BP PLC (LSE:BP.) has backed a start-up aiming to slash the costs of producing hydrogen by incorporating electrolysers into heavy industry.
Advanced Ionics raised some US$12.5 million through a Series-A funding round led by BP Ventures, the oil giant said on Tuesday.
US-based Advanced Ionics develops electrolysers which can be fitted to heavy industrial processes, ultimately producing hydrogen from by-product steam.
Given it takes less electricity to electrolyse water vapour than is needed for liquid, Advanced Ionics’ system can reduce the power and also heating needed to produce hydrogen.
“[The] technology has the potential to drive down cost and disrupt the hydrogen market,” BP Ventures vice president Gareth Burns said.
“It’s important to us to be investing in these technologies and advance the track to deploying green hydrogen,” he added.
According to BP, Advanced Ionics’ electrolyser could produce hydrogen at less than US$1 per kilogram – far below the usual US$3 to US$8, as per International Energy Agency data.