# Aepnus Technology

> Aepnus Technology is an Emeryville, California cleantech startup that builds ultra-efficient, catalyst-free electrolyzers to turn sodium sulfate - a low-value waste salt produced in enormous volumes by battery-material and critical-mineral plants - back into two industrial staples: caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) and sulfuric acid. By splitting waste salt on-site with renewable electricity, Aepnus lets manufacturers cut disposal costs, reduce emissions, and shorten fragile chemical supply chains, converting a roughly $350-per-tonne waste-handling problem into about $700 of usable reagents per tonne.

- **Founded:** 2021
- **Headquarters:** Emeryville, California, United States
- **Founders:** Lukas Hackl (Co-founder & CEO), Bilen Akuzum (Co-founder & CTO)
- **Team size:** About 19 employees
- **Products:** Salt-splitting electrolyzer, End-to-end sulfate recycling system, On-site chemical regeneration, Customer testing and validation services
- **Notable:** Raised $8M seed round led by Clean Energy Ventures (June 2024), Crossed 2,000 operating hours in its Quebec circularity pilot - more than double the 1,000-hour industry validation minimum, Produced one tonne of caustic soda from sodium sulfate waste during the pilot

## Products & services

- **Salt-splitting electrolyzer** — A truck-sized, catalyst-free electrolyzer that splits sodium sulfate waste into sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and sulfuric acid using renewable electricity, running roughly 50% more efficiently than conventional electrolysis.
- **End-to-end sulfate recycling system** — A three-stage process - impurity removal, salt-splitting electrolysis, and product purification/concentration - that delivers reagent-grade chemicals from real-world industrial feedstock.
- **On-site chemical regeneration** — Modular units deployed at customer sites so refineries, cathode makers, and battery recyclers can produce and reuse their own acids and bases instead of buying and disposing of them.
- **Customer testing and validation services** — Feedstock validation and pilot testing to prove performance on a customer's specific waste stream before scale-up.

## Achievements

- Raised $8M seed round led by Clean Energy Ventures (June 2024)
- Crossed 2,000 operating hours in its Quebec circularity pilot - more than double the 1,000-hour industry validation minimum
- Produced one tonne of caustic soda from sodium sulfate waste during the pilot
- Developed a catalyst-free, iridium-free electrolyzer roughly 50% more energy efficient than conventional electrolysis
- Completed a CRADA collaboration documented in a US Department of Energy / OSTI final report
- Signed feedstock and pilot partnerships with Ultium CAM, Vale Base Metals, and Nemaska Lithium

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Reported additional financing bringing total funding to roughly $12M as the company gears up for demonstration scale.
- **2025-09** — Crossed the 2,000-hour operating milestone in its Quebec pilot and produced a tonne of caustic soda from waste salt.
- **2025-03** — Launched pilot-scale circularity project in Bécancour/Shawinigan, Quebec, with CNETE and battery-supply-chain partners.
- **2024-06** — Emerged from stealth with an $8M seed round led by Clean Energy Ventures to electrify chemical manufacturing.

## Links

- Website: https://aepnus.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/aepnus-technology

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/aepnus-technology
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-07