Protium Tech: State support has allowed us to maintain control of our company
Science-intensive Latvian start-up ProtiumTech is developing innovative decoupled water electrolysis systems for green hydrogen production that do not use environmentally harmful membranes, which are set to be banned in the European Union by 2030. The team is preparing to complete its first fully functional prototype in the coming months; it has generated investor interest and has been accepted into a European-level energy innovation accelerator.
The technology developed by the company allows green hydrogen to be produced not only in an environmentally friendly way, but also with significantly lower electricity consumption. However, as the company’s co-founder Alens Martīni acknowledges, even the most innovative ideas need practical support to become a reality. That is why the company actively uses state support tools and, after its establishment, joined the Jūrmala business incubator of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia. “Raw materials are expensive, so these state support tools are very important to us. The incubator is like a “safety net” for us – it provides a cushion of security and the confidence that we have somewhere to turn for support. There are co-working spaces, support for prototyping, raw materials, services – everything you need to turn an idea into reality,” Mr Martīni says.
The company has also used the LIAA innovation voucher program to work with Riga Technical University on innovation within innovation meaning developing a completely new design for an electrolyzer based on compact packaging technology, which is planned to be completed in the coming months.
Mr Martīni acknowledges that in recent years, the process of receiving state support has become much more convenient: “Now everything is done digitally – there is no need to fill out long documents and paper forms. Everything is transparent and understandable. This is a huge step forward, not only for LIAA, but for the entire public administration, as it moves towards digitization and online services.”
He emphasizes that the support of the LIAA business incubator has been crucial: “Without the incubator’s support, we would have had to seek larger investments at an early stage of development and that would have meant giving up a share of the company’s capital for a small value. The fact that we are still the owners of our company gives us additional motivation to develop the technology. Thanks to state support tools, we can retain our shares and develop on our own.”
Information material prepared with the support of the European Regional Development Fund
