With revolutionary technology, AVOXT is making green hydrogen production more affordable

AVOXT is one of the innovative gems at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven. The start-up began in 2022 when Pascal van Bakel and Ton Rademaker put their heads together. “Entrepreneurship and the dynamism of a start-up suit me,” says Van Bakel, explaining his adventurous move. “At AVOXT, we’re united by our shared goal of making green hydrogen cheaper so that it becomes commonplace in industry and society.”

Affordable green hydrogen

According to Van Bakel, green hydrogen is essential for the energy transition. “It is the way to make the chemical industry more sustainable, but also, for example, to green steel production and heavy-duty transport, and to store energy for balancing the electricity grid. The problem, however, is that there is not enough cheap green hydrogen to make the transition to sustainability on a large scale. A significantly reduced price is the incentive for companies to actually make the switch.”

Technological breakthrough

AVOXT took on the challenge of significantly reducing the production costs of green hydrogen. Van Bakel and Rademaker set about exploring how the electrolysis process (using renewable energy to produce green hydrogen from water) could be made considerably more efficient. “Instead of tweaking current technologies, we really wanted to force a breakthrough,” says Van Bakel. “We started with a blank sheet, let go of what was conventional and focused on the bottlenecks in electrolysis.”

Without membranes

The design process led to a revolutionary technology through the art of omission: the seemingly essential membranes used to separate hydrogen and oxygen were scrapped. “Instead, we have developed a system in which the separation takes place within the water itself, thanks to the unique properties of our electrodes.” The absence of membranes is a major advantage, says Van Bakel. “Membranes are maintenance-intensive and not very efficient at separating gases. They are also costly, and the supply chain is vulnerable and uncertain.”

Efficient, robust, safe and flexible

With this new technology, AVOXT essentially has everything it needs to deliver on its promise of scaling up green hydrogen production. “Our electrolysers require relatively little electricity and maintenance to produce hydrogen, which makes production more efficient and cheaper,” says Van Bakel. “What’s more, they are safe and flexible enough to cope with the fluctuating supply of electricity from wind and solar farms.”

Tests and pilots

The benefits are clearly evident in the first prototypes developed by AVOXT. “We have now produced the first stack of electrochemical cells. We intend to use this to test and validate our innovation on a larger scale in the near future. In 2027, we will take the next step. We will then run a trial in a commercial pilot, including for energy storage in a new, sustainable residential area. In this way, we want to demonstrate that our technology works on different scales and in various practical situations, which will increase the willingness of industrial companies to invest.”

International ambitions

The energy and hydrogen market is global, which is why AVOXT’s ambitions extend (far) beyond national borders. “Wherever renewable energy is cheapest, that is where you will see the greatest developments in green hydrogen. That is where we want to be,” says Van Bakel.

Investment round

External capital remains essential for realising AVOXT’s ambitions. “We are dealing with expensive systems and long development paths.” At the end of 2026, the start-up will organise an investment round for the pilot project in 2027. There is already interest from abroad. “We are looking for investors with knowledge of the hydrogen and energy market or the chemical industry. Strategic partners who wish to invest in the supply chain are also welcome. We are looking for partners who share our vision and are committed to the long term.”

Showing courage

“There is a strong desire to scale up green hydrogen,” Van Bakel concludes. “Now it’s a matter of showing courage and looking beyond the boundaries of your own organisation. Let’s work together so that we can solve the global challenge of the energy transition.”

Curious to see what AVOXT’s technology looks like? Pascal van Bakel takes you through it and provides further explanation in this video:

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