German startup Reverion has secured $62 million to build a mini power plant that can generate clean energy, capture CO2 and produce hydrogen in a single unit the size of a shipping container.
“Reverion’s technology works very efficiently in both directions: you can use the systems to store the energy and feed it back into the grid when needed,” Christoph Baumeister, director at Possible Ventures, one of the investors in the round, told TNW.
Reverion – spun off from the Technical University of Munich in 2022 – will use the fresh funds to begin volume production of its power plants while also seeking to fulfill the more than $100 million worth of pre-orders signed last year alone.
“Reversible” power plants
Biogas, which consists mainly of methane, is produced by the decomposition of organic waste. Last year, biogas and other forms of bioenergy provided about 7% of the EU's electricity needs. Total current needs.
Unlike most plants in operation today, Reversion's technology converts biogas into electricity using specially designed solid oxide fuel cells that increase efficiency to 80% – twice the efficiency of conventional gas engines.
The name Reverion is a combination of the words “reversible” and “ion” because the startup’s plants can be used both to generate electricity – in times of demand – and to produce methane and hydrogen when there is a surplus of renewable energy on the grid.
The facility also captures the CO2 produced by the electrochemical reaction in the fuel cell. This can then be sold to make products such as Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) or buried underground forever. Reversion claims this makes it a CO2 fuel. Negative Technology.
While some of the Claims about CO2 reduction Of many bioenergy systems with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), it remains the world's only carbon capture technology that also generates energy. And by using fuel cells that don't burn the biogas, Reverion's technology is a promising climate-friendly method of generating clean energy from biomass.
Developing the market
By producing much more electricity from the same amount of waste, Reverion's plants increase the profits of the growing number of farmers and industries that feed bioenergy into the grid. The captured CO2 also offers another potential source of revenue.
Reverion manufactures a 100 kW unit that fits in a standard 20-foot container and a 500 kW system that installs in a 40-foot container.
“Demand for our units is overwhelming in Germany, and we are not content with that – we are preparing for a global push, with strategies tailored to each regional regulation,” said Dr. Stephan Herrmann, CEO and Managing Director of Reverion.
The oversubscribed Series A funding round was led by US investor Energy Impact Partners, with participation from Honda and the European Innovation Council. Munich-based Possible Ventures, climate technology VC Extantia Capital, UVC Partners, Green Generation Fund and Doral EnergyTech Ventures also participated.
“In this financing round, we have selected partners who offer capital and crucial know-how for scaling hardware startups and further developing innovative energy technologies,” said Herrmann. “We are pleased to bring top-class investors from the USA and Japan on board as the company expands.”
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