11/01/2024
RhinoFlux (Kyoto City), a venture company originating from Kyoto University, announced on October 30 that it has raised a total of 280 million yen in funding. The company owns a ``wet chemical loop technology'' that can capture CO2 while simultaneously generating electricity through chemical reactions from low-quality biomass (plant sources) that were previously unavailable for energy use.
Wet chemical loop technology
(source: RhinoFlux)
The company raised ¥200 million in seed funding through a third-party placement, with Shimadzu’s CVC fund managed by Kyoto University’s Innovation Capital, Beyond Next Ventures, and Global Brain as underwriters. In addition, the company’s innovation has been recognized and selected for grant projects by the Ministry of the Environment, Kyoto Sangyo 21, and Kyoto University.
Small-scale demonstration device
(source: RhinoFlux)
Using the funds raised, a small-scale demonstration device the size of a tatami mat will be built to demonstrate the ability to generate electricity and capture CO2. The detailed design has been completed and manufacturing is underway with the goal of completion in December. The biomass sources used as input include wood, agricultural waste, food raw material processing waste, alcoholic beverages, and beverage processing residue. In addition, we will actively recruit human resources to further strengthen our research and development system and business development. Commercialization is expected in 2028.
The company's core technology, wet chemical recycling technology, utilizes the oxidation and reduction reaction of metal ions contained in a special liquid without burning biomass resources, achieving high efficiency and cost-effective recovery of biomass energy and carbon. It is based on the research results of Lecturer Ryuichi Ashida, Department of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University.
Compared with conventional thermal power generation, the power generation efficiency is 2 to 4 times higher and can generate electricity at less than half the cost. In addition, since CO2 with a purity of over 99.9% can be directly recovered, there is no additional cost for CO2 recovery and separation. Since this is a wet process using liquid, it has the advantage of allowing the use of low-quality biomass sources with high moisture content.
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