Aepnus
Assembly Line
Aepnus wants to create a circular economy for key battery manufacturing materials
Aepnus recently raised an $8 million seed round to ship more pilot-scale electrolyzers and develop the commercial-scale version. The round was led by Clean Energy Ventures with participation from Gravity Climate Fund, Impact Science Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Muus Climate Partners and Voyager Ventures.
Aepnus was founded to modernize the century-old chloralkali process, which splits salts like sodium sulfate back into the acids and bases that created them. The company uses electrolyzers to zap the salts, coaxing them into splitting. Other companies do the same thing, but they might use pricey metals to help speed the reactions. “We don’t use any expensive catalysts in our electrolyzers,” Akuzum said. The startup has over 15 customers at various stages, ranging from feasibility studies to testing the pilot-scale equipment.