$5m · Seed · Cleantech · London, UK
London-based Ki 13, formerly known as Ki Hydrogen, has raised a $5m seed round led by HICO Investment Group, with participation from Burgest, Triple Impact Ventures, GiTV and Desai Ventures. Carbon13 said the financing sits alongside non-dilutive match funding from Innovate UK. The capital will support an industrial pilot for Ki 13's process, which produces green hydrogen and biogenic CO2 from biomass residues.
One process targets two costly e-fuel inputs
Synthetic fuels such as e-SAF, e-methanol and e-methane require both hydrogen and a carbon source. Ki 13's electrochemical system breaks down lignocellulosic residues in a mildly heated solution, creating biogenic CO2 and hydrogen ions before a catalyst mediator is regenerated in an electrolyser. The company says this avoids the energy-intensive oxygen-production step in conventional water electrolysis and yields separate streams of hydrogen and CO2.
Ki 13 claims energy use of about 25 kWh per kilogram of hydrogen and 0.3 MWh per tonne of CO2, as well as hydrogen purity above 99%. If those figures hold at industrial scale, producing both inputs in one system could simplify procurement and plant integration for e-fuel developers. The commercial case will still depend on residue collection and consistency, sustained operating performance, output quality and reliable demand for both streams.
The pilot must turn demand signals into bankable supply
The company says it has signed letters of intent with European e-fuel producers representing more than $15m in potential annual recurring revenue and secured biomass-supply agreements intended to support five years of scale-up. Those LOIs are a demand signal, not delivered revenue. Ki 13 also says a West London pilot with capacity for five tonnes of hydrogen a year is underway, targeting technology readiness level 6 in 2027.
The round therefore finances a specific de-risking step: showing that laboratory energy advantages can survive continuous operation and feedstock variation. HICO and Desai Ventures also backed Ki 13's pre-seed round, while the new syndicate adds investors for the move toward demonstration scale. A successful pilot would not remove the capital and contracting challenges around synthetic-fuel projects, but it could establish whether Ki 13 can offer two essential feedstocks from one modular process.
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Green molecules, your next multi-billion dollar investment? — Craig Douglas / World Fund, analysis · 28 August 2025. It frames feedstock cost, green premiums and plant-scale capital as the tests Ki 13's biomass route must answer.
Sources checked:
Carbon13 announcement · Tech.eu reporting · Ki 13 website · Vestbee reporting · Tech.eu Funding Explorer
