Carbon Direct Capital

Hydrogen Economy

Syzygy Plasmonics (Syzygy) develops photocatalytic chemical reactors for fuel cell vehicles and small-scale industrial applications. The company’s technology replaces heat with light to trigger the necessary chemical reactions. This eliminates the need to burn fuel, and its ability to operate at low temperatures reduces costs and emissions.Syzygy’s first commercial product would be a hydrogen production system for small-scale users, such as manufacturers of semiconductors, LEDs, float glass, food oil, metals, and users of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. The company claims its technology has the potential to cut the cost of clean hydrogen in half, compared to other methods such as electrolysis. The company introduced a new reactor with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15138">light-activated catalysts</a> in December 2022, and in January 2024, the company announced that its Rigel cell is available for order. The Rigel cell is reportedly the world's first light-powered reactor cell for industrial chemical reactions, and can be ordered in stacks designed to produce up to 5 tons of hydrogen per day from ammonia. The company also plans to expand into other reactors such as carbon dioxide to value, fertilizer, and commodity chemicals.In October 2022, the company launched <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13664">CarbonModel.com</a>, an online tool for calculating the carbon footprint and levelized cost of hydrogen production.Key customers and partnershipsIn August 2022, Syzygy entered into a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12644">joint development agreement</a> with LOTTE Chemical, LOTTE Fine Chemical (a South Korean chemical company), and Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA), an oil and energy company, to test an all-electric chemical reactor to produce clean hydrogen.In January 2023, the company announced a partnership with the nonprofit research institute RTI International to conduct a pilot project for sustainable fuel production (by converting carbon dioxide and methane into low-carbon fuels) at its facility in North Carolina.Funding and financialsSyzygy received a strategic investment from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in October 2023. The investment gives MHI greater insight into Syzygy's strategic priorities and the ability to support its business execution plans. Prior to this, the company last raised funding in November 2022, when it raised <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14707">USD 73 million</a> in a Series C funding round led by Carbon Direct Capital. In April 2021, Syzygy raised USD 23 million in a Series B funding round led by Horizons Ventures. Proceeds are expected to be used for team expansion, product development, and commercialization.

Sunfire offers systems for renewable hydrogen, syngas, and e-fuel production. Its “Hylink” high-temperature electrolyzers are based on alkaline and solid oxide electrolyzer cells (SOEC) technologies for hydrogen production. Its alkaline Hylink electrolyzer, with a scalable design, can produce 2,230 normal cubic meters of hydrogen per hour (Nm³/h), at a gauge pressure of 30 bar (barg), with a power consumption of 4.7 kilowatt hours per normal cubic meter (kWh/Nm³). Its SOEC system, with a modular design, can produce 750 Nm³/h hydrogen with a power consumption of 3.6 kWh/Nm³.In 2014, Sunfire also opened a demonstration Power-to-Liquid (PtL) production plant in Dresden, Germany to produce renewable e-fuels. Also, in June 2020, Sunfire joined forces with a consortium of companies led by <s>the</s> Norway-based Norsk e-Fuel to build Europe’s first commercial plant for hydrogen-based renewable aviation fuel in Norway. The plant is planned to be operational by 2024. In November 2023, Sunfire announced that it would invest EUR 30 million (USD 32 million) in its Dresden headquarters over the next few years to expand its R&amp;D center, including prototype manufacturing. Earlier that year, Sunfire commenced serial production of electrolyzers, expanding its proven electroplating line and commissioning a 500 MW facility. In December 2023, Sunfire partnered with Fraunhofer IFAM, a non-university institution focused on applied research and the development and qualification of materials for alkaline stacks, to develop an anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzer in the upper double-digit kW range for industrial-scale application.Key customers and partnershipsAs of June 2021, the German company was involved in four different projects to provide electrolysis solutions. Its partners include Neste, a Finnish provider of oil refining and renewable solutions; <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9403">MPREIS</a>, an Austrian food retail company; Salzgitter, a Germany-based steel manufacturer; Total, a French oil and gas company; and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12128">Uniper</a>, a Germany-based energy supplier. As of November 2023, Sunfire’s electrolyzers have been installed at industrial partners including RWE, Salzgitter AG, and Neste.In partnership with project developer P2X Solutions, Sunfire completed the installation of a pressurized alkaline electrolyzer at Finland's first industrial-scale electrolysis plant in Harjavalta in February 2024, with green hydrogen production expected in 1H 2024. In addition, in August 2023, Sunfire received its first commercial order to supply a 100 MW pressurized alkaline electrolyzer, consisting of ten 10 MW modules and power supply units, to a European refinery. Sunfire is responsible for overseeing the installation and commissioning of the system, which is expected to be operational in early 2026.Sunfire has also made several acquisitions including New Enerday, a German fuel cell manufacturer, in 2018, Industrie Haute Technology (IHT), a Swiss alkaline electrolysis company, in January 2021 and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7847">MTV NT Solingen branch</a>, a German electroplating specialist, in January 2022.Funding and financialsIn August 2023, Sunfire received a EUR 169 million (USD 180 million) grant as part of the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI), reportedly becoming the only German producer of large-scale electrolyzers to receive such support. The funds will be used to establish the first industrial series production of its electrolysis technologies.Prior to this, the company’s most recent funding round was in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11640">July 2022</a>, when it raised an undisclosed investment from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund. In March 2022, the company raised EUR 86 million (USD 94.9 million) as the <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9366">second tranche</a> of its Series D funding round co-led by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Blue Earth Capital. The <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/6057">first tranche </a>of the company’s Series D round was in October 2021 when it raised EUR 109 million (USD 125 million) from a consortium of investors led by Lightrock and Planet First Partners. In January 2022, Sunfire <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7654">received a grant</a> of EUR 60 million (USD 68 million) from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research to lead the H2Giga project. The grant funding was utilized to develop the company’s SOEC technology and pressurized alkaline electrolyzers.

