Baruch Halpert of Electriq
episode
Israeli Technology Founders Speak: Conversations with Successful Israeli Hitech and Biotech Entrepreneurs
24 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 13 days ago
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What problem does Electriq’s hydrogen‑powder technology aim to solve?
This is Israeli Technology Founders Speak, a podcast of conversations with successful Israeli high tech and biotech entrepreneurs. With your host, Avraham Hermon.
Baruch Halpert is a serial entrepreneur, the CEO and executive chairman of Electric, an Israeli startup that turns hydrogen gas into a safe, storable powder, like instant coffee, but for clean energy. No pipelines, no pressurized tanks, just add water and get power anywhere. Avraham sat down with Baruch to discuss how he got involved with Electric. His previous companies, how he dealt with a failed idea, tips for tech founders, and much more. This podcast is a creation of JMB Davis Ben David, an intellectual property law firm serving clients around the world. You have great innovations. We keep them safe. It's not enough to just have a great startup idea or innovation. If you don't legally protect your innovations, products, and brand, anyone can claim them as their own.
We keep your great innovation secure. Learn more by going to jmbdavis.com. That's JMB D A V I S dot com. Thank you, Barl Halpert, CEO of Electric. That's electric with a Q at the end. I wanted to hear from you, what problem does Electric solve?
So basically electric knows how to store hydrogen in a very effective manner in powder in solid form. So basically we solve a lot of the problems that uh conventional hydrogen presents, mainly compressed hydrogen and liquefied hydrogen, which is safety issues, energy density issues, which electrics by far simplifies. We can store three to five times more energy. In our powder than compressed hydrogen, then conventional compressed hydrogen cylinders. And you can store our powder for five years. It's like UHD hydrogen, UHD milk. I see. I see. So you can store it in a bag, come five years later, open the bag, and you'll have the same content of hydrogen. And you can put it there under that desk over there, and as long as it's sealed, there will not be any degradation of the material.
Uh-huh. It's like white powder. Think of it. of a washing powder. If you come and use washing powder five years later, will you have any degradation? Of course not. So same same.
Okay. So your hydrogen powder is going to be used at a site where they need hydrogen for making electricity?
Yes, where they need the best utilization of these technologies for long term backup power where you don't have uh accessible access or you cannot deliver hydrogen in any other way and you need autonomous power. Think of like where you have all these floods and other natural disaster like snowstorms that you don't have access for a couple of days, then our systems could be very effective.
Like use in place for emergency electricity. Exactly. Mm-hmm. Like factories, hospitals.
Hospitals, cell towers, microgrid operations, everything that needs backup power for forty eight hours and longer.
Tell me a little bit about how the idea was born. Whose idea was it? Where did it come from?
I'll open the brackets about the technology first.
How does storing hydrogen as a solid powder improve safety and energy density compared to compressed or liquid hydrogen?
So we utilize a material that is called borehydrides. Hydrides were initially invented as an offshoot of the Manhattan projects as a reductive agent. Uh it's a specialty materials, the borohydrides, and potassium borohydride, KbH4, the material that we are specifically working for, is used as a reductive agent and is well known in the industry as a specialty material. The problem that we solved was how to extract the hydrogen from the powder, which was quite demanding and intensive. So the idea was Not new. There were a couple of iterations of the project. The current iteration started in 2013 by a scientist. We didn't emerge from any university, and a bit of money was invested there through an incubator.
And I came about it when I was presented with the opportunity to invest in it in 2016. Mm-hmm. And it was very nascent, very early stage, but some how things were achieved.
So before that you came from what sort of background?
I started as a oil and gas entrepreneur back in the mid nineties. I had an oil and gas license in the Israel Valley, which I was, you know, beginners luck.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What problem does Electriq’s hydrogen‑powder technology aim to solve?
0:00–3:27
2
How does storing hydrogen as a solid powder improve safety and energy density compared to compressed or liquid hydrogen?
3:27–6:15
3
How did Baruch’s early oil‑and‑gas and e‑trade experience shape his approach to building startups?
6:15–8:57
4
What technical setbacks did Electriq encounter with its catalyst and how did the team pivot the product strategy?
8:57–12:27
5
How did the war and a tight funding environment affect Electriq’s financing and lead to administration?
12:27–15:31
6
Which major awards has Electriq won and what do they signify for the company’s credibility?
15:31–18:32
7
What key advice does Baruch give to tech founders about building a strong team and making tough decisions?
18:32–21:20
8
What is Electriq’s long‑term vision for hydrogen‑storage systems and their market impact?
21:20–24:02