M-Spin

M-Spin is an Imperial College London spinout company developing ultra-high surface area metallic mat materials for electrochemical applications including hydrogen electrolysers, fuel cells, and batteries. The company has created a novel manufacturing process using electrospinning — a technique that uses electrical force to draw extremely fine metallic nanofibres — to produce porous metallic and ceramic mats with up to 1,000 times greater surface area than conventional competing materials such as metal foams.

The performance of electrochemical devices is fundamentally governed by the characteristics of the electrode interfaces where reactions occur. In hydrogen electrolysers, fuel cells, and batteries, higher electrode surface area enables more efficient reactions, faster charge and discharge rates, and lower overall system cost. Current electrode substrate materials face inherent limitations in surface area and porosity that constrain device performance — limitations that conventional manufacturing processes cannot easily overcome.

M-Spin's electrospinning process, originally developed during Dr Mengzheng Ouyang's PhD research in Professor Nigel Brandon's group at Imperial, produces electrode materials with a combination of properties — controlled nanoscale porosity, high electrical conductivity, and mechanical robustness — that translates directly into step-change performance improvements across electrochemical applications. In water electrolysis, the company's nanofibre-based metallic mats have demonstrated up to fivefold increases in hydrogen production rate and around 10% higher efficiency, projecting potential cost reductions of up to 30% in green hydrogen generation.

M-Spin was co-founded by Dr Robin Francis (CEO), Dr Mengzheng Ouyang (CTO), and Professor Nigel Brandon (who previously founded Ceres Power and RFC Power). The company raised £1.2 million from Parkwalk Advisors and the Imperial College Enterprise Fund in late 2024, and operates from the Imperial Incubator at White City Campus.