Power Revolution Ventures’ $18M fund lays a guess on ‘new chemistry’ startups in power and hydrogen | TechCrunch

What occurs when a chemical engineer, who’s beforehand constructed a hydrogen-powered drone, turns into a enterprise capitalist? Power Revolution Ventures, that’s what. The VC has now closed an $18 million Seed and Sequence A fund to spend money on deeptech, corresponding to power storage, carbon seize, and, sure, hydrogen applied sciences. 

Marcus Clover, Co-Founder and Associate at ERV informed TechCrunch: “I studied at Cambridge, and thought I used to be going into oil and fuel. I ended up getting employed as worker primary for an aerospace startup. We have been constructing a hydrogen-powered drone for telecoms utility.”

After doing that for 5 years he joined one other agency placing hydrogen gasoline cells in heavy-duty autos: “I noticed firsthand, as an engineer working this area, how a lot innovation was occurring within the power sector. I spotted I needed to get into it from the funding aspect. That’s after I teamed up with two of my companions.”

The 2023 classic fund contains LPs from household workplaces within the metals and power sector, high-net-worth people, and Bidra Innovation Ventures, the company enterprise capital arm of Morocco’s OCP Group. ERV already has a portfolio of 9 firms, together with Green Li-ion (lithium-ion battery recycling), Anthro (structural, secure batteries), and Oort Energy (low-cost renewable H₂).

ERV has each a fund and a enterprise builder, dubbed Prosemino. The thought is that the fund can each spend money on impartial startups in addition to spin up new ventures, based mostly on its in-house technical experience. It attracts on a community of advisors, unfold throughout the College of Oxford and College School London. It has additionally constructed some specialist laboratories to help its startups. 

“We’ve got 4,000 sq. toes of moist chemistry and dry lab area right here in London. We consider it’s the one lab of its form outdoors of Europe, not associated to a college,” mentioned Clover.

ERV’s technique relies on the concept numerous innovation is about to occur in chemistry, particularly within the space of power. 

“Once I was working hydrogen, again in 2015/2016, manner earlier than the most recent hydrogen hype cycles, essentially the most superior tech was within the area sector. We have been attempting to repurpose it for plane. Doing that work teaches you a large number about redesign stuff from first rules and function in small groups with tight budgets. So I can relate to numerous the businesses which we’ve now invested in,” mentioned Clover.

He added that the agency’s thesis isn’t just about decarbonization, but additionally electrification: “It’s extra than simply electrical era. You continue to have to retailer the ability, transmit it to the place it’s wanted, after which electrify enormous elements of the financial system… We are actually rewiring the financial system, and we want enormous quantities of know-how to do this. We noticed how software program made launching area rockets cheaper and higher. I consider the identical factor goes to occur with power, and that’s the actually thrilling a part of the story.”

TechCrunch has lined two of the investee firms in ERV’s portfolio, previously. Anthro Power had their $7.2m seed spherical partly led by ERV. Divigas, additionally lined by TechCrunch, can be within the portfolio.

He mentioned that whereas some buyers are specializing in decarbonization, the expansion by electrification “is much more thrilling from a market perspective.?”

To this point ERV Fund 1 has made 9 investments, together with:

Blixt – Builders of software-enabled energy electronics. The startup has been chosen to affix NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) program.

Ecolectro – Innovators of novel polymers designed for the subsequent era of electrolyzers within the hydrogen trade.

Immaterial – Creators of low-cost and sturdy Steel-Natural Frameworks (MOFs) designed for carbon seize, fuel separation, and purification functions.