Dynelectro is a Danish deep tech scale-up redefining the green energy landscape by making hydrogen production more efficient and sustainable. Dynelectro develops solid oxide electrolyser (SOE) technology that converts renewable electricity into hydrogen with over 90% efficiency.

At the Ambition Forum in September, we caught up with Sune Lilebæk, CEO of Dynelectro, for a quick chat about his company’s innovative technology, the team behind it all, the obstacles they’ve overcome, and Dynelectro’s experience as a member of the EIC Scaling Club. 

You can also listen to the interview recording here (or watch the video below):

Leveling up green hydrogen

Dynelectro is an electrolyser Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) operating in the power-to-X space. Their mission is to create a viable path for storing energy over long periods or converting it into e-fuels and e-chemicals, thereby decarbonising industry. Sune acknowledges that while electrolysers are not new, they have historically been quite inefficient: 

“Our goal has been to develop a high-efficiency method for converting energy into something that can be stored. Today, we have the world’s most efficient electrolyser, enabling a levelised cost of hydrogen that is 20% lower than any other technology.”

This efficiency is critical for the energy transition. Sune notes that the industry is hesitant to use conventional electrolysers because of their low efficiency, which encourages using energy directly whenever possible. However, the need remains for energy available “at 2 o'clock in the night in the middle of the winter, when the sun is not shining and when the wind is not blowing”.

"You need something that will keep the factories running also for longer periods of time, which cannot be done with batteries, and that is where power-to-X comes into play."

From lab to scale

Dynelectro was founded in 2018 by Søren Højgaard Jensen, a university professor who was determined to solve the issue of durability in high-efficiency electrolysers. While high-efficiency energy conversion was known, it struggled to perform reliably outside of a lab environment.

The founder spent three years proving the concept. The team has now successfully demonstrated that the main degradation mechanism in SOEs can be eliminated using their proprietary AC/DC technology, and they are ready to scale. They have already deployed three demonstration units.

The team has expanded alongside the technology. Starting with the professor, the company brought on Samantha Phillips as co-founder in 2021, Pia Lindberg as CFO, Sune himself as the CEO, and Mads Nielsen as Head of Engineering. “Together we are five people [executive team], with a team of a total of 25,” Sune shares.

A new standard in hydrogen production

The fundamental challenge in power-to-hydrogen is achieving efficiency. Dynelectro has proven they can maintain over 90% efficiency for extended periods, a crucial milestone in gaining industrial acceptance.

This technical achievement dramatically alters the economics of green hydrogen. 

“Traditionally, if you have 1 megawatt hour of energy, you can make 18 kilos of hydrogen. With our technology, you can make up to 27 kilos of hydrogen with the same amount of electrical energy.”

Now that they know the technology works and is durable, the team is focused on scaling up, preparing to supply the first large demonstration plants, and eventually moving to commercial deliveries.

Dynelectro and the EIC Scaling Club

Dynelectro’s journey into the EIC Scaling Club began after they were awarded an EIC Accelerator grant, which signaled that they had a “breakthrough technology”. The Club has become a vital resource for navigating the transition from megawatt-scale testing to the gigawatt-scale common in industrial energy projects.

“We have had very good talks with mentors about how to look for industries where a more decentralised solution can be a stepping stone into the very big centralised plants.”

Through the Scaling Club, the company has connected with experienced investors and mentors. Sune highlights the value of this network in helping them strategise for growth. 

Watch the full interview with Sune Lilebæk below, or visit our YouTube channel to explore our other videos:

About the EIC Scaling Club

The EIC Scaling Club is a curated community where 120+ European deep tech scale-ups with the potential to build world-class businesses and solve major global challenges come together with investors, corporate innovators and other industry stakeholders to spur growth.

The top 120+ European deep tech companies will be carefully selected from a pool of high-growth scale-ups that have benefitted from EIC financial schemes, other European and national innovation programmes, and beyond.

The EIC Scaling Club is an EIC-funded initiative run in partnership by Tech Tour, Bpifrance (EuroQuity), Hello Tomorrow, Tech.eu (Webrazzi), EurA and IESE Business School.

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