The company's high-surface area materials could boost the performance of the electrolysers, fuel cells and batteries vital to the energy transition.
Launched this week with £1.2 million in seed funding, Imperial spinout company M-Spin is on a mission to speed up the economy's transition to low-carbon energy.
"M-Spin is developing a range of unique high-surface area materials that can significantly improve the performance, and in turn lower the cost of a wide range of electrochemical devices, from electrolysers for the production of green hydrogen, to batteries for electric vehicles and grid-based energy storage," said Professor Nigel Brandon, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and one of the spinout's three co-founders.
The crucial reactions in electrochemical devices take place on the surface of electrodes, so if you can increase their surface areas then you can improve the performance of the whole device. The technology M-Spin is developing can create porous metallic and ceramic 'mats' with up to 1,000 times greater surface area than is possible with competing technologies.
"The process for manufacturing these materials is also highly scalable, so our technology will help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy," Professor Brandon said.
Investment momentum
M-Spin is the first spinout to receive investment from the third Imperial College Enterprise Fund, which opened in February this year. These funds support spinouts and startups founded by students, staff members or alumni of Imperial, or which have engaged extensively with the university's enterprise ecosystem.
This innovation is a great example of the world-changing technologies that are emerging from the Imperial ecosystem. Martin Glen Investment director, Parkwalk Advisors
"M-Spin is a classic example of deep science innovation emerging from academia and aiming to make a significant commercial impact on large-scale industrial processes," said Dr Brijesh Roy, head of startup investment funds at Imperial.
"This innovation is a great example of the world-changing technologies that are emerging from the Imperial ecosystem," added Martin Glen, investment director at Parkwalk Advisors, which led the investment round.
The money will allow M-Spin to further optimise its technology, establish its own bespoke labs, hire further staff and start scaling-up for production. "This is a critical milestone for M-Spin," said Dr Robin Francis, co-founder and chief executive of the company. "The investment will allow us to greatly accelerate the commercialisation of our revolutionary metallic mat technology."
A first for metals
The technique behind M-Spin's ultra-porous materials is electrospinning, which uses electrical force to produce very fine nanofibres from solutions.
"Electrospinning has traditionally been used to fabricate carbon and polymer nanofibre sheets. It had never been used to make metal sheets before," explained Dr Mengzheng Ouyang, co-founder and chief technical officer of M-Spin. "We innovated on the solution recipe and the post-treatment processes, while also improving the fabrication process in order to create robust nanoporous metal sheets for the first time."
This work began during Dr Ouyang's PhD research in Professor Brandon's group in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering. "I had the fibrous microstructure in mind, but didn't anticipate its exceptional performance across so many electrochemical devices," Dr Ouyang recalled. "After successfully synthesising the material, I realised that no-one had made this type of microstructure before. We then tested the material in various electrochemical applications and saw significant improvements across all of them, which led us to decide to commercialise the material."
The company has given itself 18 months to prove the performance and durability of the mats when produced in commercially relevant formats. "There are three main challenges," Dr Ouyang explained. "The first is to expand the range of metal species we can work with to include those that cannot be fabricated by conventional methods. The second is to demonstrate the materials' long-term stability in water electrolysis conditions. Then the third is to scale-up the materials while keeping precise control of the microstructures."
This work will involve active collaboration with potential users of the materials. "We are looking forward to working with both our existing and new commercial partners to get the products to market," Dr Francis said.
Serial founder
M-Spin is the third spinout company Professor Brandon has helped create from technology developed at Imperial. "Experience helps in anticipating and addressing some of the common challenges, but each company is different and distinct, with its own commercial and technical challenges," he said.
From my first to my third company, it's now easier than ever to get involved in spinning out at Imperial." Professor Nigel Brandon Co-founder M-Spin
His first spinout was Ceres Power in 2000, which is now deploying its solid oxide fuel cells at scale around the world. The second, in 2017, was flow battery company RFC Power, which is now working with renewable energy companies to pilot options for storing surplus power from wind and solar farms.
"I have seen Imperial's innovation ecosystem grow and mature across the 24 years I have been involved in spinning out technology from the university, from my first to my third company, and it's now easier than it's ever been to get involved," said Professor Brandon.
