenzo Moretti, et. al

This paper presents a novel framework for whole-body torque control of humanoid robots without joint torque sensors, designed for systems with electric motors and high-ratio harmonic drives. The approach integrates Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) for friction modeling and Unscented Kalman Filtering (UKF) for joint torque estimation, within a real-time torque control architecture. PINNs estimate nonlinear static and dynamic friction from joint and motor velocity readings, capturing effects like motor actuation without joint movement. The UKF utilizes PINN-based friction estimates as direct measurement inputs, improving torque estimation robustness. Experimental validation on the ergoCub humanoid robot demonstrates improved torque tracking accuracy, enhanced energy efficiency, and superior disturbance rejection compared to the state-of-the-art Recursive Newton-Euler Algorithm (RNEA), using a dynamic balancing experiment.

Read more at IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters

UPS in Talks With Startup Figure AI to Deploy Humanoid Robots /Bloomberg/
Axibo AI Secures $12M to Pioneer 'Made in Canada' Humanoids /Newswire/

New Product Introduction

Highlighting new and innovative facilities, processes, products, and services

🪨 Rocks could save the world (Yes, rocks) - Elise Cutts

Dig into the science of enhanced rock weathering, a technology which takes carbon dioxide out of the air and stores it in rocks.

A tool for assessing the sensitivity of soil-based approaches for quantifying enhanced weathering: a US case study /frontiers/
Initial Validation of a Soil-Based Mass-Balance Approach for Empirical Monitoring of Enhanced Rock Weathering Rates /Environmental Science & Technology/

🚛 Autonomous Trucking Leader Plus Achieves Milestone With Driverless Safety Maneuver Testing

Plus, a pioneering autonomous trucking AI software company, announced the latest milestone in its commercialization plan — its virtual driver, SuperDriveTM, recently completed validation tests of fully autonomous operations and handling of advanced safety maneuvers with no person in the truck. Shown on a closed test track, this breakthrough highlights how Plus is continuously enhancing the safety, reliability and maturity of its AI-based self-driving software as it prepares for the commercial launch of factory-built driverless trucks integrated with SuperDrive.

Business Transactions

This week's top funding events, acquisitions, and partnerships across industrial value chains.

Ara Partners, a global investment firm dedicated to the decarbonization of the industrial economy, announced that it has raised over $800 million for its Ara Infrastructure strategy /Ara Partners/
CIV Launches with $210M Fund to Back and Build Companies Reshaping Critical Industries /Business Wire/
Allied Industrial Partners Closes Oversubscribed Inaugural Fund at $300 Million Hard Cap /PR Newswire/
Chang Robotics Announces Major U.S. Manufacturing Push, $50M Fund Launch, and Breakthrough Innovations for 2025 /PR Newswire/

🇺🇸 Forge Nano Secures $40M to Scale U.S. Battery Manufacturing and Commercial Semiconductor Equipment Businesses

Forge Nano, a technology company pioneering domestic battery and semiconductor innovations, announced the successful close of $40 million in new funding. The funding was co-led by RockCreek, a global investment firm managing over $15 billion in assets with a strong focus on energy innovation, critical supply chains and advanced manufacturing, and Ascent Funds, a US based global energy technology fund. Additional participants include Top Material, Orion Infrastructure Capital and Forge Nano’s existing investors.

Forge Nano recently installed a new state-of-the-art battery manufacturing line and a cleanroom production facility for semiconductor ALD tool production, both located at its Colorado headquarters. Forge Nano expects the $40 million investment will be utilized for further domestic manufacturing expansion, as well as to bolster its workforce to support the company’s growing network of strategic partners and customers.

🇺🇸 Phoenix Tailings Closes on Additional $33M in Funding From Strategic Investors

Phoenix Tailings expanded the initial $43 million Series B round, led by Envisioning Partners, to $76 million on a second close. The second close was anchored by Escape Velocity, a venture vehicle founded by former Goldman Sachs executives Ganesh Ramani and Ram Sundaram, along with new investments from Builders Vision, Yamaha Motor Ventures, M Power, and Presidio, the venture arm of Sumitomo Corporation, among several other key investors.

The investments will fund the expansion of Phoenix Tailings’ proven rare earth processing technology, which integrates both separation and metallization to transform U.S. and allied raw materials into finished rare earth metals domestically. The new Exeter, New Hampshire facility will have a total capacity of 500 tons per year of rare earth metal output, equivalent to the entire annual demand of the U.S. defense industrial base. Initial production will begin in summer 2025 with 200 tons per year.

🇨🇭 DePoly secures $23M to launch 500-tonne-per-year showcase plant

DePoly, the leading sustainable PET-to-raw-material recycling company, announces the upcoming launch of a 500-tonne-per-year showcase plant in Monthey, Switzerland this summer, representing a critical step in the company's journey from laboratory breakthrough to industrial-scale implementation.

The facility will demonstrate DePoly's proprietary process that converts PET and polyester waste into virgin-quality raw materials without fossil fuels. Imagine a world where discarded items – from polyester shirts to water bottles – are not wasted anymore but resources transformed back into the building blocks for new products.

🇺🇸 InventWood Announces $15 Million First Close of Series A to Launch Revolutionary SUPERWOOD Material

InventWood, creator of revolutionary SUPERWOOD, announced it has secured $15 million in the first close of its Series A funding round. This investment marks a significant milestone as the company prepares to begin shipments from its first commercial manufacturing facility in Frederick, Maryland, in the third quarter of 2025. InventWood has now successfully secured more than $50 million in total capital, which supported the construction of its first production facility and positions the company to scale rapidly .

SUPERWOOD represents a fundamental breakthrough in materials science, transforming ordinary wood at the molecular level to create an extraordinary building material that is stronger than steel. SUPERWOOD outperforms traditional construction materials while preserving all of wood's beloved natural qualities. The material maintains wood's warmth, texture, workability, and natural aesthetic while being engineered to withstand extreme weather, high humidity, fire, rot, and pests. SUPERWOOD will enable entirely new approaches to construction as architects and builders seek economic and climate-resilient solutions with dramatically reduced environmental impact.

🇺🇸 Sennos Secures $15 Million to Disrupt the Fermentation Industry with AI-Powered Precision

Sennos, a leader in AI sensing, analytics, and automation for the fluidics and fermentation industries, announced the close of $15M in funding. The round was led by TomEnterprise, founded by Thomas von Koch (ex CEO of EQT) and Jan Ståhlberg, based in Stockholm, Sweden. The investment will enable Sennos to further scale its breakthrough technology across the brewing and beverage industries, where it pioneered real-time fermentation analytics, and to expand into new high-growth markets. Sennos has the largest real-time fermentation database in the world, having collected and analyzed data since 2017.

🇺🇸 Queens Carbon Secures $10M Seed Round to Propel U.S. Leadership in Low-Carbon Cement Manufacturing

Queens Carbon, a developer of next-generation cement technology, announced it has secured $10 million in seed funding to scale its platform for energy-efficient cement and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). The round was led by Clean Energy Ventures with participation from Plug and Play and Clean Energy Venture Group. Buzzi Unicem USA, a subsidiary of Buzzi S.p.A., one of the world’s leading cement producers, also joined as a strategic investor and development partner. Queens Carbon plans to leverage the funding and partnership to expand its team and operations, construct a 2,000-ton-per-year demonstration pilot facility, and prepare for a full-scale, first-of-a-kind commercial plant.