Microwave technology is getting a new job in the energy sector, and it has just attracted $5.0M in seed funding to prove the concept at scale. MCatalysis, a startup developing a novel approach to fuel production, closed the round with backing from HL Energy Ventures and Oxford Science Enterprises.
The company’s pitch is a sharp departure from the status quo. Conventional refining and synthetic fuel processes rely on massive heat and multi-stage facilities, which drive up costs and energy use. MCatalysis instead uses proprietary microwave-driven catalysts-materials it describes as acting like molecular scissors and glue-to produce ready-to-use fuels that can drop into existing infrastructure. The fresh capital will help the team push that technology further along the path from lab to commercial viability.
