🏊‍♂️ August Update

by David Cohen-Tanugi on August 2, 2024

Dear Advisors,

July was a shorter month as I took a yearly vacation in my native France (it was lovely, in case you're wondering).

Since returning to campus, I've focused on building out the shortlist of candidate startup ideas to move to Explore stage. One such idea, based on palladium membranes for the hydrogen economy (and potentially for fusion power plants) is featured below.

Happy reading,

David

By the numbers

Since April 2023:

• ☕ 544 ecosystem interactions
• ​🧪 82 technologies assessed
• 💡 91 venture ideas
• 🏫 6 team projects created
• 🧑 52 customer discovery activities
• 🤝 9 cross-campus conversations initiated

☀️ July highlights

🚀 The Activate fellowship program unveiled its Cohort 2024, featuring our very own Theodore Mouratidis. His Proto Ventures project, Hyperion Transport Systems, which is developing a novel electric thruster for in-space propulsion with higher fuel efficiency and thrust density, increasing maneuverability and mission capability while reducing required propellant.

⚡️ PV Fellows Cynthia Liao and Hee Yau Phoon worked through the Customer and Product sections of the MIT delta v Accelerator program, refining their strategy for commercializing vertical GaN power converters.

🫧 I carried out multiple rounds of customer discovery about palladium membranes for hydrogen and fusion.

🎤 Gene and I addressed the incoming Sloan Executive MBA and Sloan Fellows classes, inviting them to apply for the 2024-25 cohort of Proto Ventures Fellows program.

👀 We’ve continued publishing our research notes on our internal website (password: mit venture studio).

🫧 Palladium Membranes to Enable the Hydrogen Economy

Background and motivation

Separating hydrogen from other gases is becoming an increasingly crucial process as the hydrogen economy gains momentum. Hydrogen, being a clean fuel, offers a viable solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions across various sectors, including transportation, power generation, and industrial processes. The global shift towards renewable energy sources and the need for efficient energy storage solutions further drive the adoption of hydrogen technologies.

In this evolving landscape, hydrogen separation becomes increasingly important. Efficient hydrogen separation is essential for producing high-purity hydrogen, which is crucial for fuel cells, industrial applications, and synthetic fuels. One of the major challenges in advancing the hydrogen economy is the difficulty of separating hydrogen at high temperatures (above 800 ºC) due to the instability of conventional membranes. Traditional palladium membranes degrade under these conditions, limiting their effectiveness and economic viability.

A breakthrough in hydrogen separation technology, specifically a membrane that can operate at very high temperatures (800 ºC and above), can significantly enhance efficiency and economics across multiple steps in the hydrogen value chain. Such membranes enable continuous and efficient hydrogen production, reduce energy consumption, and open new applications previously dominated by large, batch systems like pressure swing absorption. This innovation has the potential to transform hydrogen production and utilization, making the hydrogen economy more robust and sustainable.

What is this startup concept?

This startup would commercialize hydrogen separation systems for the hydrogen economy. These separation systems leverage advanced palladium membranes that can withstand extremely high temperatures, addressing the critical challenge of hydrogen separation in harsh environments. By integrating these high-temperature membranes, the startup would provide a more efficient, cost-effective, and scalable solution for hydrogen production, storage, and utilization, paving the way for widespread adoption of hydrogen technologies.

Why we believe in this startup concept

Differentiated technology

The core technology behind this startup concept is based on groundbreaking research by the Karnik Group at MIT. This group has developed innovative membranes consisting of nano-structured palladium, which offers several advantages over traditional palladium films. These membranes use significantly less precious metal, operate at higher temperatures (800 ºC and above), and exhibit greater resistance to radiation.

Motivated by the need for high-temperature-resistant membranes less susceptible to helium entrapment or radiation damage, the Karnik Group created a unique design. The membranes feature discrete nano-structures ("plugs") of palladium embedded in silica pores. This configuration ensures thermodynamic stability and provides interfaces for defect migration, unlike conventional metal films. These palladium plugs in silica pores demonstrate hydrogen selectivity greater than 100:1, and preliminary studies indicate they can tolerate high temperatures that typically de-wet metal films.

A large, unaddressed market

The addressable market for hydrogen separation is vast and largely untapped. The increasing demand for clean hydrogen in industries such as transportation, power generation, and chemicals presents a significant opportunity. The ability to produce high-purity hydrogen efficiently and economically using high-temperature palladium membranes can disrupt traditional methods and capture a substantial market share, in particular for:

• Membrane-assisted steam methane reforming (for blue hydrogen production)
• Dehydrogenation of liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs), especially MCH-Toluene
• Recovery of hydrogen from ammonia (when ammonia is used as a hydrogen carrier)
• The water—gas shift reaction (CO + H2O ⇌ CO2 + H2), essential in both steam methane reforming for blue hydrogen production and in the Fischer-Tropsch process (see below)
• The Fischer–Tropsch process for synthetic fuels (CO and H2 to hydrocarbons)

Moreover, as governments and industries worldwide invest in hydrogen infrastructure and policies to support the hydrogen economy, the market potential for advanced hydrogen separation technologies grows exponentially. This startup, with its differentiated technology and focus on high-temperature hydrogen separation, is well-positioned to capitalize on this expanding market, driving the transition towards a sustainable hydrogen economy.

Additional potential for fusion power plants

Finally, high-temperature Pd membranes could also unlock major gains in other markets beyond the hydrogen economy, especially the separation of gaseous exhaust from fusion power plants.

Specifically, new Pd membranes could be especially impactful for:

• Metal foil pumps. A high-temperature Pd membrane could make it possible to place the metal foil pump inside a tokamak, which would remove the need for separate divertor pumps and shorten the direct internal recycling (DRI) loop
• Fuel cleanup and tritium extraction systems. These systems will likely employ hydrogen-selective tubes, and a porous-substrate-and-plug membrane design could help resolve the design tension between thin walls for greater permeability and thick walls for mechanical robustness.

What's next for this startup concept

De-risking

• Long-term performance in real environments remains to be verified; may necessitate changes in membrane design or material
• Cost and manufacturability of the porous substrates
• Selectivity: can we get beyond 100:1?
• Geometry: Can this membrane be built into tubular form factors?
• Scaling beyond ~cm2

Evaluation

• Determine whether this is a fit for the Explore stage of Proto Ventures
• If so, match this concept with a team of incoming Proto Ventures Fellows, and form a Team Project.

One final thing... can you think of any conferences, events, or podcasts that might be interested in featuring us as a speakers or panelists? We'd love to keep spreading the word about Proto Ventures!

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