Divigas Secures $3.6M Seed Funding for Clean Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen Production: A New Approach by DiviGas

Hydrogen is a crucial component in numerous industrial applications and holds significant potential for future energy systems. However, current methods for its isolation and storage are often inefficient and costly.

DiviGas, having secured $3.6 million in seed funding, aims to revolutionize hydrogen production with innovative technology that surpasses existing techniques, potentially accelerating growth within the emerging green economy.

The Challenges of Current Hydrogen Production

While hydrogen is widely considered a clean and versatile element, its production is frequently linked to environmentally damaging industrial processes.

For example, oil refining and plastic manufacturing can release hydrocarbons and other mixed gases, necessitating further processing and contributing to emissions.

Membrane Technology: A Cleaner Alternative

One cleaner method involves utilizing membranes or filters to separate H2 and CO2 gases from other substances in the input stream.

However, these filters typically struggle with high temperatures, produce gases at low pressures requiring re-pressurization, and are susceptible to degradation in the presence of acidic gases.

DiviGas: A Third Option

The hydrogen separation industry, a multi-billion dollar market, currently faces a trade-off between expensive, high-emission methods and cheaper, limited-capacity options.

DiviGas, founded by individuals who met at SOSV’s HAX incubator in Singapore, proposes a third solution that avoids these drawbacks.

Angstrom-Scale Innovation

The company has developed a novel “hollow fiber polymeric membrane” engineered at the angstrom scale – one-tenth of a nanometer.

This doesn’t mean the filter itself is atom-sized, but rather its functional characteristics operate at this level, enabling the selective separation of hydrogen and carbon dioxide based on slight pressure differences.

How the Technology Works

Numerous fibers are bundled into tubes through which the input gas flows, requiring no chemical reactants.

Unlike conventional membranes, this new material can withstand temperatures up to 150 degrees C and resists degradation from acidic compounds like sulfur and chlorine, allowing it to process a wider range of untreated input gases.

Furthermore, it maintains or exceeds the performance of existing membranes in terms of selectivity (output purity) and permeance (maximum operable pressure).

Seamless Integration and Manufacturing

DiviGas’s technology can be readily integrated into existing membrane systems with minimal modifications.

Although manufacturing the new fibers is complex, it utilizes many established processes and readily available materials, making it scalable.

As co-founder and CTO Ali Naderi explained, the innovation lies in a dual-layer design, minimizing the use of expensive materials in the selective layer while employing a cost-effective polymer for structural support.

Industry Reception and Future Plans

According to co-founder and CEO Andre Lorenceau, the prospect of cleaner, simpler hydrogen and CO2 production has generated significant interest from potential clients.

“We’ve got clients banging down our door,” he stated, “asking us when we can deliver tens of millions of these units.”

The seed funding will be used to establish a pilot-scale plant in Melbourne, operational by March.

Currently, producing a single fiber bundle for demonstration purposes takes months; the plant aims to increase production to approximately one unit per week, enabling larger demonstrations and securing substantial orders.

Cost and Competitive Advantage

Despite being currently 2-3 times more expensive than existing solutions, clients are willing to pay the premium due to the familiarity of the technology and manufacturing processes.

Lorenceau anticipates that costs will decrease with increased production volume.

He also believes DiviGas has a competitive edge over both established corporations and research-focused startups.

A Dynamic Investment Landscape

The $3.6 million funding round was co-led by Energy Revolution Ventures and Mann + Hummel, a German industrial filter company.

Additional investors included Entrepreneur First, Albert Wenger (USV), SOSV/HAX, Amasia VC, Volta Energy Technologies, Climate Capital, and several individual investors.

Lorenceau suggests that larger companies are often slow to innovate, while startups frequently struggle with the complexities of manufacturing and scaling production.

DiviGas aims to bridge this gap by combining cutting-edge research with a focus on practical, scalable manufacturing processes.