Clear the air on carbon capture, reuse, and storage

Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage (CCUS)

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 ION Clean Energy (also known as ION Engineering) develops carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technologies. ION&rsquo;s proprietary advanced liquid absorption technology captures CO2 at a cost of USD 39&ndash;45 per ton. ION&rsquo;s Modular Adaptive Packing (MAP) and Multicomponent-Liquid Analyzer technologies are at the patent-pending stage.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 The company has entered into strategic partnerships to commercialize its technology. The partners include US Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), National Carbon Capture Center, SINTEF, and Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials&nbsp;
 
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s most recent funding was in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/28204">
 April 2024
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 , when it raised USD 45 million in a venture funding round led by Chevron New Energies. The funds were used to fuel the company&rsquo;s growth and support the commercial deployment of its ICE-31 liquid amine carbon capture technology.
 
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ION Clean Energy is a technology company focused on the commercialization of solvent and process technology. It specializes in the removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from large point sources including natural gas and coal-fired power plants.  The company was founded in 2008 and headquartered in Colorado, United States.

Sunfire develops and manufactures systems for renewable industrial gas and fuel production. These substitutes for mineral oil and natural gas, known as e-Gas, e-Fuel or e-Chemicals, replace fossil fuels in existing infrastructures. The solid oxide cells (SOCs) used for the conversion process are also used as generators to provide electricity and heat. Sunfire’s vision is to make regenerative energy from sources such as wind farms, hydropower plants, and photovoltaic systems available wherever and whenever it is needed — not just when the wind is blowing, the waves are crashing or the sun is shining.

Velocys is the company at the forefront of smaller scale gas-to-liquids (GTL) that turns natural gas or biomass into premium liquid products such as diesel and jet fuel. Smaller-scale GTL adds value to shale gas and bio-waste and makes stranded or flared gas economic – an untapped market of up to 25 million barrels per day. Velocys technology, protected by over 900 patents, is specifically designed for smaller scales, combining super-active catalysts with intensified reactor systems. The company’s standardized modular plants are easier to ship and faster to install, at lower risk, even in the most remote or challenging locations. Together with world-class partners, Velocys works flexibly to unlock gas resources of 15,000 to 150,000 MMBtu per day, allowing more companies to take advantage of more opportunities.

Syzygy Plasmonics is a developer of a photocatalytic reactor designed for fuel cell vehicles and small-scale industrial applications.The company's reactor is powered by light and operates at over 1,000°F lower temperature than conventional chemical reactor technology that helps in reducing maintenance costs and is able to start or stop production near instantaneously, enabling fuel cell vehicle companies to produce ultra-low-cost hydrogen gas on-site at customer locations.

Carbon Direct Capital provides selective investment in growth-stage carbon management companies to drive climate impact and financial returns. It specializes in investing with a science-focused approach that maximizes climate impact and financial returns.

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