A hydrogen start-up in New Zealand is set to launch with the backing of NZD$2.5m ($1.56m) to offer a solution to sustainable manufacturing and protecting natural resources for hydrogen production.

Dubbed, Bspkl., the start-up offers manufacturing technology and catalyst coated membrane (CCM) products to meet the growing demands of the clean hydrogen industry.

The company says its technology reduces the amount of iridium and platinum needed for electrolysis by 25x, with loading levels of 0.089mg/cm² and 0.033mg/cm² for iridium and platinum respectively.

Having already manufactured the CCM product at commercial scale, over the next 18-24 months of R&D, Bspkl. hopes to bring the product to commercialisation.

As the “first” spin-out company from the Crown Research Institute, GNS Science, the technology has been in development for nearly 10 years, according to the now co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Bspkl., Dr. Jérôme Levenuer.

“We have been working for the last decade on bringing this research to life, and we can see how it will help bring manufacturing into a more sustainable future,” said Levenuer.

Christina Houlihan, co-founder and CEO of Bspkl., added, “Bspkl has solved a huge challenge for the hydrogen electrolyser industry. We’ve cracked the iridium problem and we know how to manufacture it at scale, we are excited to bring this product to the electrolyser manufacturing market.”

Having also received backing with NZD$2.5m from a Seed round, led by WNT Ventures with participation from Investible and the wider WNT Investor Group, Bspkl. seems confident that the technology will become a reality.

Levenuer said, “We have a bold vision for the future of hydrogen production, and this capital round will support making that vision a reality.”

NZD$750,000 ($468,600) of the round came in the form of a repayable grant from Callaghan Innovation’s Technology Incubator programme to support the development of deep-tech start-ups with “high-value export potential.”

GNS, as a shareholder will continue to assist with research and collaboration as Bspkl. endeavours to take its product to market. Peter Benfell, Interim Chief Executive of GNS Science, said, “We look forward to seeing Bspkl. help accelerate the transition to a green economy, and to continued research collaboration with Jerome and the team at Bspkl.”