Flow-nano, a start-up that develops electrodes based on ultra-high-performance nanomaterials for stationary batteries, has completed a EUR 1 million round, via a convertendo, fully subscribed by Tech4Planet, CDP Venture Capital SGR’s National Technology Transfer Centre on Environmental Sustainability.
Founded in June 2023, Flow-nano is specifically developing nanomaterial-based electrodes for flow batteries, one of the most promising technologies for storing energy from renewable sources, based on highly sustainable proprietary technology that enables the production and deposition of spherical carbon nanoparticles (carbon-nano onions) on carbon fabrics, dramatically increasing their electrochemically active area and performance.
Flow batteries are scalable, safe and are characterised by their extreme durability (over 20,000 cycles), but their use is limited due to their high cost caused by the use of non-optimised electrodes.
The reaction speed of the electrode is the key operating parameter in assessing its cost-effectiveness. The higher the reaction speed, the higher the working power and the faster the energy can be stored in the battery.
Tech4Planet’s investment will enable Flow-nano to scale up the deposition technology from laboratory to pre-industrial scale and demonstrate the lower cost per unit of power and per unit of energy on flow battery prototypes capable of returning relevant data for subsequent industrialisation.
“Our electrodes allow working at a power density up to and beyond three times the state of the art, which translates directly into a drastic reduction in the cost of flow batteries. We are proud that Tech4Planet has realised the potential of our technology, which aims to facilitate the energy transition in a sustainable way, also from an economic point of view,’ says Laura Giorgia Rizzi, founder and CEO of Flow-nano (pictured with the team), in a note.
“We developed this technology, for which we hold the patent, at the Centre of Nano Science and Technology@PoliMi of the Italian Institute of Technology. Our goal is to be part of a supply chain that enables the transfer of advanced research to the market, through industrialisation, commercialisation and internationalisation, a vision we share with Tech4Planet,’ adds Fabio Di Fonzo, founder and CTO of Flow-nano.
‘Nanotechnology and deep tech are the key elements of Flow-nano’s proposition to address one of the decisive challenges for the energy transition: the long-term and cost-effective storage of energy from renewables,’ comments Claudia Pingue, senior partner and head of CDP Venture Capital’s Technology Transfer Fund. ‘We support their research, which represents the practical realisation of our vision of fostering the development of frontier technologies capable of finding new and innovative solutions to the problems of our time.
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