Royal Vopak, Mitsubishi and Covestro helped the Erlangen–Nuremberg hydrogen storage technology spinout collect $19m in funding.
Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies, a Germany-based hydrogen storage tank developer spun out of University of Erlangen–Nuremberg, has attracted €17m ($19m) in a round led by fuel tank supplier Royal Vopak.
Manufacturing conglomerate Mitsubishi and speciality polymer and chemicals supplier Covestro both put up a share of the cash, as did hydrogen fuel-focused venture capital firm AP Ventures, which counts Mitsubishi as an investor.
Founded in 2013, Hydrogenious LOHC has devised a storage technology that enables liquid hydrogen to be safely stored and transported through conventional fuel delivery channels, for purposes such as refuelling and industrial distribution.
Whereas incumbent products utilise either liquefied or compressed hydrogen, Hydrogenious LOHC claims its approach stores hydrogen at ambient temperatures, and with a reduced risk of toxicity, combustibility or explosion.
The capital will help the spinout strengthen its international industrial base, with a view to bringing new projects to market.
Hydrogenious will also tap the expertise of its strategic investors in a bid to make its containers an essential part of hydrogen delivery and enter overseas markets.
Potential future use-cases for its technology include using hydrogen as an intermediary to carry and distribute renewable energy.
Dietrich Firnhaber, head of strategy and portfolio development at Covestro, said: “Affordable and clean energy is a key issue for the chemical industry and we believe hydrogen has the potential to become an important energy vector in the future. We do believe that the LOHC technology is a promising solution for its transportation and storage.”
Hydrogenious LOHC received an undisclosed amount of series A funding in 2014 from mining firm Anglo American Platinum, one of the anchor investors in AP Ventures.
