Bengaluru-Based Log 9 Materials Raises $3.5 mn in Series A Round

Log 9 Materials has secured USD 3.5 million in Series A funding, led by Sequoia India and Exfinity Venture Partners.

Bengaluru-based startup Log 9 Materials has announced that it has secured USD 3.5 million in funding as a part of its Series A round, led by Sequoia India’s scale up programme Surge and Exfinity Venture Partners.

According to the startup, the newly raised funds will be used for further product development and commercial and industrial deployment of its aluminium fuel cells — a project in the clean energy domain that the startup has undertaken since last year.

Started in April 2015 by Akshay Singhal, Kartik Hajela, and Pankaj Sharma, Log 9 Materials is a nanotechnology company that aims to revolutionise the energy sector with an innovative zero-emission, low-cost aluminium-air fuel cell. The aluminium fuel cell technology is being developed by Log 9 for both stationary and automotive applications, where ‘graphene’ is being used to make these cells commercially viable as well as economical and sustainable for the domestic and international markets.

Akshay Singhal, co-founder and CEO of Log 9 Materials, said that the firm will be using the funding to propel development and deployment of our flagship project on aluminium-air fuel cells, which is currently in the optimisation stage.

“Our endeavour will be to accelerate modifications in the product development cycle so as to create a commercially viable product for both electric vehicles (EV) as well as stationary applications, and we are confident of rolling it out in the market in the next 18 to 24 months.”

He also added that the ultimate objective is to transition towards an aluminium-based cleaner energy economy that will shift dependence from crude oil and fossil fuels for energy generation and storage.

The startup states that its aluminium-fuel cells have the potential to revolutionise the clean energy, electric mobility, and transport sectors in India and across the globe. It is a primary energy generation technology similar to a hydrogen fuel cell, but more economical, safer, and scalable.

According to Anandamoy Roychowdhary, director – Technology, Sequoia Capital India LLP said that Log 9 is building the future of energy. “Their tech can help us harness aluminium and will result in a 100 percent recyclable energy future that is safe, free of distribution calamities risk, and generates zero waste – and hence, fully sustainable. The possible adoption of an aluminium economy that could greatly alleviate the current climate change problems that beset us today is a future that Log 9 is looking to enable.”