Versogen landed a spot in highly selective accelerator

Wilmington-based Versogen, the Delaware Innovation Space startup formerly known as W7energy, has been a fast-growing player in the clean energy space since its launch in 2017. The startup was cofounded by CEO Yushan Yan, who is the Henry B. du Pont chair of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Delaware and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

During its four years, 2020’s RealLIST Startups list topper for Delaware received support for its zero-emissions research and technology from a variety of public and private sources, including Horn Entrepreneurship, Unidel Foundation and the Delaware Innovation Space, which granted it a $50,000 FastPass Award. It was one of the first companies to receive an EDGE Grant in the STEM category, and, in November 2019, received $3.4 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.

Now, Versogen has been selected for the fourth cohort of companies to participate in the invitation-only Shell GameChange Accelerator Powered by NREL (GCxN), it announced this week. The highly selective program provides cleantech companies with access to financial resources, state-of-the-art facilities and technical experts with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

“GCxN’s fourth cohort will help prove that electrochemistry technologies can replace carbon-intensive legacy processes,” said Haibin Xu, Shell’s GCxN program manager, in a statement. “As renewable energy costs continue to drop, cross-industry initiatives and partnerships will prove that it’s possible to cost-effectively scale these technology applications and achieve real-world impact.”

Versogen, along with fellow selected clean energy startups Ionomr Innovations and Air Company, was referred by NREL to be considered for an invitation to GCxN. The cohort will last approximately 24 months and will provide access to $250,000 in non-dilutive funding.

“We appreciate the opportunity to work together with Shell and NREL in this unique accelerator program,” Yan said. “Our cohesive team shares a vision to become the global leader in leveraging the sustainability and versatility of hydrogen to achieve a carbon-neutral society. The GCxN program will provide critical resources needed to bring our new AEM electrolyzer to market.”

Learn more about Versogen’s technology in its GCxN video: