Best Chemicals and Materials Companies in Maryland, United States
The 32 best Chemicals and Materials companies in Maryland, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: ETCH.
Our analysis of 50 Chemicals and Materials companies
$3.9b in tracked funding; 74% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Chemicals and Materials companies in Maryland
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ETCH Manufacturer of hydrogen and other industrial gases | $14M | 39 mo ago | Seed | John Fini CEO | 2017 | — | — | — |
| 2 | Ceratech Manufacturer of casting sand, ceramics corp, and other raw materials | $11M | 170 mo ago | Deadpooled | Jonathan Hyman Co-Founder | 2001 | — | 33 patents Advanced high‑strength, workable cement formulations using lactate activation and industrial by‑products | — |
| 3 | Micropore Manufacturer of reactive plastics | $10M | 77 mo ago | Series B | Doug McKenna CEO | 1997 | — | 45 patents Adsorbent filtration cartridges with integrated visual depletion indicators for air/water treatment | — |
| 4 | Grace Developer of catalysts, zeolite molecular sieves, and synthetic silicas | $5M | 42 mo ago | Acquired | Marcie Grambeau Founder | 1854 | Adobe Experience ManagerApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+26 | 2,614 patents Patents concentrated in chemistry & materials | — |
| 5 | AquaLith Manufacturer of lithium-ion battery and its materials | $750K | 61 mo ago | Seed | Ted Olsen Co-Founder & CEO | 2021 | — | — | — |
| 6 | active minerals international Active Minerals International is a mining & metals company specializing in mineral processing solutions and… | — | — | Private | — | 1964 | WordPressMySQLPHP+15 | 101 patents Patents concentrated in chemistry & materials | — |
| 7 | cambridge international Cambridge International is an engineering company specializing in engineering, architectural, and… | — | — | Acquired | — | 1911 | — | 29 patents Precision optical scanning mirrors and resonant scanner technologies for high‑speed imaging | — |
| 8 | cardinal plastics Cardinal Plastics manufactures custom injection molders for thermoplastic materials. | — | — | Private | — | 1988 | — | — | — |
Top 5 Chemicals and Materials companies in Maryland
#1
Seed · Chevy Chase, Maryland · founded 2017$14Mraised▾
Manufacturer of hydrogen and other industrial gases
- Jul 2023Seed$7.5M
- Oct 2022Seed$6.5M
#2
Acquired · Columbia, Maryland · founded 1854 · 4500 employees$5Mraised▾
Grace is a developer of catalysts, zeolite molecular sieves, and synthetic silicas. It provides a catalytic technology division that develops and manufactures catalysts used in refining, petrochemical, and other chemical manufacturing applications. They also manufacture zeolite molecular sieves which are crystalline and highly porous material belonging to the class of alumina silicates. They produce a wide range of silica products which include synthetic amorphous silica gel, colloidal silica. It can be used in chemical processing, coatings and inks, food and beverage, nutraceutical, personal care, pharma, and plastics.
- Apr 2023Post IPO$5M
#3
Series B · Elkton, Maryland · founded 1997 · 43 employees$10.3Mraised▾
Developer of carbon dioxide absorbent cartridges designed to absorb carbon dioxide in rebreathing and life support systems. The company packages fine powder chemistries into solid absorbent cartridges and outperforms traditional ones, enabling fire-fighting, medical, dive, submarine and military markets to get absorbent for filtering gaseous contaminants.
- Jun 2020Series B$10.3M
- Aug 2009Grant (prize money)$1.4M
#4
Seed · Columbia, Maryland · founded 2021 · 4 employees$750Kraised▾
Developer of lithium-ion battery materials designed to work efficiently in low temperatures. The company engages in developing materials that will enable consumer electronics to charge faster and less frequently which are safer, have a high-energy-density, low-cost, abundant, and safe materials for lithium-ion batteries, providing clients a non-flammable aqueous electrolyte that reduces the risk of a fire in the event of a short circuit.
#5
Deadpooled · Baltimore, Maryland · founded 2001 · 29 employees$11Mraised▾
Manufacturer of casting sand, ceramics corp, and other raw materials
- Aug 2012Series A$5M
- Jan 2012Series A$1M
- Feb 2011Series A$5M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Chemicals and Materials coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
What Maryland researches in advanced materials
- University of Maryland, College Park17
- University of Maryland, Baltimore1
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.