Ionomr Innovations is advancing the clean energy economy by creating a new clean membrane industry.
The Vancouver startup is manufacturing ion-exchange membranes and polymers for energy storage and clean energy generation. Ionomr’s technologies provide cost, performance, and sustainability advantages for fuel cells, hydrogen production, energy storage, and batteries.
The BC-based startup-to-watch last year released a hydrocarbon-based proton exchange membrane and polymer, which it believes marks “a revolutionary advance in materials for green hydrogen fuel cell applications for heavy-duty industry.” It also received notable capital from investors.
The “Pemion” tech offers superior stability, conductivity, durability, and efficiency, according to a statement from Ionomr—and Pemion is environmentally friendlier than conventional fluorinated membrane and polymer technology, too.
This month, Ionomr’s membrane technology was tested for—and met—”established accelerated durability benchmarks for combined chemical and mechanical stress testing,” according to a recent statement from the company, which claims Pemion is the first hydrocarbon-based membrane to ever reach this standard, set by the US Department of Energy.
“This testing confirms Pemion as a differentiator for fuel cell manufacturers looking to overcome the challenges of a tight supply market for conventional polymer and membrane materials, without any trade-offs to lifetime or performance,” stated CEO Bill Haberlin.
Conceived in 2016 at Simon Fraser University by PhD chemistry student Dr. Benjamin Britton, Ionomr was founded in 2018 and employs roughly four dozen professionals across Vancouver and New York, where it recently opened a research and development facility.
The company’s R&D is focused around advancing its Pemion and related technology, which it perceives as the future preference for industry due to multiple factors.
“Fluorinated materials such as those currently used in fuel cells are good at what they do, but they require toxic and highly regulated chemicals to be produced,” explains Haberlin. “As regulations continue to tighten, fuel cell and stack manufacturers will need to find practical material replacements.”
On that front, Pemion’s performance, durability record, and benign hydrocarbon-base “create a step-change alternative,” according to the chief executive.
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