Fuel Cell Materials Company Bac2 Raises $4.1M

26 November 2007

Fuel cell materials company Bac2 has raised £2 million (US$4.1 million) of private funding from London Business Angels, enabling the company to commercialize and market its ElectroPhen conductive polymer. (Earlier post.)

ElectroPhen is an electrically conductive polymer and polymer composite that can be formed at room temperature. Other plastics are electrically insulating but the base polymer of ElectroPhen is unique because conducting pathways are produced in-situ during the polymerization reaction. The resulting conductivity can be further enhanced by adding conductive fillers to produce ElectroPhen polymer composites.

Bipolar plates and end plates make up to 70% of the weight and 30% of the cost of a typical Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack. Making them from ElectroPhen would deliver substantial cost savings without compromising performance.

This is the third round of funding for the company, following a £500,000 seed investment in May 2006 and an earlier £250,000 UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) grant.

The latest funding round was led by London Seed Capital and London Business Angels who supported the continuing success of their original investment in 2006. The investment is the largest ever Business Angel investment in the 25-year history of the London network.

Bac2 is planning to announce its first standard product shortly and is planning a number of new opportunities for ElectroPhen, including its use in plastic/printed electronic components and circuits.