VSParticle

HL Delft, 
Netherlands
http://www.vsparticle.com

• 小間番号3622

 プレスリリース

• Meta and VSParticle launch first and largest open-source catalyst database to accelerate clean energy transition (20241204)

  In a bid to accelerate our transition to clean energy in our fight against climate change, VSParticle (VSP) – the leading innovator in the scalable synthesis of nanoporous layers – is today announcing the first results from a landmark collaboration with Meta’s Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) team, and the University of Toronto (UofT). 

  The collaboration brings together VSP’s state-of-the-art nanoporous layers printing technology, with UofT’s testing platform and Meta AI’s models, to rapidly produce, print and test the next-generation materials needed for clean energy technologies. Through its first Open Catalyst Experiments 2024 (OCx24), the collaboration has identified, synthesized and tested hundreds of electrocatalysts that are critical for clean energy solutions, and in doing so has built the first and largest open-source experimental catalyst database. 

  This is a critical milestone needed to help turn today’s AI-driven predictions into scalable, real-world products, yet, before this collaboration had proved impossible. The findings mark a major breakthrough in bridging the gap between computational models and experimental studies, bringing us closer to viable clean energy solutions at scale. 

  Electrocatalysts are critical to decarbonizing industries and achieving global climate targets due to the role they play in clean energy processes like carbon dioxide reduction reactions (CO2RR), hydrogen production and next-generation batteries. To accelerate the discovery of these catalysts, Meta’s FAIR team has been developing AI models to identify candidates for energy conversion processes in hours, rather than months. However, translating these predictions into scalable applications remains a complex challenge, typically taking up to 15 years. At the same time, training AI models to predict the best electrocatalyst materials requires large and diverse experimental datasets which simply don’t exist today.

  To bridge this gap and accelerate the path of discovery to manufacturing, VSP, Meta and UoT came together to test datasets of hundreds of unique and diverse materials in the lab – creating the open-source database. Using a process called spark ablation, the VSP-P1 nanoprinter synthesized 525 materials that AI had predicted as the best candidates for CO2 Reduction Reactions (CO2RR) by vaporizing each one into nanoparticles. 

  These nanoparticles were then deposited as thin, nanoporous films and shared with the University of Toronto where its high-throughput pipeline tested how well each one performed under a range of industrial conditions. VSP’s unique nanoparticle approach gave researchers greater control over particle size and composition, with the high levels of automation and speed needed to create nanoporous materials at the scale required. Other technologies would need decades to synthesize such a high number of new nanoporous materials, which would have made the project impossible. 

  The findings were fed into an experimental database, from which researchers were able to validate the AI predictions against real-world results; identify hundreds of potential low-cost catalysts for key reactions; and which can now be used to train and further refine the AI and ML predictions. Next to building the largest experimental dataset, the project ran a record 20 million computer simulations – the largest computation of its kind to date – which can now be used to build even larger databases for scaling up the processes. 

  To really crack the code for material discovery, AI models need to be trained on a much larger experimental dataset of between 10,000 to 100,000 unique tested materials. Since VSP’s technology is the only technology that could synthesize such a large number of thin-film nanoporous with high electrocatalytic performance, the company is working with many more organisations, including the Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, the San Francisco-based Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Materials Discovery Research Institute (MDRI) in the Chicago area, and the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER).

  Alongside this project, VSP has been scaling up its own technology to be faster and more efficient in the future. The current VSP-P1 printer is powered by 300 sparks per second, but the team is also working on a new printer that would increase this output time to 20,000 sparks per second, which could supercharge this type of research even further. In particular, this would enable it to scale its core technology to support green hydrogen production through printing the necessary components for the porous transport electrode, something industrial customers are requesting. This means VSP will be able to reduce current production costs by 85%, through using fewer pieces of equipment, less energy and more automation, making it the most cost-competitive production technology for this critical aspect of green hydrogen production. 

• VSParticle raises €6.5 million to power material discovery for a greener future (20241204)

   VSParticle (VSP) - the leading supplier of nanoparticle synthesis and deposition tools - has raised a €6.5 million A2 extension round led by NordicNinja and previous investor Plural to continue its mission to unlock a century of material innovation in the next 10 years.  

  VSP’s revolutionary technology enables materials to be broken down to the size of nanoparticles and produced at the push of a button, allowing university researchers and commercial R&D teams to experiment to create new materials that will power next-generation products. It can take up to 10 years to discover new materials in a lab and a further five to bring them to mass production, but VSP’s technology is supporting teams to reduce the overall time of material discovery down to only one year.

  VSParticle has shipped its flagship product, the VSP-P1 Nanoprinter, to teams across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America including the Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, the San Francisco-based Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Materials Discovery Research Institute (MDRI) in Chicago area, and the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research over the past year, who are using it to accelerate material development for innovative industrial solutions.

  In particular, VSP’s technology is enabling the mass production of catalyst-coated Porous Transport Layers (PTLs), which are the key components in electrolyzers and are essential to the production of green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is essential to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and power a more sustainable future for industries such as shipping, transport, heating, and aviation, yet the process currently relies on using scarce resources including platinum and iridium.

  ustomers are using VSP printers to develop new material combinations for PTLs, with a predicted 10x savings in scarce metals, such as iridium, and introduce new products faster and cheaper. By 2027, the first components that have been developed using VSP’s technology should be in the market, creating the end product that will support green hydrogen production. This will support global net zero goals - the IEA estimates that the world will need to produce 306 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, with the EU and Japan, in particular, focusing on prioritizing this clean energy source.

  VSP empowers R&D teams in labs today and its future-proof technology positions it at the forefront of the self-driving lab revolution. An increasing number of VSP customers are pioneering autonomous labs that integrate robotics, AI, and high-throughput material synthesis to accelerate ground-breaking discoveries crucial for addressing urgent global challenges like sustainable energy. VSP's advanced technology ensures top-tier material synthesis, paving the way for future innovations in nanotechnology and novel materials for the energy sector.

  The new funding, which included participation from previous investor Hermann Hauser Investment, brings the total raised by VSParticle to €24.5 million. The new investment will be used to further the development of VSP’s technology so its next-generation printers have up to 100 times higher output and will also support the company in expanding to Japan and doubling down in the US and Europe.

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