DiviGas

DiviGas, founded in 2019, is a key player in the industrial gas separation market, with a focus on hydrogen purification. The company was co-founded by Andre Lorenceau, a serial entrepreneur with a background in scaling B2B companies, and Dr. Ali Naderi, who holds a PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with a specialization in gas separation membranes. Lorenceau's experience in raising capital and navigating the startup world complements Naderi's deep technical expertise in polymer science. The duo connected through the Entrepreneurs First accelerator program in Singapore. Originally headquartered in Singapore, DiviGas moved its global headquarters and manufacturing hub to Melbourne, Australia, in 2022 to leverage the region's advanced manufacturing capabilities.

The company's core business revolves around manufacturing and supplying a proprietary polymeric hollow-fiber membrane, codenamed Divi-H. This technology addresses a significant inefficiency in industries like refineries, petrochemicals, and chemical plants, where an estimated 15% of the $110 billion of hydrogen gas generated annually is lost to flaring. DiviGas's business model involves manufacturing the membrane fibers and partnering with technology providers to deliver plug-and-play membrane systems and replacement cartridges to its industrial clients. Clients are typically large industrial facilities, including Fortune 500 companies, that require efficient hydrogen recovery. The company projects that implementing its technology can save an average refinery $3-6 million annually.

The Divi-H membrane acts as a molecular filter, separating hydrogen from mixed gas streams with up to 99.95% purity. Its key differentiators are its robustness and ability to operate under harsh conditions where conventional membranes fail. It can withstand extreme acidity and operating temperatures up to 150°C, a significant improvement over the 50°C tolerance of many existing membranes. This resilience eliminates the need for costly pretreatment of gas streams to remove contaminants. By enabling the recovery of previously lost hydrogen, the technology not only offers substantial economic returns but also contributes to decarbonization by facilitating the production of "blue" hydrogen, where CO2 is captured during the process. After stabilizing the Divi-H product in late 2023, the company confirmed 17 paid pilot programs and expects to generate $3.3 million in revenue in 2025.

Keywords: hydrogen purification, gas separation, membrane technology, industrial decarbonization, cleantech, hydrogen recovery, polymeric membranes, syngas, carbon capture, process efficiency, oil and gas equipment, advanced manufacturing, hollow-fiber membranes, blue hydrogen, petrochemical industry, refining, molecular filter, energy transition, industrial hardware, waste gas recovery