What happens when a chemical engineer who previously built a hydrogen-powered drone becomes a venture capitalist? Energy revolution activities (ERV) That's it. VC is now energy storage, It has closed $18 million in seed and Series A funding to invest in deep technology such as carbon capture and hydrogen technologies.
ERV co-founder and partner Marcus Clover told TechCrunch: “I studied at Cambridge, and I thought it was about oil and gas. I was hired as the #1 employee for an aerospace startup. We're building a hydrogen-powered drone for a telecom application.”
After doing that for five years, he joined another company that puts hydrogen fuel cells into heavy-duty vehicles: “As an engineer working in this space, I've seen firsthand how much innovation there is in the energy sector. I realized that I had to enter from the investment side. That's when I got together with two of my colleagues.”
The 2023 vintage fund includes LPs from family offices in the metals and energy sector; and those with high net worth Contribute to Innovation Ventures.The corporate venture capital of OCP Group of Morocco. It already has a portfolio of nine companies, including ERV. Green Li-ion (Lithium-ion battery recycling); Anthro (structural, safe battery) and Oort energy (Low cost renewable H₂).
ERV has both a fund and a venture builder named Prosemino. The idea is that the fund can invest in independent startups based on its in-house technical expertise, as well as spin off new ventures. It has a network of advisory groups spanning the University of Oxford and University College London. It has also set up some specialist labs to help its startups.
“We have 4,000 square feet of wet chemistry and laboratory space in London. We believe it is the only laboratory outside of Europe that is not affiliated with a university,” Clover said.
ERV's strategy is based on the idea that much of the innovation is going to happen in chemistry, especially in the energy field.
“When I started hydrogen in 2015/2016, the most advanced technology was in the space sector. We tried to reuse it for aircraft. Doing that work taught me a lot about how to redesign things from first principles and how to operate in small teams with tight budgets. So I can relate to a lot of the companies I invest in now,” Clover said.
The company's thesis is about electricity generation, not just decarbonization: “It's more than just electricity generation. Electricity needs to be stored and delivered to where it's needed, and we still need to power large parts of the economy… We're literally remaking the economy, and we need a lot of technology to do that. We've seen how software has made launching space rockets cheaper and better. I believe it will be the same with energy. This is a really exciting part of the story.”
TechCrunch covers two of the companies that ERV's portfolio invests in: Anthro Energy Their $7.2 million seed round was led in part by ERV. divided. It's in the portfolio.
While some investors are focused on decarbonization, growth through electrification is “even more exciting from a market perspective,” Clover said.
to date, ERV Fund 1 has made nine investments, including:
Light – Developers of software-based power electronics. The startup has been selected to participate in NATO's Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) programme.
Ecolectro – Developers of innovative polymers designed for next-generation electronics in the hydrogen industry.
Materialless – carbon sequestration; Developers of inexpensive and durable metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) designed for gas separation and purification purposes.