Ki 13 raises $5M for affordable synthetic fuels

UK cleantech company Ki 13 (formerly Ki Hydrogen) has raised $5 million in seed funding to build an industrial pilot plant for its biomass electrolysis technology. The round was led by HICO Investment Group, with participation from Burgest, Triple Impact Ventures, GiTV and Desai Ventures, alongside non-dilutive match funding from Innovate UK.

Ki 13 is developing an electrochemical process that converts lignocellulosic biomass into separate streams of green hydrogen and biogenic CO₂. These can be used as feedstocks for synthetic fuels and chemicals, including sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF), e-methanol and e-methane.

The company is seeking to reduce the cost of producing hydrogen and carbon dioxide, two of the main inputs used in synthetic fuel production. Conventional approaches typically rely on water electrolysis to produce green hydrogen and direct air capture to obtain CO₂, both of which require significant amounts of energy.

Ki 13's technology instead uses biomass as the input for a low-temperature electrochemical process that produces hydrogen and biogenic CO₂ simultaneously. According to the company, the process requires around 25 kWh of electricity per kilogram of hydrogen and 300 kWh per tonne of CO₂. By comparison, Ki 13 says water electrolysis typically requires around 50 kWh per kilogram of hydrogen, while direct air capture can require between 2,000 and 3,000 kWh per tonne of CO₂.

The process uses lignocellulosic biomass, including residual material from agricultural, forestry and other biological sources. Ki 13 is focusing on biomass residues that can be collected and used as feedstock without relying on purpose-grown resources.

Economics drive meaningful change, and the world needs a radical cost difference in how synthetic fuels and chemicals are made to drive the transition at scale and at pace. We started with a first principles approach to completely rethink how to approach the problem,

said Koji Muto, co-founder and CEO of Ki 13.

HICO Investment Group and Desai Ventures previously backed the company at the pre-seed stage. 

Christopher Hartnoll, CEO and Managing Director of HICO Investment Group, said the firm's continued support of Ki 13 reflects the company's progress since its pre-seed round and its development of the technology:

We have long held the view that the biggest barrier to scaling green hydrogen and synthetic fuels is not demand, but economics. By fundamentally rethinking how hydrogen and biogenic CO₂ are produced, Ki 13 has the potential to materially reduce feedstock costs and unlock a more commercial path to scale.

The seed funding will be used to build an industrial pilot plant to test Ki 13's biomass electrolysis technology at a larger scale and support its development towards commercial deployment.