“The funding will accelerate the scaling-up of H2SITE membrane reactors and membrane separation technologies to obtain fuel cell purity hydrogen from ammonia, methanol, waste and gas blends in the natural gas transportation and distribution infrastructure”
Breakthrough Energy Ventures; Equinor Ventures; Engie New Ventures; TECNALIA; Capital Riesgo País Vasco (CRPV); and Seed Capital Bizkaia (SCB) have taken part in the operation.
H2SITE, pioneering deep-tech startup for on-site hydrogen production , has raised €12.5m in a Series A funding round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), with the participation of Equinor Ventures, ENGIE New Ventures, TECNALIA and institutional investors from the Basque Country; Capital Riesgo País Vasco (CRPV) and Seed Capital Bizkaia (SCB).
The funding will accelerate the scale up of H2SITE membrane reactors and membrane separation technologies to obtain fuel cell purity hydrogen from ammonia or methanol cracking, or enable hydrogen transportation in existing natural gas infrastructure. H2SITE will also increase its membrane manufacturing capabilities, operating a world-unique membrane manufacturing plant in the north of Spain.
“While much focus is given to hydrogen generation cost reduction, less attention is given to reduction of hydrogen transport cost. Transporting hydrogen is a complex task, as it is a small molecule that is difficult to contain. The current compression, storage, decompression and transport solutions are both economically and environmentally inefficient,” says Andrés Galnares, CEO of H2SITE.
TECNALIA, technology developer
TECNALIA, Spain’s largest private research centre, and the Technical University of Eindhoven (TUe) realised that 13 years ago and developed advanced membrane reactors. They combine special membranes one-process-step reactors to produce low-cost renewable hydrogen. ENGIE’s R&D entity CRIGEN contributed to the development of the commercial version of the reactor. Intellectual property was transferred to H2SITE to commercialise and develop the technology.
H2SITE has since developed these on-site hydrogen generation units. Long-lasting double-skin inorganic membranes, integrated into process units, can both crack hydrogen carriers and separate the hydrogen from blends in natural gas infrastructure or purify it in specialised hydrogen infrastructure.
“Hydrogen is a promising pathway to decarbonise many parts of the economy, but transporting it remains one of the biggest challenges. H2SITE has developed a solution that solves the transportation issue and will change the game for how quickly hydrogen can be deployed in already established pipelines which in turn could save billions of dollars in infrastructure costs,” says Carmichael Roberts of Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Commercial and sustainable growth
H2SITE has shown strong commercial traction in 2021 and 2022. It has recently been awarded projects to transform ammonia into H2 for the bus fleet in Birmingham (England), biogas into H2 for hydrogen refuelling stations in Spain and France, as well as several separation projects from H2/natural gas blends in the gas transport infrastructure that are under construction
“As an early investor from the very beginning of H2SITE journey, ENGIE New Ventures showed its commitment to the development of a promising and versatile technology to scale up sustainable and efficient solutions for industry and mobility needs. This support materialised also through ENGIE developing some commercial projects in H2 refuelling stations using H2SITE technology”, says Johann Boukhors, Managing Director of ENGIE New Ventures.
According to BNEF’s New Energy Outlook 2021, the “green scenario” will require 1,300 metric tons of H2 to reach net-zero. If only 10% is separated or transported with H2 carriers at an average cost of 0.5 USD/kg, the market size in 2050 will exceed 50 billion USD/year in 2050. H2SITE allows access to these separation costs as of today and will reduce them even further in the future.
“Equinor has high ambitions for clean hydrogen and Equinor Ventures invests in technologies that support the development of novel hydrogen value chains,”says Gareth Burns, Director of Equinor Ventures. “H2Site has developed innovative technologies that enable the use of existing natural gas infrastructure to bring clean hydrogen to end users. These solutions have a potential for direct application within Equinor’s future hydrogen projects and I look forward to seeing the technology further developed and deployed”, he adds.
“H2SITE is a unique combination of excellent research, mostly funded by the European Commission framework programmes resulting in a state-of-the-art membrane reactor technology developed by TECNALIA and TUe; a purposeful entrepreneurial “A Team”; some of the best smart capital in the realm of decarbonisation in the world, topped with strong public support with the participation of sovereign funds of the Basque region, CRPV and Bizkaia region, SCB in the funding round; resulting in a gazelle that massively incorporates top talent and anchors a regional supply chain. This is the kind of deep-tech venture building endeavour that TECNALIA Ventures fosters, aimed at unfolding the potential Europe has to lead the global decarbonisation challenge”, says Asier Rufino, CEO of TECNALIA Ventures and Chairman of H2SITE.
The news is covered by the media
- Bloomberg: Bill Gates-Led Fund Backs Startup With Cheaper Way to Move Hydrogen
- Expansión: H2SITE levanta 12,5 millones para escalar su tecnología de hidrógeno (H2SITE raises €12.5m to scale up hydrogen technology)
- El Referente: H2SITE levanta 12,5 millones para escalar su tecnología de hidrógeno (H2SITE raises €12.5m to scale up membrane reactor technology)
