# Gabriel Rodríguez-Calero

> Gabriel Rodríguez-Calero is a Puerto Rico-born chemist, Cornell PhD and co-founder of Ecolectro, the Ithaca company commercializing anion-exchange-membrane electrolyzers designed to make green hydrogen with abundant materials rather than iridium and PFAS. His career links laboratory research, fundraising and industrial scale-up, with a particular focus on turning promising university science into equipment that customers can actually deploy.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Ecolectro
- **Organizations:** Ecolectro, Cornell University, Echoing Green
- **From:** Isabela, Puerto Rico, United States
- **Education:** BS in Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, MS and PhD in Chemistry, Cornell University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Ecolectro in 2015 to commercialize Cornell-derived alkaline exchange membrane technology., Selected as a 2018 Echoing Green Climate Fellow., Co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on electrochemistry, conducting polymers and energy-storage materials.

## Career timeline

- **2009-2014** — Conducted graduate research at Cornell University and completed MS and PhD degrees in chemistry, studying materials for energy storage and generation.
- **2014-2015** — Worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Héctor D. Abruña and Geoffrey W. Coates at Cornell University.
- **2015** — Proposed commercializing Kristina Hugar's alkaline exchange membrane research and co-founded Ecolectro with her in June.
- **2016** — Moved Ecolectro into Cornell's McGovern Center incubator; the company had NSF SBIR support and began laboratory operations there.
- **2018** — Named an Echoing Green Climate Fellow and pitched Ecolectro as a finalist in New York's 76West Clean Energy Competition.
- **2019** — Ecolectro received a $1.7 million ARPA-E award to develop alkaline exchange membranes and ionomers for fuel cells and electrolyzers.
- **2022** — Ecolectro announced a funding round of more than $4.5 million led by Starshot Capital, with participation including Toyota Ventures.
- **2024** — Ecolectro reported production rates above 4 A/cm² and cell efficiencies above 74%; a $10.5 million Series A led by Toyota Ventures was announced in November.
- **2025** — Spoke at the Cornell Energy Summit on pathways to viable hydrogen production and described plans for commercial-scale electrolyzers in an extended interview.
- **2026** — Presented at Pittcon on Ecolectro's path from laboratory innovation through pilots and commercial deployment.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Ecolectro in 2015 to commercialize Cornell-derived alkaline exchange membrane technology.
- Selected as a 2018 Echoing Green Climate Fellow.
- Co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on electrochemistry, conducting polymers and energy-storage materials.
- Named as an inventor on granted patents and patent applications involving electrochemical and energy-storage materials.
- Led Ecolectro fundraising and business-development efforts, including a $10.5 million Series A led by Toyota Ventures announced in 2024.
- Helped move Ecolectro's work from membrane research to integrated electrolyzer stacks and a customer pilot in Massena, New York.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Presented at Pittcon 2026 on translating Ecolectro's electrochemical technology from R&D and proof of concept through pilots and commercial deployment.
- **2025-04** — Spoke at the Cornell Energy Summit on pathways to viable hydrogen production.
- **2025-04** — Discussed Ecolectro's product, first prototype, pilot economics, funding and scale-up plans in a published interview.
- **2024-11** — Ecolectro announced a $10.5 million Series A led by Toyota Ventures, bringing its stated private and public funding total to $27.7 million.
- **2024-06** — Announced Zina Spezakis as Ecolectro's chief financial officer and said the company was entering its next commercialization phase.

## Links

- Website: https://ecolectro.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-g-rodr%C3%ADguez-calero-a590b344
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/EcolectroInc
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ecolectroinc/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gabriel-rodriguez-calero
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-27