McGill Spinoff FeX Energy receives major grant from Axelys
Company technology leverages high energy density of iron to provide carbon-free, stable renewable energy that is environmentally safe and highly dispatchable
FeX Energy recently announced it received a major grant from Axelys, a Quebec-based non-profit organization that supports innovation in the province. The Programme de soutien aux organismes de recherche et d’innovation (PSO) grant provided the company with $723,000 of financial support. The grant will help FeX further develop their technology and help advance the firm towards commercialization.
“This grant is a resounding validation of the solidity of our technology, our team, and our business plans,” said Hayden Smith, CEO, FeX Energy. “Our solution offers real benefits to industrial and commercial heat users seeking to decarbonize their operations, with a long-term energy storage system that is dense, stable, safe and highly economical.”
“The success of FeX Energy in securing this grant shows that McGill University is playing a significant role in not only solving real-world problems, but in boosting the Quebec economy,” said Mark Weber, Director, Innovation + Partnerships, McGill University. “This is one of many technologies at McGill that will have a transformative impact on society.”
FeX Energy is the licensee of an iron redox-based reactor developed in the Alternative Fuel Laboratory at McGill University. FeX Energy is building this reactor into a containerized product, that will deliver heat and/or power to customers who are currently struggling to reduce their use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are relatively inexpensive, and provide a stable and dense source of energy for industrial processes and building heating, which make-up approximately 45% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Through a process of oxidation and reduction, the system is fully rechargeable, resulting in a way to firm renewable energy without carbon emissions. One of the main advantages of their system is the high energy density of iron, which has 30 times more energy than hydrogen and 160 times more than lithium-ion batteries per unit volume. This yields a smaller footprint for implementation.
Currently the company is developing a 1/10th-scale pilot system as a proof of concept but aims to scale up to a 1 MW containerized product, that can be multiplied to address much larger power projects in the years to come. The company has been having early successes; in June they won the 2024 Climate Solutions Prize for Quebec breakthrough research, worth $150,000.
FeX Energy is supported by BXVentures a venture studio firm that specializes in cleantech investments. Acting as co-founders, they provide FeX with resources and experience, including active operational co-piloting, mentorship, training and team building, financial backing, business development and other shared services.