Energy startup Ki 13 raises £3.7m led by HICO Investment Group with Burgest
This article covers Ki 13, an energy startup that has raised £3.7m in a seed funding round to scale a biomass electrolysis process that separates hydrogen and biogenic CO2 for use in synthetic fuels. The development aims to provide lower-cost feedstocks for sustainable aviation fuel and other e‑fuels, supporting the low-carbon fuels sector and related investors and stakeholders.
Ki 13, an energy startup formerly known as Ki Hydrogen, has raised £3.7m in a seed funding round to scale a biomass electrolysis process that separates hydrogen and biogenic CO2 for use in synthetic fuels. The round was led by HICO Investment Group, with participation from Burgest, Triple Impact Ventures, GiTV and Desai Ventures, and includes non-dilutive match funding from Innovate UK — financing the company says will fund an industrial pilot and move the technology toward commercial deployment.
Why it matters
The announcement matters because Ki 13 targets two costly feedstocks for the low‑carbon fuels market: green hydrogen and biogenic CO2. Sustainable aviation fuel and other e‑fuels are constrained not only by policy and demand, but by the cost and energy intensity of producing those inputs. A lower‑cost, lower‑energy route from waste biomass could change the economics for a range of synthetic fuels and chemicals if it scales reliably.
Inside the product
Ki 13 uses an electrochemical process to convert lignocellulosic biomass residues — from agriculture, forestry and other biological sources — into separate streams of hydrogen and CO2. The company reports energy intensities of about 25 kWh per kilogram of hydrogen and about 300 kWh per tonne of CO2 for its process. For context, it compares this with roughly 50 kWh per kilogram for water electrolysis and figures of up to 3,000 kWh per tonne for direct air capture, although such comparisons depend on many system boundaries.
Outputs are pitched as feedstocks for synthetic fuels such as sustainable aviation fuel (e‑SAF), e‑methanol and e‑methane. Ki 13 says it will use the new capital to build and commission an industrial pilot plant, scheduled for 2027, and then progress to a commercial demonstration plant.
Who are the investors?
The seed round was led by HICO Investment Group. New investors include Burgest, Triple Impact Ventures, GiTV and Desai Ventures. Innovate UK has provided non‑dilutive match funding to support development and de‑risking activities.
Investors are backing Ki 13 to bring down the cost and energy intensity of producing hydrogen and biogenic CO2 for e‑fuels and chemicals. The combination of private capital and Innovate UK support is typical for early stage energy technology projects in the UK, where public funding often helps bridge the gap to industrial pilots and demonstrations. The mix of commercial and non‑dilutive funding reflects investor appetite for pragmatic technologies that can plug into existing biomass supply chains and the growing interest from energy investors in solutions that tackle feedstock bottlenecks for low‑carbon fuels.
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Founder perspective
Ki 13 was founded in 2022 by Koji Muto, Michael Stanton and Carl Banbury. The founding team positions the company to use residues rather than purpose‑grown biomass, which is intended to avoid direct competition with land use for food or forestry. The planned pilot in 2027 will be an early test of whether the laboratory energy benefits translate into industrial performance and predictable operating costs.
The bigger picture
If Ki 13 can demonstrate reliable, cost‑effective production at pilot and demo scale, its technology would address two pinch points for e‑fuels: affordable hydrogen and concentrated biogenic CO2. That could make certain synthetic fuels more commercially viable at scale, supporting decarbonisation in hard‑to‑abate sectors such as aviation. At the same time, scaling will require securing consistent supplies of suitable biomass residues and navigating feedstock logistics and emissions accounting.
This funding round underlines continued UK momentum for early stage energy technologies that pair private investment with Innovate UK support. For investors and policymakers watching the fuels transition, projects that lower feedstock costs are an important piece of the wider European effort to decarbonise industry and transport.
They've invested in Ki 13
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