Toyota leads investment to accelerate the development of next-generation electrolyzers! Ecolectro completes $10.5 million Series A financing
Ecolectro announced the completion of a Series A round of $10.5 million, led by Toyota Ventures with the participation of Starshot Capital, DNX Ventures, Energy Revolution Ventures, New Climate Ventures, Banco Popular Impact Fund, and Techstars. This brings Ecolectro's total funding raised to $27.7 million. The round also included the participation of the U.S. Department of Energy's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and the National Science Foundation.
Fundamentally, Ecolectro is opting to use the funds towards building and deploying the company's patented low-cost anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzer, which may offer an economically and scalable means to fight climate change through real green hydrogen. The green hydrogen market is supposed to reach a valuation of more than $7 billion as of 2023 and grow at an astounding yearly growth rate of 41.6% over the next decade. Still, the fledgling hydrogen industry struggles with staggering issues concerning costs and logistics. Certainly, a paramount challenge is dependence on iridium, which is a rare and expensive metal and is becoming even rarer and costlier-Given that in one decade its cost has gone up more than 700%. Most PEMs also use PFAs (perfluoroalkyl substances), a class of chemicals designated as "forever chemicals" and linked to serious adverse health outcomes, such as cancer, infertility, and ozone layer depletion.
They are strictly restricted in almost all jurisdictions, including the United States, the European Union, and Japan. The logistical issues of overcoming the costs of transporting and storing hydrogen are further complicated, as transportation and storage alone can account for 50% of the cost of delivery. Ecolectro was founded by PhD chemists from Cornell University: Dr. Kristina M. Hugar and Dr. Gabriel G. Rodríguez-Calero. Ecolectro’s AEM electrolyzer was born. Central is a proprietary membrane material that minimizes the use of rare materials such as iridium and hazardous materials such as PFAS. In contrast, Ecolectro wants to use abundant, recycled, and naturally derived materials. The membrane is extremely stable, withstanding high temperatures and alkaline conditions, achieving efficiencies exceeding 70% (<47.5 kWh/kg) under normal operating conditions; this far exceeds the performance of comparable systems using PEM and alkaline.
Ecolectro’s AEM electrolyzer has further demonstrated reliable operation with variable input energy, making it suitable for solar, wind and other intermittent renewable energy applications, as well as for industries that do not require steady hydrogen production. As a result, Ecolectro’s on-site hydrogen production also significantly reduces the need for expensive infrastructure to transport and store hydrogen, thereby reducing hydrogen production costs. As a result, the companies reduce environmental impacts associated with carbon emissions from delivery trucks and hydrogen losses typically associated with storage and handling. Their hydrogen production systems make customers fully eligible for state and federal green hydrogen tax credits, adding to the product’s appeal.
