Suzhou Oliwen New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. has initiated a new fundraising round following its angel investment phase in 2024 to scale up pilot production of its fluorine-free membrane materials for green hydrogen production and energy storage. Founded in February 2023 in the high-tech zone of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, the company develops non-perfluorinated sulfonic acid resins and fluorine-free processes to target both alkaline water electrolysis and proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis markets.
Market Dominance of Fluorinated Materials and Cost Pressures
Proton exchange membranes and alkaline electrolysis diaphragms serve as core components in water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment, fuel cells, and liquid energy storage batteries. These materials directly dictate energy conversion efficiency, operating lifespan, and total system costs. For years, the global proton exchange membrane market has been dominated by perfluorinated sulfonic acid resin procedures. Core technologies and production capacities remain concentrated among overseas enterprises, where the industry’s CR5 concentration exceeds 73 percent.
Traditional perfluorinated membranes rely on expensive fluorination processes and scarce raw materials, keeping manufacturing costs elevated. Fluorinated materials resist natural degradation after disposal, creating environmental accumulation risks. Industry data shows China’s total market for proton exchange membranes reached approximately 1.86 billion yuan in 2024, with fluorinated products accounting for more than 92 percent of that share.
Rapid expansion in green hydrogen manufacturing and advanced energy storage has intensified shortages of high-performance membrane materials, high costs, and lengthy certification cycles. Domestic electrolyzer and energy storage system manufacturers require alternative membrane solutions featuring independent intellectual property rights, controllable costs, and environmental compatibility to reduce import reliance.
Dual Technical Routes and Molecular Design
Oliwen New Energy builds core materials around non-perfluorinated sulfonic acid resins and fluorine-free techniques. The company operates as one of few domestic entities capable of manufacturing diaphragms for both alkaline water electrolysis and PEM water electrolysis routes. Its product scope extends to liquid batteries and fuel cells.
The firm establishes microporous ion transport channels through the molecular design of block-sulfonated polymers and a sulfonated polymer system utilizing a benzimidazol structure. This configuration enhances the chemical stability of the membrane material while raising proton conduction efficiency. Compared to traditional perfluorinated sulfonic acid membranes, Oliwen’s non-fluorinated resin materials utilize widely available raw materials. Their synthesis route aligns closely with conventional polymer processing methods, which facilitates large-scale production and recycling while offering distinct advantages in energy conversion efficiency, system safety, and overall costs.
By 2025, the company filed multiple invention patents covering thin diaphragms for alkaline water electrolysis, block-sulfonated polymer synthesis, high-durability diaphragm manufacturing, and PEM membrane electrode assemblies. This establishes an operational chain spanning resin synthesis, membrane manufacturing, and membrane electrode assembly development.
Product Applications Across Green Hydrogen and Storage
Diaphragms for alkaline water electrolysis target large-scale green hydrogen projects, meeting the performance criteria of leading domestic alkaline electrolyzer manufacturers. Non-perfluorinated proton exchange membranes focus on PEM water electrolysis and fuel cells, addressing dynamic response demands and high current density operations for distributed hydrogen generation and transport applications.
For long-term energy storage scenarios such as vanadium redox flow batteries, the company develops high-durability ion-conducting membranes to support modern power grid requirements. This product matrix spans alkaline systems, acidic systems, hydrogen production, and energy storage.
Financing Progress and Pilot Production Plans
The core research and development team at Oliwen New Energy features experts returning from Japan, with members holding degrees from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tsinghua University, and the Harbin Institute of Technology. The team brings industrialization experience from international membrane material companies.
In October 2024, Oliwen New Energy completed an angel financing round valued at tens of millions of yuan, led by Tongchuang Weiye with participation from the Veken Group and other institutions. Capital from this round funded laboratory setup, core resin synthesis development, and initial sample manufacturing. The company’s fluorine-free diaphragms entered testing and validation phases with downstream customers, leading to supply relationships with select electrolyzer and energy storage system manufacturers. In October 2024, the enterprise established a wholly owned subsidiary, Weisheng Hydrogen Source (Ningbo) Technology Co., Ltd., in Ningbo to support industrial scaling and regional customer service.
The newly launched financing round will direct capital toward constructing a pilot production line, expanding mass manufacturing capabilities for core products, securing downstream customer certification, and driving market expansion. Following pilot validation, the firm intends to establish large-scale production capacity to supply domestic high-performance membrane solutions for alkaline electrolyzers, PEM electrolyzers, flow batteries, and fuel cells.
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