Japanese clean chemistry startup AZUL Energy raises $3.2m funding to accelerate growth

AZUL Energy, a clean chemistry startup that develops catalysts for next-generation energy systems, has raised $3.2 million Series A funding. The company has developed a high-performance catalyst that offers the same performance as rare metal catalysts (such as platinum) but without the high costs or significant resource constraints. They intend to implement it in various applications to promote a decarbonized and recycling-oriented society.

Koju Ito, CEO, AZUL Energy: ''Since the previous fundraising in 2021, we have provided samples to customers developing and manufacturing fuel cells, metal-air batteries, and water electrolyzers, and have conducted demonstration tests for full-scale adoption. With this new financing, we will promote the mass production of our proprietary catalyst and its electrode sheet. We will also promote business development overseas through the network developed in the MassChallenge program.''

This new round of funding was led by Spiral Capital, Inc., with participation from TOHOKU University Venture Partners, JMTC Capital LLC, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Governance Partners Inc., and existing investor Spurcle Inc., totaling six companies in a third-party allotment of new shares.

Akitomo Naoi, Senior Associate, Spiral Capital: ''We are very pleased to be investing in AZUL Energy. In recent years, with the rapid progress in social implementation of renewable energy worldwide, Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) technology has become one of the Climate Tech trends to watch. AZUL Energy's rare-metal-free catalyst is a promising technology for LDES as it enables hydrogen energy and battery energy storage, an innovation that attracted us to invest. We look forward to supporting this as a new catalyst platform that will lead the way to a decarbonized society.''

www.azul-energy.co