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Imperial’s Department of Chemical Engineering brought together founders, investors and researchers for ChemEng Enterprise Day 2026, showcasing the Department’s growing pipeline of deep-tech ventures and strengthening connections across Imperial’s innovation ecosystem.

Hosted at Imperial’s South Kensington Campus, the annual event celebrated entrepreneurship and highlighted how chemical engineering research is being translated into commercial technologies with the potential to address global challenges in climate, healthcare, advanced materials and sustainable manufacturing.

Opening the event, Professor Hugh Brady, President of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½, welcomed attendees and reflected on the central role of enterprise in delivering impact from research.

Professor Brady said: "Our goal is to scale up our world-class innovation ecosystem for world-changing impact, supporting student entrepreneurs and enabling our researchers to transform breakthrough discoveries into scalable ventures."

Our goal is to scale up our world-class innovation ecosystem for world-changing impact. Professor Hugh Brady President of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½

Professor Brady also highlighted the vast work Imperial does to progress entrepreneurial activities, from the , which supports more than 2000 ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ each year, to , a start-up accelerator creating routes into climate entrepreneurship, to the development of Imperial’s White City campus and the emerging West Tech Corridor.

Within this, ChemEng Enterprise, steered by Director , was recognised for taking forward and enhancing a long tradition from one of the most entrepreneurial departments at Imperial.



As Professor Brady said: 

Long before university spinouts were commonplace, companies such as Membrane Extraction Technology and Process Systems Enterprise emerged from this department and went on to achieve major international success. This department level initiative, working closely with Imperial’s wider ecosystem, has already produced ten high-quality spinouts across materials, biotech and the circular economy. It remains a unique model within Imperial, and one we are now exploring as a potential blueprint for other departments.

Recent ventures
A central focus of the day was the Department’s spinout community. Six recent ventures-Exactmer, Nanomox, Orthogonal Peptides, Bioataraxis, Quaisr, 2D Nano, DyeRecycle-shared their progress-since-launch in presentations, others, including Hexxcell, Lixea and Brilliant Dyes, through posters and updates. The session offered a snapshot of how ideas developed within the Department of Chemical Engineering’s laboratories are fast evolving into high-potential companies, from securing early-stage investment and refining technologies to building commercial partnerships and scaling-up.

The updates demonstrated the breadth of innovation emerging from chemical engineering research, spanning areas including decarbonisation technologies, sustainable process systems, novel materials and biotechnology-enabled solutions.

In the pipeline
The event also looked ahead to the next generation of ventures, with seven emerging teams-AlphaVectors Biotech (AVB), Chelonium, ElectroPET, eluna, E-Rebat, Sangcyte and TurboPop-presenting in a lively Spinouts Pipeline session. The presentations gave audiences an early look at technologies currently progressing towards commercialisation, highlighting the strength and depth of the ChemEng Enterprise venture pipeline and the increasing appetite among researchers to pursue entrepreneurial pathways. 

Professor Sandro Macchietto shared:

When we started ChemEng Enterprise a few years ago, the hope was to help launch one good spinout a year. Now, the number, the quality of the teams at various points in the spinning out journey, the highly innovative solutions they bring to market, and interest they raise are absolutely exceptional.

Swapping things around
An innovative Reverse Pitches session flipped the traditional dynamic, with investors including , , , , , a venture builder , and Imperial's technical scale-up space provider, Grapht Works, outlining what they look for in early-stage deep-tech ventures, sharing insights into the current investment landscape, and highlighting how they support the enterprise journey. For founders and aspiring entrepreneurs, the session provided practical guidance on shaping ventures for investment readiness and long-term growth.

Poster presentations and networking sessions throughout the day created opportunities for founders, researchers and investors to connect, exchange ideas and explore potential collaborations across sectors.

Distinguished Enterprise Lecture
The event concluded with the Inaugural Distinguished Enterprise Lecture, delivered by , an Imperial alumnus and Founding Partner of Climate Collective Foundation, India, who explored the role of innovation ecosystems in accelerating climate technologies and supporting entrepreneurship in emerging markets. Nalin’s talk was received extremely well with an exciting and interactive Q&A.

ChemEng Enterprise Day forms part of the Department’s wider commitment to supporting enterprise and innovation, helping ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½, researchers and alumni develop ventures that translate world-leading research into societal and industrial impact.

I am delighted to see ChemEng Enterprise Day enter it’s fourth year, and extremely pleased to have the President of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ open proceedings this year. Professor Omar Matar Head of the Department

Professor Omar Matar said: "I am delighted to see ChemEng Enterprise Day enter it’s fourth year, and extremely pleased to have the President of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ open proceedings this year. We are a community that actively push and engage with entrepreneurial initiatives and I am pleased to see Chemical Engineering lead the way on commercialising research, and be recognised for its efforts in doing so."

As Imperial continues to strengthen its position as a global hub for deep-tech innovation, the Department of Chemical Engineering is playing an increasingly important role in building the next generation of science-based ventures, and ChemEng Enterprise Day provides a platform to showcase the founders helping to shape that future.

People of Enterprise
In the run up to ChemEng Enterprise Day, key ChemEng Enterprise leaders appeared in a feature serialising their entrepreneurial journey.

Hear from:
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- Redwan Rahman & Mohammed Tabish Noori, co-founders of Brilliant Dyes 

Additional links

• Find out more about ChemEng Enterprise and enterprise support in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
• Browse through images from .
• Find out more about the Department of Chemical Engineering's Distinguished Seminar Series.