Original post by Karen Woolstrum, April 2026.
PITTSBURGH, PA — The Big Idea Center (BIC), the University of Pittsburgh’s hub for student innovation and entrepreneurship, is wrapping up a landmark year, one that saw a record level of 1900 student engagements. Students came from every level of study and across all 16 schools on Pitt’s Pittsburgh campus, including students from regional campuses. That breadth of participation, paired with over $100,000 in prizes awarded, marks the BIC’s most expansive year to date.
Novel Graphite Production Startup Takes Home $25,000 Big Idea Competition Grand Prize
Nearly $80,000 was awarded to teams participating in the 2026 Big Idea Competition, which culminated this week. Top honor went to team Grapheon who is commercializing a breakthrough method for converting low-cost feedstocks, including natural gas, into premium-grade graphite for use in lithium-ion batteries. The technology offers a significant reduction in both production cost and greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional graphite manufacturing, positioning Grapheon at the intersection of clean energy and U.S.-sourced advanced materials.
The team is led by postdoctoral associate Aime Laurent Twizerimana and PhD candidate Nader Sawtarie, both from the Swanson School of Engineering.
“We’re incredibly grateful to the Big Idea Center, where we first began validating our idea in last fall’s Kuzneski Innovation Cup. Their feedback, guidance, and support have been critical to our early success,” said Sawtarie.
Twizerman added, “We are now raising our pre-seed round and thrilled to have officially incorporated as Graphonos Materials Inc. Our technology makes it possible, really for the first time, to produce high-quality graphite domestically at about half the cost of China’s, using abundant natural gas and cutting emissions by 90%. We’re excited to bring this to market and help reshape the American graphite industry.”
Grapheon’s rapid success in just the past five months – from research to high-potential startup – was further recognized with the team’s acceptance into the prestigious 2026 Rice Business Plan Competition in Houston where the team walked away with a $20,000 Aramco Innovator Cash Prize within the same week they won the Big Idea Competition.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE FROM THE OFFICE OF INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP