Ryan Gilliam

Ryan Gilliam, Ph.D. CEO and Co-Founder: Dr. Gilliam is a serial entrepreneur who has founded three companies dedicated to solving climate issues, specifically decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors like cement, energy, and petrochemicals. In 2019, Dr. Gilliam co-founded Fortera, where he serves as CEO. Dr. Gilliam also founded and serves on the Board of Directors of Verdagy, a company that has developed a novel green hydrogen technology and is currently building its first gigafactory in California, as well as Chemetry, a company focused on reducing the energy requirements and CO2 emissions associated with the production of essential chemicals. Chemetry is currently building its first commercial facility in Brazil alongside global partners from Europe, Asia, North America, and South America. Dr. Gilliam has also worked as a Venture Partner at 1955 Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to investing in technologies that solve global challenges in areas such as energy, food safety, health, and sustainable manufacturing. Through these companies, Dr. Gilliam has successfully driven the industrial scale-up, from concept, through pilot testing, to commercial projects on multiple technologies. Dr. Gilliam has originated global strategic partnerships with Fortune 500 chemicals and engineering companies, developed strategic supply agreements for enabling smart part platforms, and built world-class teams. Dr. Gilliam received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Toronto. On his work in catalysis and electrochemistry, Ryan has 10+ peer-reviewed publications resulting in over 3000 citations of his work, and has been an invited speaker at multiple international conferences. He is an inventor with 100+ patents in the energy, sustainability, products, and materials spaces.