Neology Hydrogen: The Venture Leader Cleantech enabling the net-zero economy of the future

25.09.2023 09:30, Rita Longobardi

Meet Aris Maroonian, CEO of Neology. Bringing a holistic solution of carbon-free energy storage and distribution for commercial transportation, the cleantech startup promises to unlock the full potential of ammonia to become a future carbon-free energy carrier.

Name: Aris Maroonian
Location: Lutry, Vaud
Nationality: Swiss (with Armenian origins)
Graduated from: EPFL in Electrical Engineering, and recently from IMD Business School in 2022 in Executive MBA (EMBA)
Job title: Founder & CEO/CTO
Number of employees: 8 
Money raised: CHF 500’000
First touchpoint with Venturelab: during my studies at EPFL, then Business Creation Advanced Manufacturing Module 3 in March 2018, VentureKick program in 2022 with Stage 3 win in April 2023.

Can you tell us who your product or solution helps, and how?
Neology enables the net-zero economy of the future, leveraging ammonia as the energy vector and unlocking the hydrogen ecosystem through its proprietary ammonia-cracking technology. At Neology, we tackle the challenge of hydrogen storage and distribution for commercial transportation. Hydrogen's low energy density poses hurdles, necessitating either high-pressure (350-700 bar) or ultra-low temperatures (-253°C). These storage methods are intricate, inefficient for infrastructure, and potentially hazardous due to hydrogen's explosiveness in its natural state. Moreover, hydrogen's energy density in gas or liquid forms falls short. When evaluating the Total Cost of Ownership for heavy-duty trucks (40 tons in Europe), our ammonia-based system (AHGS) surpasses battery electric, hydrogen gas, and the leading diesel solution in terms of cost per kilometer.

What market are you addressing and what is the potential of your startup in that market? 
The initial market foreseen is hydrogen energy for commercial transportation applications, which means bringing hydrogen to hydrogen-powered vehicles, either on-board (integrated into the hydrogen powertrain) or off-board (hydrogen refuelling station) to supply hydrogen as close as possible to the point of use. The potential is tremendous as today, still, no solution to decarbonize heavy-duty transportation is available, at scale and cost-effective. By 2030, an estimated one million hydrogen commercial vehicles (HDV) are expected to be operated globally, leading to a market of €100Bn.

How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup?
While at Toyota in 2016, I became curious about the challenges hindering the sales of hydrogen-powered vehicles, particularly in relation to our sponsorship of the Olympics. Seven Toyota Mirai vehicles were provided to the Lausanne Olympic Committee, and I discovered the absence of refuelling stations in the area, forcing long journeys for refuelling. Additionally, the limited hydrogen production capacity of 1 kg per day didn't align with the 6 kg requirement for each vehicle tank. This realization led me to explore alternative hydrogen sources, ultimately leading to my focus on ammonia. While investigating this concept at Toyota, I left the company in 2018 to start Neology, later rejoining Toyota as Senior Manager of Systems Engineering in 2019. This role allowed me to expand my network within Toyota and potentially collaborate with Neology. In 2021, I left Toyota once again to fully dedicate myself to Neology, building the team and developing the technology. By 2022, we had a successful proof of concept and catalyst validation, and I joined the Venture Kick program, bringing us to our current stage.

What do you expect from the Venture Leaders Cleantech roadshow, and how will it help you achieve your vision?
Expand my network of investors in Europe, especially in Germany, where the demand for green energy solutions (mobility, heavy industry) is growing very rapidly, which was recently accelerated by the energy crisis and the Russian war with Ukraine. Furthermore, I intend to share my experience (corporate and as a startup) with other entrepreneurs and learn from them about technology industrialization (which is a great challenge we face at Neology) and where Germany could likely become the location of our production plant in the future. Ideally, I would like to find our Pre-Seed investors to confirm our CLA intentions in 2023 to be followed rapidly by the Seed round 2024 to scale the technology.

What are your team’s key achievements to date?

• Proof of concept and prototypes validated in the laboratory, reaching TRL4 and now scaling to TRL6.
• Finding my cofounder Ruben and building the core team created with 8 active members today.
• Setting up a development roadmap, with support from local universities (HES-SO Valais, HEIG-VD, EMPA, EPFL, HSLU).
• Winning startup contests and grants/loans: Venture Kick Stage 3, Foundation FIT, SPEI, Spinlab HHL, MassChallenge, Alliance-TT, InnoSuisse coaching.
• Incorporating Neology Hydrogen SA.
• Building up our development laboratory in Renens.

What is the most challenging and rewarding aspect of being a founder?
The brain's constant focus on the startup's decarbonization mission makes it challenging to disconnect from work, especially with a family. Maintaining a work-life balance is crucial. On the bright side, leading the creation of a new concept, company, team, and technology, all recognized by industry, clients, investors, and startups, is incredibly rewarding. Family and friends' support on this journey is the best recognition and reward.

What is the most important lesson you have learned as a founder?
Stay focused on what we need to do to achieve what is expected by the client that can be product client and or investor, and not get away from that path or be tempted to do more as an engineer geek. Delivering the expectations, on time, is already a great achievement so keeping the cherry on the cake for later is a bonus. As entrepreneurs, we might be tempted to do everything, with everyone, at every moment, but that is impossible.

What is your favourite productivity hack/tool and why?
My recent favourite hack is to use a meeting agenda tool (Bookings provided by Microsoft) to schedule meetings with anyone instead of ping-ponging emails to decide which date, and time is the most suitable. I am surprised that today, many people continue to manage their agenda manually and that clearly reduces the general daily productivity. In relation to that, I try to keep my meetings to 30 minutes as it is usually more than enough in the first place.

What was your dream job when you were a child?
As a child, I dreamed of various careers, ranging from comedian to race car driver, and eventually settling on gardener. Gardening, a job I love and practice in my free time, is a beautiful profession that demands diverse skills, artistry, and a willingness to get one's hands dirty—much like building a hardware-focused startup. Planning gardens, considering plant interactions with the environment, setting up the "potager" for future harvests, designing irrigation systems, and relishing nature's beauty through scents, colours, and shapes have always captivated me. Moreover, this passion aligns perfectly with the mission of preserving our planet for future generations to enjoy this marvel of life.