Nanoptek Corporation, a renewable energy company that produces hydrogen directly from water using sunlight, today announced it has closed a $4.7M Series A equity financing round.
The funding was led by The Quercus Trust, a California fund with multiple investments in clean technology and renewable energy.
The series A investors also included the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) and private investors. With this investment, Nanoptek says it expects to complete the development of its field-deployable Solar Hydrogen Generator, develop pilot manufacturing capability, and install the first pilot plant for producing carbon-free hydrogen.
Most hydrogen today is produced by steam methane reformation (SMR) of natural gas feedstock. In addition to consuming natural gas, the SMR process releases carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Some hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water, but this too results in carbon dioxide production unless the electricity used is from wind or solar.
Nanoptek’s Solar Hydrogen Generator (SHG) produces hydrogen directly from water using only sunlight and a proprietary photocatalyst in a process known as photoelectrochemical (PEC) water dissociation, or photolysis that produces no carbon dioxide.
Nanoptek’s technology was developed over 5 years with funding from NASA, DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences, and a SEED loan from MTC through the Renewable Energy Trust totaling over $1.3M.
Nanoptek says it expects to sell the carbon-free locally produced hydrogen to customers with high value industrial applications, and plans to also make it available for applications including transportation, backup power, "green" electricity for municipalities, and off-grid off-pipe power generation.
About Nanoptek Corporation
Nanoptek Corporation, a Delaware corporation with headquarters in Maynard, Massachusetts, is a renewable energy company developing technology to reduce global warming by addressing markets for carbon-free, low-cost, locally produced hydrogen.
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