The green energy transition is well under way, and is the backbone of our sustainable future. In India and across the world, we’ve seen great strides been taken in renewable electricity generation and adoption of electric mobility, which have primarily been driven by rapid improvements ine nergy generation and battery tech. Long-duration energy storage (LDES) and green hydrogen generation, on the other hand, are still nascent technologies that need key technological solutions to unlock commercial viability.
We’re excited to announce our first investment out of Fund 3 into Vimano, a Bangalore-based deep tech startup poised to transform how the world stores and deploys clean energy. Founded by material scientists Murari Ramkumar and Dr. Nagesh Kini, Vimano’s core materials science expertise translates to cutting-edge membranes for redox flow batteries, AEM electrolyzers as well as high-temperature PEM fuel cells.
Vimano checks every box in our investment playbook. First, it’s a key enabling technology in a large global $500 billion+ market, driven by decarbonization goals. Second, it’s leveraging advanced technology—nanotech and materials science—to create a deep moat and defensible edge. Third, it’s a platform technology with core expertise translating into multiple highly differentiated products.
Energy Storage at a Crossroads
Renewable generation capacity has grown rapidly, from 750 GW in 2000 to 4000 GW in 2023, and we are now at a key inflection point where renewable energy is moving from a minority component of the electrical grid to its backbone. For this to happen, though, we need the technologies that manage the intermittency that comes with renewable energy. Overnight and short-duration energy storage solutions have achieved the technology readiness levels that are needed for at-scale deployment – however, long-duration energy storage (LDES) remains relatively nascent.
Further, the decarbonization of manufacturing and heavy industry is our hardest decarbonization challenge, both globally and in India. Sectors like transportation are well-served by the mantra of “electrify everything”; this doesn’t apply, however, to some of our most emitting sectors like steel, cement, and fertilizers. These industries, because of their inherent processes, are better served by the decarbonization lever provided by another nascent and ready-to-inflect technology: green hydrogen.
Flow batteries, electrolyzers and hydrogen fuel cells are key puzzle pieces in solving the LDES, heavy mobility and industrial decarbonization problems. These energy storage and conversion devices’ performance and durability are influenced heavily by the membranes used; however, existing solutions typically fall short in durability, efficiency, or cost-effectiveness, limiting their widespread adoption.
Vimano has developed a proprietary ion-selective membrane platform, with products for both LDES and the hydrogen value chain, making these electrochemical devices more efficient, resilient, and affordable.
This is the gap Vimano is bridging. Vimano’s membranes are PFAS-free, overcome persistent ion crossover issues, and unlock high efficiency. Their ambitious goal? To integrate Vimano membranes into one out of every two large-scale energy storage devices, electrolyzers, and fuel cells globally.
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A journey of membrane scale-up and tech platformization
Murari, an engineer and technocrat, comes with a masters from UPenn and has his finger on the pulse of energy transition technologies. Nagesh, with a PhD from IISc is coming off the back of a long stint at Thermax where he headed a Centre of Excellence for materials science. Together, they bring the necessarily skillsets and experience to develop, manufacture and commercialize their electroconductive membranes.
We first met Murari and Nagesh in 2020 when they were working out of a lab at the Indian Institute of Science and had developed theirfirst membranes for redox flow batteries. Since then, the core membrane technology has platformized, enabling Vimano to literally plug into multiple key energy transition technologies.Scaling up membrane sizes is also non-trivial, with key challenges in maintaining uniform thickness over the entire area as well as ensuring even dispersion of membrane additives. Vimano has also made significant strides here, with their membranes scaling up a 100x already from 25cm2 to 2500cm2 and poised to reach the industry standard of manufacturing membrane rolls a meter in width.
Vimano is just getting started. They’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback for their flow battery membranes which are all set to be commercialized, and their AEM electrolyzer membranes are rapidly approaching state-of-the-art specs. Our investment will enable the company to set up its first pilot manufacturing facility, build an order book, and bring its hydrogen ecosystem products to market readiness.
The world needs energy solutions that are efficient, affordable, and sustainable. Vimano’s membranes are the missing link, propelling us toward a future where clean power is no longer a promise—it’s a reality. We can’t wait to see what’s next.
