# Curtis P. Berlinguette

Curtis P. Berlinguette is a Canadian chemist, materials scientist, and entrepreneur known for his research in materials science and clean energy technologies. He holds a faculty position at the University of British Columbia where he is a Professor of Chemistry and Chemical and Biological Engineering. He serves as a CIFAR Program Co-Director in Accelerated Decarbonization and is a Principal Investigator at the Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute. Berlinguette is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Berlinguette is also a founder of several companies, including Miru (energy-efficient windows) and Sora Fuel (carbon-neutral aviation fuels). His academic research group designs and builds electrochemical reactors to accelerate the discovery and translation of decarbonization technologies.

## Education and career

Berlinguette earned his BSc at the University of Alberta in 2000, and his PhD in Inorganic Chemistry at Texas A&M University in 2004 under the supervision of Professor Kim R. Dunbar. After completing his postdoctoral studies at Harvard University with Professor Richard H. Holm, Berlinguette began his independent academic career at the University of Calgary in the Department of Chemistry in 2006. In 2013, Berlinguette joined the University of British Columbia. Berlinguette is commercializing technologies invented in his labs through Miru and Sora Fuel.

## Research interests

Berlinguette’s research program designs and develops electrochemical reactors aimed at accelerating decarbonization. His academic group has advanced a range of clean energy applications, including reactive carbon capture, carbon-neutral building materials, electrification of the chemical industry, and nuclear fusion. His team also built a self-driving laboratory to accelerate clean energy materials research.

## Start-up companies

In 2011 Berlinguette with Simon Trudel co-founded FireWater Fuel Corp. in an attempt to commercialize their patented catalyst technology for green hydrogen production.
In 2016 the FireWater Fuel Corp. has been renamed to Click Materials Corp. with a new goal of commercializing technology for production of electrochromic windows. Later, in 2020 the company has been renamed again to Miru Smart Technologies Corp.
In July 2024, Miru Smart Technologies secured US $20 million in Series A financing co-led by BDC Capital, the investment arm of Crown corporation the Business Development Bank of Canada, and Angelo Paletta, president and CEO of Ontario-based TNG Capital Corp.
In 2024, Berlinguette co-founded Sora Fuel, a startup focused on producing sustainable aviation fuel from atmospheric CO$_2$. In July 2024, Sora Fuel secured US $6 million in seed funding, led by Engine Ventures.

## Awards and recognitions

Berlinguette has received numerous awards and accolades, including:
Canada’s 2023 Clean50 Award (2022)
Fellow of the Royal Society Canada (2021-Present)
UBC Distinguished University Scholar (2021-Present)
CIFAR Program Co-Director for Accelerated Decarbonization (2020-2025)
CSC Award for Research Excellence in Materials Chemistry (2020)
RSC Alex Rutherford Medal for Chemistry (2016)
NSERC E.W.R Steacie Memorial Fellowship (2016-2018)
Strem Chemicals Award for Pure and Inorganic Chemistry (2016)
Tier II Canada Research Chair in Solar Energy Conversion (2014-2019)
Calgary's Top 40 Under 40, Avenue Magazine (2012)
Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (2011-2013)

## Research integrity and controversies

In 2024 comments on PubPeer raised concerns about several publications co-authored by Curtis Berlinguette. Allegedly, authors of those publications had declared no competing interests while intellectual property pertaining to the relevant technologies was subject to patent applications at the time of publishing.