U.S.-based startup Electric Hydrogen, which uses technology to enable cost-effective green hydrogen, has raised $198 million in a Series B funding.
The company, which is headquartered on the outskirts of Boston, designs plants that can extract hydrogen from water with renewable power without releasing CO2 into ambient air. Hydrogen is used in either turbines or fuel cells and has the potential to help decarbonize hard-to-abide industries.
Unlike other companies such as Bloom Energy Corp. and Cummins Inc., which produce machines – known as electrolyzers – that extract H2, Electric Hydrogen provides the entire plant. That makes the technology both cheaper and more effective, said Electric Hydrogen’s CEO Raffi Garabedian. The plants, which are not yet deployed, will require 100 megawatts of power and have the potential to generate 48 tons of hydrogen daily, depending on the electricity source.
“We’re able to condense all the infrastructure into a much smaller footprint, and that reduces the cost,” Garabedian said.
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The series B funding round was led by Fifth Wall Climate Technology Fund and included S2G Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, Trinity Capital, Honeywell International Inc., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, Rio Tinto Plc, and Equinor’s venture arm.
An experienced professional in the field of sustainability, Garabedian used to be the CTO of U.S. solar panels manufacturer First Solar Inc. Looking back at the earlier days and the heavy reliance on subsidies back then, Garabedian said eventually subsidies will disappear, and cost competitiveness will be the thing that matters the most.
“That withdrawal leaves a lot of carnage in its wake, and I think the same thing’s going to happen here,” he said.
Earlier this year, the Biden administration issued a conditional commitment for up to $504.4 million in debt financing for the creation of the world’s largest green hydrogen hub in Delta, Utah.
Read more: Four States Unite To Take Part In The Federal Hydrogen Hub Competition
