H2Pro bags investment from ArcelorMittal and Yara
Green hydrogen is one of a small number of tools in the world’s decarbonisation toolbox.
H2Pro has received a US$5 million investment from ArcelorMittal as part of a US$75 million Series B fundraise by H2Pro, with other investors including Temasek, Horizons Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Yara.
The current investment of US$ 75 million comes shortly after the company raised US$ 22 million in the spring of 2021. H2Pro focuses on developing a novel technology that aims to produce green hydrogen in an energy-efficient manner and at competitive costs. Similar to electrolysis, its technology, E-TAC (Electrochemical – Thermally Activated Chemical), uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. However, unlike conventional electrolysis, hydrogen and oxygen are generated separately in different steps – an Electrochemical step and a Thermally Activated Chemical step.
The technology was developed at Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. E-TAC water splitting offers energy efficiency of over 95%, significantly higher than traditional water electrolysis technologies, which typically deliver energy efficiency of around 70%. H2Pro is targeting producing hydrogen at the cost of under US$2/kg by 2023, when its first commercial, a megawatt-scale project is anticipated to move into production, and under US$1/kg by 2030.
ArcelorMittal investment came through its XCarb™ innovation fund, bringing the fund’s total investment commitments to US$180 million since its launch in March 2021. H2Pro is the fifth investment ArcelorMittal has made through its XCarb™ innovation fund. Its previous investment included US$10 million in Heliogen, US$25 million in Form Energy, US$30 million in LanzaTech and committed US$100 million over five years in Breakthrough Energy’s Catalyst program.
