JumpStart Invests in Clean Energy Company Catacel

CLEVELAND, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- JumpStart Inc., the Northeast Ohio venture development organization that accelerates the progress of high growth early-stage businesses, announced a JumpStart Ventures investment commitment of $250,000 in Catacel Corporation. The Portage County clean energy company engineers and manufactures catalytic heat exchanging materials.

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The company's proprietary materials enable reactors that are lighter, smaller, lower in cost, and more energy efficient than existing solutions. Catacel has accomplished this by using unique folded metal foil substrates to which the catalyst is applied. The folded shape of this metal foil substrate creates more surface area to which the catalyst can adhere, therefore making it more active and ultimately transferring heat more efficiently. The foil substrate itself is also more durable than existing options, reducing costs and improving efficiency.

"The metal foil substrate Catacel uses, Fecralloy, is an extremely difficult metal to work with, but Catacel has developed a substantial IP portfolio around the design and coating of the metal that ensures the product's viability even in harsh conditions," said Kevin Mendelsohn, the JumpStart Venture Partner who will be working with the company.

While the global industrial market for Catacel's catalytic materials is over $3 billion, the company is initially targeting customers in the hydrogen production and fuel cell markets and has several beta customers in these markets already. Notably, the company's heat exchanging stackable structural reactor has been part of a year-long pilot study at a hydrogen plant in Turkey.

"We are very pleased with the performance of the pilot hydrogen plant in Turkey. It has been running at full power for over a year, and continues to perform at the high levels it demonstrated when it was brand new. The durability uncertainty has been minimized, removing one of the key barriers to broad customer acceptance," said Bill Whittenberger, President of Catacel.

The primary use of the JumpStart investment will be to more aggressively pursue customers in the hydrogen industry and to perform relevant market analysis to plan for future sales efforts.

This is JumpStart Ventures' 52nd investment in its 40th company. Other cleantech companies in JumpStart's portfolio include Aria Analytics, Logos Energy, MAR Systems, MesoCoat, reXorce Thermionics, RSP Tooling, Stanton Advanced Ceramics, and Wireless Environment.

About Catacel Corporation

Catacel Corporation (www.catacel.com) creates high-performance, low cost catalytic heat exchange and reactor solutions. Catacel's expertise is in combining catalytic and heat transfer functions thus creating customizable solutions used in fuel reforming, fuel cells, and catalytic combustion. Utilizing thin, formed metal foils, Catacel produces high-performance devices that deliver unparalleled advantages in heat transfer, weight, size, durability, reliability, and service life. The company's products are available in a wide range of geometries, forms, and capabilities, and can often be configured to reduce energy consumption.

About JumpStart Inc.

JumpStart (www.jumpstartinc.org) is a nationally recognized venture development organization that accelerates the progress of high potential, early-stage businesses and includes a special focus on diverse entrepreneurs working in the highest growth industries. Through the depth of its entrepreneurial team and the breadth of its high value resources, JumpStart improves client success in achieving significant milestones, including raising the follow-on capital necessary to create wealth. JumpStart strives to create a more prosperous future for Northeast Ohio. As part of its robust public/private partnership model, JumpStart recognizes the integral support of Ohio Third Frontier, which catalyzes innovation that is transforming Ohio's economy for future generations by creating new technology-based products, companies, industries, and jobs.

SOURCE JumpStart, Inc.