Turning research from a university chemistry lab into a commercial product takes more than just innovative science: it requires strategic, early-stage funding that bridges the gap between discovery and real-world application.
At Portland State University (PSU), the University Venture Development Fund (UVDF) serves precisely this role, enabling faculty to pursue industry partnerships and secure the preliminary data necessary for large, collaborative federal grants.
This catalytic effect is clearly visible in the work of Theresa McCormick, an Associate Professor of Chemistry at PSU. McCormick recently received a UVDF grant to support the development of the science needed to support on-site production of hydrogen peroxide, leveraging her lab’s expertise in photochemical reactions and solar fuel applications. This funding, and the opportunity to work with an industry partner—biotech company Rheaplant—has not only advanced a novel, green chemistry solution but has also pivoted McCormick’s research trajectory toward immediate commercial and societal impact.
Solving the Hydrogen Peroxide Paradox
McCormick’s innovative work addresses significant environmental and logistical challenges in how hydrogen peroxide (a common disinfectant and oxidizing agent) is currently manufactured. Traditional production methods are energy-intensive and heavily centralized. Hydrogen peroxide is exclusively made in large manufacturing plants, then transported from the point of production to the point of use. The true costs of transport are further complicated by regulations—each state has different rules regarding the concentrations of peroxide that can be shipped.
For many industrial users, the cost of transportation, shipping, and buying hydrogen peroxide makes its use prohibitive. McCormick explains that some energy companies "find other ways to oxidize things, rather than using hydrogen peroxide, because it's actually too expensive to transport it."
Rather than relying on centralized methods that require costly setup, high energy heat, and non-eco friendly gasses, McCormick’s research aims to offer a viable alternative: a novel process that uses light and an organic photocatalyst to produce hydrogen peroxide safely and efficiently directly at the point of use.
From Theory to Application
For McCormick, the UVDF grant provided the necessary resources to transition her work from fundamental chemistry toward focused application.
"If we hadn't gotten the UVDF support and the opportunity to work with Rheaplant, we would have continued to focus primarily on fundamental science. We would have continued working on basic chemistry questions, like, how can we model the rates of these reactions, and how do the proton transfer rates affect productivity? But because of the UVDF, we were able to focus more on optimizing our questions to commercial application, providing direct translational impact," McCormick said.
The UVDF was established to help PSU innovators develop their technologies and intellectual property to a stage where they can attract external investment and federal funding. Travis Woodland, Director of Innovation & Intellectual Property, affirmed that the UVDF grant program is "instrumental to bridging the gap between innovative university research and its real-world application."
Industry Partnership and Immediate Impact
A core function of the UVDF grant enabled a joint Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) proposal with McCormick and local industry partner Rheaplant. Rheaplant is a biotech company focused on improving plant cell culture bioreactors for biomanufacturing expansion.
Rheaplant is particularly interested in McCormick's work to improve their sterilization workflow. Currently, Rheaplant sterilizes its batch reactors using heat, a process that requires heating up and cooling down, which takes about a day. McCormick noted that sterilizing the reactors with hydrogen peroxide could save them significant time. For now, buying drums of peroxide is not cheaper than shutting down their reaction for sterilization. The ability to generate hydrogen peroxide affordably and on-site would change the economic equation for Rheaplant entirely.
The UVDF grant has provided the "critical seed funding to bridge the gap between lab-based research on hydrogen peroxide generation/breakdown and commercial readiness," allowing McCormick to gather essential data to strengthen the joint STTR proposal. This demonstrates the long-term goal of the UVDF: translating discoveries to the marketplace and driving regional economic growth.
While her lab maintains its original interest in solar fuels—aiming to make green hydrogen peroxide a viable fuel source—McCormick has a history of translational work, having previously launched the startup AirOmatix Inc., which uses technology derived from her research group to develop efficient oxygen concentrators.