Low-temperature biomass electrolysis producing green hydrogen and biogenic CO₂ for synthetic fuels
HQ: London, United Kingdom | Founded: 2022 | Employees: 12-18 | Stage: Seed | Funding: $6.1M | Website: https://www.ki-13.com
Ki 13 (formerly Ki Hydrogen) has developed a novel biomass electrolysis platform that uses a catalyst-mediated process to convert abundant lignocellulosic residues (agricultural and forestry waste) into separate streams of green hydrogen and biogenic CO₂. The process operates at mild temperatures, avoids the energy-intensive oxygen evolution step of conventional water electrolysis, and produces CO₂ at a fraction of the energy cost of direct air capture. The company's technology targets the synthetic fuel market—sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF), e-methanol, and e-methane—where both H₂ and CO₂ feedstocks are required. Founded in 2022 by Koji Muto (CEO, former ExxonMobil hydrogen project lead), Michael Stanton (CSO, PhD electrochemistry), and Carl Banbury (COO, biomass supply chain), the team has grown to ~12-18 people with deep expertise in electrochemistry, catalysis, and process engineering.
Ki 13 is pioneering a low-temperature biomass electrolysis process that simultaneously produces green hydrogen and biogenic CO₂ from lignocellulosic waste—achieving ~25 kWh/kg H₂ vs 50 kWh/kg for water electrolysis and ~300 kWh/tonne CO₂ vs 2,000-3,000 kWh/tonne for direct air capture. With a $5M seed round led by HICO Investment Group (Sept 2026), LOIs exceeding $15M ARR from European e-fuel producers, and a pilot plant targeting TRL 6 by 2027 in West London, the company is positioned to unlock cost-competitive synthetic fuel production.
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