What is the 10-questions interview? Regularly, we interview a promising startup or scale-up in the climate & energy tech ecosystem and ask them our 10 questions to showcase their technology, inspire the sector with their ambition and better understand their needs. With our platform (ZERO), we want to put these bold innovators on a pedestal and introduce them to our audience. Do you want to connect with this startup/scale-up, feel free to contact us at info@platformzero.co! 

When exploring the potential of hydrogen, Jonas saw a challenge: making its storage and transport safer and more efficient. He set out to revolutionize renewable energy with a practical and innovative solution.

In this “Ten Questions interview”, learn about AKROS Energy’s groundbreaking hydrogen storage technology, their mission to accelerate decarbonization, and the entrepreneurial journey of co-founder Jonas, a dedicated chemical engineer.

1. Could you briefly introduce yourself, who are you and what makes you tick?

I’m Jonas, a passionate chemical engineer from the northern part of Germany. I specialize in innovative hydrogen technologies and renewable energy systems. What drives me is bridging the gap between groundbreaking ideas and their practical implementation to accelerate the adoption of technologies.

2. What is the core of your mission (the bold goal) that you are pursuing?

3. What are you building/developing with your organization?

At AKROS Energy we’re developing a new way of storing hydrogen. The raw material that we’re using is a salt called bicarbonate that many may know from their kitchen as baking powder. Our process binds hydrogen to the salt which creates another salt called formate. The advantage of using these salts is that they’re very stable and readily available. At the same time, they’re non-flammable, non-toxic and environmentally friendly. Because an issue, that people tend to avoid talking about, is the safety of hydrogen technologies.

Our innovation lies in the chemical process of binding and releasing the hydrogen. The technology has been demonstrated in our pilot plant which puts us at TRL 4.

4. What makes your team that you are working with, special?

My team of engineers and working students is driven by the decarbonization potential of our innovation. As young people we’re very concerned about climate change and the impact of technology on our environment. Nonetheless, fun is always part of our workday, because I think an agile team that enjoys a challenge is a necessity in our groundbreaking environment.

5. What is your view on our climate challenge and how do you want to contribute?

Like I mentioned earlier, the climate challenge is a big motivation for me. As a scientist I understand that it’s not an abstract concept but a very real threat. So, working every day towards an alleviating measure is a way for me to remain hopeful.

6. What is your view on your sector and what is needed to accelerate change?

We’re currently in the cool-down phase of the hydrogen hype cycle. As much as it’s regrettable that so many projects won’t make it to FID, the industry now has a better understanding of the circumstances in which hydrogen makes sense technologically and economically. This organic growth is way healthier in order to build up a sustainable hydrogen market, than any rushed reaction to hype.

7. What are some recent highlights that really make you proud?

We recently took part in the PortXL accelerator program in Rotterdam. We made it through a very tough selection process and were chosen as one of 10 innovative start-ups. The interest and feedback we received was very reassuring. You sometimes get so caught up in the daily business that you can’t appreciate the progress you’ve made until someone from the outside causes you to stop and reflect a bit.

Looking back a few years it becomes clear to me that our pace of development has increased significantly. Due to the enlargement of our team over the last years and building out our own capabilities we now achieve results in a matter of a few days that used to take us weeks.

8. What is the biggest challenge you see for your company to grow even faster?

We are in a situation where we still focus on getting the technology market ready. Our next step is achieving technology readiness levels 6 and 7 consecutively. For that reason, we’re planning to build a scaled-up containerized version of our pilot plant within the next two years. Afterwards we will be looking into opportunities to grow faster.

9. Are there needs (network, funding, people) that our community could provide?

All three of those things would help us achieve our goals. We’re actively looking for funding opportunities that can help us realize our demonstration plant. But we would also be interested in strategic partnerships with entities that also believe in our technology. All in all, we’re very open for discussions that help us to better understand the needs of future customers and users.

10. What are the 3 inspiring startups/scale-ups you think we should interview next?

I’d like to not limit my answer to just 3 start-ups, because all our companions from this year’s PortXL cohort are inspiring candidates that come from so many different backgrounds, which makes it hard to choose. You can find a list of the start-ups who took part in this year’s cohort here: https://sea-technology.com/portxl-2024-cohort

Enthousiastic about Dutch Wave Power or interested in this topic? Then contact us at info@platformzero.co!