US startup raises $4.2 M to make affordable Green H2 for heavy industry

Advanced Ionics, a US-based provider of next-generation industrial electrolyzers that can produce green h2 for less than $1/kg, has announced the closing of its initial financing of $4.2 million led by Clean Energy Ventures, a venture capital firm funding early-stage climate tech innovations, with participation from SWAN Impact Network.

“By requiring significantly less electricity than other electrolyzers, Advanced Ionics uses low-cost renewables or nuclear energy to produce green hydrogen for less than the current cost of fossil fuel-derived hydrogen. With the funding, Advanced Ionics will accelerate its product development roadmap and scale-up, and implement pilot projects with customers,” states the company.

Advanced Ionics is focused on tackling decarbonization of heavy industry, one of the most carbon-intensive sectors responsible for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. From ammonia and other energy intensive chemicals, to steel and machinery, to dirty fuels and oil refining, Advanced Ionics provides a sustainable, low-cost alternative amid the need to reduce reliance on natural gas for climate and geopolitical reasons in key markets such as Europe.

Advanced Ionics SymbioticTM Electrolyzer Technology reduces costs by integrating with industrial facilities and pre-existing industrial processes. Power-intensive alkaline and membrane-based electrolyzers require high electricity usage typically above 50 kWh/kg. Advanced Ionics’ electrolyzers work with onsite waste and process heat supplies, reducing up to 40% of the typical electricity requirement, the dominant cost driver of green H2 production.

“The green hydrogen market is set to grow at an extraordinary rate in the coming decades as the most viable approach for decarbonizing heavy industry. But, to date, green hydrogen has not been competitive or reliable to enable widespread use,” says Daniel Goldman, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Clean Energy Ventures.

“After more than five years of evaluating the sector, we backed Advanced Ionics because we believe this leadership team can scale a highly competitive technology to produce the lowest-cost green hydrogen at scale. Our investment in Advanced Ionics is founded on a shared end-goal to enable the most polluting industries to have a highly competitive and scalable decarbonization solution.”

Based in the Midwest, a region with deep roots in manufacturing and industry, the Advanced Ionics team is working on making cost-competitive green hydrogen a reality. The current levelized cost of green H2 produced through electrolysis is around $4-5/kg, according to IHS Markit estimates; Advanced Ionics electrolysis can provide clean hydrogen without the green premium, for less than $1/kg using SymbioticTM steam electrolysis in many industrial locations, claims the company.

“From a young age, I worked with materials that contained hydrogen on my family’s farm and recognized the impact it could have on transforming rural sustainability. Hydrogen will be a critical stepping stone for decarbonizing industry and agriculture in often-overlooked regions in the U.S. and the world as we build the new clean energy economy,” said Chad Mason, Founder and CEO of Advanced Ionics.

“Our team has done an amazing job building this technology from the ground-up, and we look forward to deploying it to enable massive impact on the energy economy.”

Advanced Ionics will be developing a series of demonstration projects during the next year with partners before expanding to deploy larger scale projects and a large-scale electrolyzer manufacturing facility to serve key markets such as Europe and North America.