Nanotechnology and advanced materials startup Vimano has raised Rs 25 crore in its seed round, led by Ankur Capital. This marks Ankur Capital’s first investment from its newly launched third fund. The funding will support Vimano’s mission to power the energy transition, with its membranes serving as critical components for redox flow batteries, electrolysers for green hydrogen production, and proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells.
While the global energy transition is progressing, aided by the steadily falling cost of solar energy, key technological hurdles persist. These include the high cost of green hydrogen production and the absence of cost-effective long-duration energy storage (LDES) solutions. These challenges remain significant barriers to the decarbonisation of heavy industries and a fully renewables-powered grid.
Founded in 2019 by materials scientists Murari Ramkumar (chief executive officer) and Nagesh Kini (chief technology officer), Vimano was built on the belief that advanced materials can unlock a new era of energy storage. Its tunable ion-conductive membrane platform has led to the development of membranes that significantly reduce the cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production and other LDES systems. Over five years of research, Vimano claims to have addressed key problems related to membrane conductivity and performance, achieving high efficiency, low crossover, and long operational life.
The investment will allow Vimano to initiate pilot projects with strategic partners in the energy ecosystem, expand its team, and establish a scalable manufacturing process for its membranes.
“At Vimano, we believe membrane electrolytes are the unsung heroes of the energy transition. Over the past five years, we have worked relentlessly to develop a platform that can significantly improve efficiency and reduce costs for long-duration energy storage and green hydrogen production,” said Murari Ramkumar, chief executive officer, Vimano. “This investment will enable us to accelerate our commercialisation efforts and bring our high-performance membranes to market at scale.”
Ritu Verma, managing partner at Ankur Capital, said Vimano’s work in nanotechnology aligns with the firm’s strategy of backing deep science innovations addressing global challenges such as the energy transition. “We believe Vimano’s membranes can reshape how energy is stored across multiple formats — with green hydrogen alone projected to grow nearly ten-fold to over $60 billion by 2030,” said Verma.
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