Sumitomo Corporation of Americas Joins Syzygy's Series A Funding to its Scale Chemical Reactor

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Sep 19, 2019, 09:30 ET

HOUSTON, Sept. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sumitomo Corporation of Americas ("SCOA") announced today its participation in Series A funding for Syzygy Plasmonics ("Syzygy"), a technology company developing a new photocatalytic chemical reactor. Syzygy will use this investment to scale its reactor and to build a pilot plant for hydrogen production.

"We are excited to support the groundbreaking technology Syzygy is bringing to this space," said Kazuki Yamaguchi, Senior Vice President, GM Energy Group, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas. "We believe hydrogen is and will continue to play an important role in the future energy market and we aim to facilitate on-site hydrogen production to deliver much more affordable hydrogen. Globally, Sumitomo Corporation is engaged in hydrogen business and it intends to continue investing in innovations like Syzygy's."

The reactor, powered by light and leveraging an innovative photocatalytic platform developed at Rice University, is a dramatic step forward in reducing carbon emissions among common energy producers. SCOA has continued to diversify its energy portfolio outside of its typical oil and gas investments, and this new addition proves to support the company's entrance into non-hydrocarbon space as it aims to promote more environmentally sustainable energy.

Originating from significant breakthroughs in plasmonic science by Rice University, Syzygy has the opportunity to disrupt the current energy landscape with innovative product development derived from this science.

"This support coming from Sumitomo is pivotal for Syzygy," said Trevor Best, CEO and Co-Founder of Syzygy. "Not only does it provide additional resources for our development, but it also helps Syzygy in that Sumitomo is a strong commercial partner who can help us to deploy these systems. Perhaps most important, it shows Sumitomo's support for early stage technologies with the long term potential to help fight climate change."

About Sumitomo Corporation of Americas
Established in 1952 and headquartered in New York City, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) has 8 offices in major U.S. cities. SCOA is the largest subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, one of the world's leading traders of goods and services. As an integrated business enterprise, Sumitomo Corporation has emerged as a major organizer of multinational projects, an expediter of ideas, an important international investor and financier, and a powerful force for distribution of products and global communications through a network of offices worldwide.

The company's core business units include Tubular Products, Environment and Infrastructure, Steel and Non Ferrous Metals, Transportation and Construction Systems, Chemicals and Electronics, Media and IOT Applications, Real Estate, Mineral Resources and Energy, and Food. For more information, visit www.sumitomocorpofamericas.com.

About Syzygy Plasmonics, Inc.
Founded in 2017 based on technology licensed from Rice University, Syzygy is developing a new chemical reactor that utilizes the world's highest performance photocatalyst. This photocatalytic reactor is powered by light and leverages an innovative photocatalyst. Syzygy aims to revolutionize the industrial gas, chemical, and energy industries by drastically reducing the cost and carbon emissions in the production process for a wide range of major chemicals such as fuel, fertilizer, and plastic. Syzygy's first go-to market is focused on hydrogen production for transportation.

SOURCE Sumitomo Corporation of Americas