Family offices committed to impact investment, including Grupo ASV, Napali and Zubi, have participated in the transaction. The company, which is one year old, will use the funds to expand its production capacity with the opening in Valencia of its catalysts and electrodes factory for the production of green hydrogen and its subsequent expansion to reach a capacity of 1GW. Matteco is in the process of integrating its technology with leading global electrolyzer manufacturers
Matteco, an advanced materials company linked to the University of Valencia Science Park, which develops new solutions to decarbonize the economy and boost the competitiveness of renewable hydrogen, has closed a Series A investment round of 15 million euros participated by a group of national and international family offices committed to impact investment, including Grupo ASV (Spain), Napali (Chile) and Zubi (Spain).
The capital injection will be used for the imminent opening and start-up of its 10,000 square meter state-of-the-art catalyst and electrode plant in Paterna (Valencia), which will enable Matteco to produce the equivalent of 1 gigawatt (GW) of electrodes per year.
The company, whose CEO and co-founder is Iker Marcaide, will boost its production capacity to meet the growing demand for its state-of-the-art catalysts and electrodes from manufacturers of alkaline and AEM (Anion Exchange Membrane) electrolyzers worldwide. Matteco already has customers in Europe, North America and Asia.
The scaling up of Matteco's production will in turn result in job creation, with the current workforce increasing from 30 to 100 employees by 2025. The funds will also contribute to further innovation and optimization of production processes to remain at the technological forefront of the sector and contribute to building a competitive European industry that will lead the transition to a decarbonized economy.
“Matteco represents a successful case of transferring scientific and technological advances from the laboratory to the market on an industrial scale,"says Gonzalo Abellán, co-founder and CTO of Matteco. The company, a spin-off of the University of Valencia, was born from the joining of forces in August 2023 between Zubi Labs, impact venture builder of Zubi Group, and a group of scientists from the research developed at the Institute of Molecular Science (ICMol), located in the academic area of the Science Park of the University of Valencia, by the research team led by Gonzalo Abellán.
The closing of the Series A investment round and the entry of new partners only one year after its founding confirms the company's high growth potential within the cleantech ecosystem.
Iker Marcaide, co-founder and CEO of Matteco: "We look forward to this new stage of growth and scaling with fellow travelers who believe strongly in impact investing, to together harness the potential of materials innovation to solve the environmental challenges we face.”
Matteco thus consolidates its global positioning as a manufacturer of high-performance materials for decarbonization. Its patented technology, built on more than 10 years of R&D, has a major impact on the competitiveness of green hydrogen production. In this sense, its novel platinum-free materials (PGMs) offer the best performance to electrolyzers by enabling lower energy consumption, higher current densities and superior stability and durability, which revolutionizes the efficient production of green hydrogen and aligns with the global industry's great challenge: to significantly reduce the current high production costs, both in operations and equipment investment, to compete with and displace fossil fuels.
“Matteco represents a successful case of transferring scientific and technological advances from the laboratory to the market on an industrial scale”
About Matteco
Matteco is a materials technology company with a mission to decarbonize the economy and accelerate the energy transition, starting with solutions for green hydrogen production.
The company develops high-performance catalysts and electrodes, key components in the process of generating renewable hydrogen through alkaline electrolysis and AEM.
This patented technology, the result of more than 10 years of R&D, transforms the economics of green hydrogen production: it reduces both equipment investment and operating costs.
Matteco is a spin-off from the University of Valencia and is part of Zubi Labs, impact company builder of the Zubi Group. Based in Valencia (Spain), it is currently expanding its manufacturing capacity to reach GW scale by 2024.