Delft-based VSParticle has actually raised EUR6.5 mn to speed up product discovery for commercial services, such as the production of green hydrogen.
Finding brand-new products in the laboratory normally takes years, frequently near 10 and even more. VSParticle intends to alter this paradigm and decrease discovery time to just one year.
To do this, the business has actually tapped nanotechnology. It establishes tools that can break down, synthesise, and control products at the nano-scale. Nano-scale particles of inorganic products, likewise referred to as nanoparticles, show special residential or commercial properties that, when integrated, can cause the production of unique products.
The start-up uses different tools for automated nanoparticle generation, synthesis, deposition, and prototyping which it states allow scientists and business R&D groups to explore brand-new product production. The combination of innovative computational tools into these procedures likewise accelerates the recognition and optimisation of unique products.
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According to Aaike van Vugt, co-founder and CEO at VSParticle, this speeds up the shift from laboratory to real-world applications and mass production.
“This is what allows us to reduce the product discovery time from a years to just one year,” van Vugt informed TNW.
The business's flagship item, the VSP-P1 Nanoprinter, is currently in usage by numerous research study groups throughout the world, consisting of the Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research.
The VSP-P1 Nanoprinters. Credit: VSParticle
The printer can not just produce the wanted nanoparticles, however likewise print them straight into a brand-new item or incorporate them as extra functions “at the push of a button,” van Vugt stated.
It includes an interface that allows scientists to quickly customize specifications and explore numerous product setups, making it possible to rapidly evaluate and fine-tune various structures.
Product discovery for energy applications
VSParticle's innovation can be utilized for a wide variety of applications, from sensing units to medical gadgets. It's likewise especially appropriate for sustainable energy services.
Among them is the production of green hydrogen.
Catalyst-coated Porous Transport Layers (PTLs) are crucial parts of electrolysers, which are necessary for green hydrogen production. The innovation allows the mass production of PTLs without counting on limited products like platinum and iridium– generally utilized for the drivers.
VSParticle states its printers can assist develop brand-new product mixes for PTLs. It anticipates 10x cost savings in limited metals such as iridium, and the much faster advancement of brand-new items.
According to the start-up, the very first elements utilizing its innovation will strike the marketplace by 2027, resulting in final result that can assist scale green hydrogen production.
With the cash, VSParticle strategies to additional establish its innovation, going for next-generation printers with an approximately 100 times greater output.
