Photoncycle aims to enable low-cost energy storage with clever hydrogen solutions

The solar industry has been grappling with the issue of seasonal energy storage for years. The ability to harness leftover solar energy from summer for winter use remains an elusive goal, with existing solutions (such as batteries) falling short due to prohibitive cost and limited service life. Meanwhile, despite its clean-burning properties, hydrogen has been marginalized due to inefficiency and high cost.

Photoncycle, a startup that emerged from the depths of the accelerator at Oslo Science Park in Norway, has been working on solutions. The startup has a vision as bright as the summer sun, claiming its solid hydrogen-based technology can store energy more efficiently in ammonia synthesis reactors. The technology is said to be more cost-effective than any battery or liquid hydrogen solution on the market.

A schematic of how Photoncycle envisions its complete system installed in a house. Image Source: photon cycle

“Lithium-ion batteries use expensive metals. Our materials are very cheap: storing 10,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity costs about $1,500, so it’s next to nothing. Additionally, our storage solution is 20 times denser than lithium-ion batteries, and No current is lost,” founder and CEO Bjørn Brandtzaeg explained in an interview with TechCrunch. “This means we have a system that can store energy over time, allowing for seasonal storage. This is completely different from traditional batteries.”

Photon recycling uses water and electricity to produce hydrogen. If you’ve been paying attention to fuel cell vehicle technology, this scenario itself isn’t unusual. However, the company’s approach incorporates one innovation: reversible high-temperature fuel cells. This advanced fuel cell can produce hydrogen and electricity in the same device.

At the heart of Photoncycle’s innovation lies its handling of hydrogen. They process hydrogen and then use their technology to convert it and store it in solid form. The company claims that this storage method is not only safe but also highly efficient due to the non-flammable and non-explosive nature of the solid state. Its hydrogen storage density is approximately 50% higher than liquid hydrogen, representing a significant advancement in hydrogen storage solutions. These innovations form the cornerstone of the Photoncycle system, promoting safe and dense hydrogen storage, which the company says is a huge advance in energy technology.

Current clean energy solutions, such as rooftop solar, are limited by inconsistent supply due to the unpredictability of weather conditions. Robust, reusable energy storage solutions can make up for these times, ensuring a stable energy supply when these renewable energy sources encounter inevitable periods of inactivity.

It’s great in theory, but it also has its challenges.

“The Netherlands has the highest rooftop solar density in Europe. We are seeing massive growth now because of high energy prices; everyone wants rooftop solar,” Brandtzaeg said. However, he added that this approach could backfire on homeowners: “Last July in the Netherlands, at noon, You have to pay €500 per megawatt hour to export electricity“.

Having energy storage along with the house to generate electricity can effectively take the house off the grid. Photoncycle says it has tested and operationalized the main components of its solution and the next step is to integrate them into the system. The company says that if successful, it could mount a serious challenge to Tesla’s lithium-ion battery solution, the Powerwall.

Photoncycle chief technology officer David Gerez and Photoncycle chemist Ole Laugerud work out of Photoncycle’s purpose-built laboratory, which has been in operation for nearly two years. Image Source: photon cycle

“It’s a relatively complex system – that’s why we have so many PhDs in different disciplines working on it. The reason Elon Musk says hydrogen is stupid is because when you convert electricity to hydrogen and back When you do that, you lose quite a bit of energy,” Brandzag said. He believes his company can turn this bug into a feature. “In a residential setting, 70% of energy demand is for heating, so there is an opportunity to use excess heat to provide hot water. We will target markets where people currently use natural gas for heating and then use existing water-based infrastructure to replace gas boiler.”

Brandtzaeg’s confidence in the concept’s operational framework is compelling. He points to a small factory model in the lab, scaled down to the size of a car battery. Brandtzaeg believes this expansion should be no problem, citing this as the main reason they are confident in moving forward with the project.

In terms of power delivery, hydrogen takes a while to generate electricity, so when it does, the company relies on intermediate, more traditional batteries to balance the load. The company has certainly caught the attention of investors: photon cycle Having just raised $5.3 million (€5 million) to build the first few power storage devices in Denmark, Photoncycle has chosen Denmark as its test market.

“Taking into account interest, we could have raised 10 times the capital. But after this raise, I am still the majority shareholder,” Brandtzaeg said. “I hope to maintain control of the business for as long as possible and raise no more capital than is needed to bring this service to market.”