The call came in like any other: a reported gas leak, a team dispatched, a building evacuated. But as crews from Con Edison arrived on scene, Gabrielle Abizeid noticed something that didn’t sit right. The air was thick with danger. Despite the alarms, despite the evacuations, the gas was still there, concentrating, creeping toward explosive levels.
“It was the same cycle over and over,” Abizeid [pictured above] told Refresh Miami. “By the time the utility or fire department got there, the gas concentration would already be flammable or toxic. There was this clear delay between detection and response, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
That moment stuck with her. A chemical engineer by training, Abizeid began asking questions that others hadn’t. What if gas safety didn’t stop at detection? What if technology could act in real time, before a leak turned catastrophic?
Those questions became the foundation of NanoSieve, a Miami-based deep tech startup that’s quietly rewriting the rulebook on gas safety. Rather than simply sounding an alarm, NanoSieve’s device takes action: it automatically reduces gas concentrations before they reach dangerous levels. Think of it as a fire extinguisher that activates before there’s a fire.
Abizeid’s path from spark to startup began in the lab. Drawing from her research at MIT on materials for gas separation, she started modeling ways to neutralize leaks in real-world conditions. “Once the models showed it could actually work, I filed the patents,” she said. “And here we are.”
Today, NanoSieve’s technology has reached Technology Readiness Level 7, meaning that it has been tested and proven in real environments. In one pilot funded by the U.S. Air Force, the team recreated a natural gas leak equivalent to a stove burner left open. With NanoSieve in the room, the system delayed flammable concentrations for two hours, potentially preventing an explosion.
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Behind that progress is a small but formidable team. Six people strong, the company includes veterans of the oil and gas industry, one with over 100 patents to his name.
“Having a team that’s highly experienced in R&D and gas separation has been crucial,” Abizeid said. “We’re solving a problem that’s both technically complex and mission-critical.”
Support from local and federal partners has helped push NanoSieve forward. The startup has received funding from the Department of Energy and the Air Force, as well as mentorship through 35 Mules, the innovation hub backed by Florida Power & Light and NextEra Energy. “It’s been amazing to have an industry leader helping us with strategy and business development,” she said.
Since relocating to Miami from New York during the pandemic, Abizeid has found the city fertile ground for her ambitions. “I came for six months and decided to stay,” she said with a laugh. “The weather’s great, and the startup ecosystem here is growing fast.”
Now, NanoSieve is gearing up for commercial deployment. The company is working with customers in sectors ranging from energy to defense, including applications for hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and refrigerants. They’re also developing solutions for emerging risks like battery gas safety, a growing concern as e-bike fires and lithium battery incidents rise in major cities.
“There’s so much potential beyond natural gas,” Abizeid said. “We’re looking at refrigerants in data centers, hydrogen in industrial settings, even carbon monoxide in homes. Anywhere gas safety matters, we see an opportunity to make an impact.”
“When I shared the idea with a firefighter, he told me, ‘If you build this, you’ll save lives,’” she said. “That’s what drives us.”
This story was originally published by Refresh Miami, a WLRN News partner. Refresh Miami is the oldest and largest tech and startup community in Miami with over 16,000 members.
