Harwell Campus based cleantech startup has developed a way to generate electricity from ambient air and has already signed Coca-Cola Europacific Partners as a pilot customer.

Ionech has raised £2 million in seed funding to commercialise its Air Voltaic Cell technology, which converts thermal energy from ambient air into electricity. The round was led by Elbow Beach Capital, with an additional £700,000 grant from Innovate UK.

“Energy sits at the foundation of the technology stack,” said Thomas Kirk, co-founder of Ionech. “We’re building a platform energy technology that will fundamentally change the distribution and consumption of electricity in energy-intensive industries.”

The technology works by using high voltage pulses and field electron emission to generate superoxide ions. These ions then convert the thermal and chemical energy of ambient air into usable electrical power. The company is initially targeting integration into commercial refrigeration, air conditioning, and HVAC systems, sectors that account for over a quarter of global energy consumption.

The company’s joint development agreement with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) will see the technology piloted in their drinks cooler fleet, with the goal of reducing the carbon footprint of commercial refrigeration.

“We continue to be excited about the potential of the technology that Ionech is developing, and how it could support CCEP in accelerating towards our sustainability goals,” said Joe Franses, VP Sustainability at CCEP.

“Their investment enables the transition from lab-scale development to real-world pilots, including initial work with CCEP’s cooler fleet,” said Nathan Owen, co-founder and managing director of Ionech. “It also accelerates our route to market and deployment across energy-intensive applications, such as HVAS and data centres, with the potential to reduce energy consumption, emissions, and reliance on the grid at scale.”

Jonathan Pollock, CEO of Elbow Beach Capital, said the investment reflects the growing intersection between energy demand and emerging technologies like AI.

“Energy demand is growing, driven by among other things, cooling systems and AI,” Pollock said. “Ionech is developing way to harness clean energy from ambient air. Their Air Voltaic Cell technology has the potential to reduce reliance on the grid, lower energy consumption, and deliver tangible benefits across the real economy.”