Innovation, Raising capital

Australian electrolyzer firm raises $111m

bp Ventures and Templewater each invested $10m to co-lead the $111.3m Series B round.

May 9, 2024

bp Ventures and Templewater led the recent $111.3 million investment round into Hysata, an Australian electrolyzer company, according to a news release.

The Series B capital raise had backing from existing strategic and financial investors IP Group Australia, Kiko Ventures (IP Group plc’s cleantech platform), Virescent Ventures on behalf of Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Hostplus, Vestas Ventures and BlueScopeX.

The company also welcomed new major strategic and financial investors POSCO Holdings, POSCO E&C, IMM Investment Hong Kong, Shinhan Financial Group, Twin Towers Ventures, Oman Investment Authority’s VC arm IDO and TelstraSuper.

Hysata will use the funding to expand production capacity at its iconic beachside manufacturing facility in Wollongong, New South Wales and further develop its technology as it focuses on reaching gigawatt scale manufacturing.

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Innovation

GE and Shell partner on hydrogen fueling for gas turbines

The focus of the agreement is on hydrogen solutions for B&E class gas turbines used in LNG and power generation applications.

GE Gas Power and Shell Global Solutions have signed an agreement under which GE will develop use of 100% hydrogen as a fuel for gas turbines, according to a press release.

Focus will be on hydrogen solutions for B&E class gas turbines used in LNG and power generation applications.

“Shell’s Blue Hydrogen Process is a leading technology that can deliver the lowest carbon intensity fuel of its kind,” the release states.

GE’s B&E class heavy-duty gas turbines can already operate on 100% hydrogen, emitting up to 25ppm NOx with the use of water in diffusion combustors. As part of this development agreement GE is targeting gas turbine technology with the capability to operate on 100% hydrogen without the use of water while still maintaining NOx emissions.

The new DLN combustor technology is intended to support retrofittable system solutions for low-carbon operation of gas turbines. DLN combustors are efficient and do not use water as a diluent.

The developments to the DLN combustion technology could be installed on either new or existing 6B or 7E gas turbines. This would help reduce carbon emissions in industrial applications and LNG operations, particularly where water usage is challenging.

In extreme climates the B and E Class heavy-duty gas turbines provide power and perform in many duty cycles. These turbines can use more than 50 types of fuel, including hydrogen —and can switch fuels while running under full load.

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November 7, 2022

Project finance, Project news, Raising capital

Nebraska hydrogen outfit raises $300m

Monolith, a developer of clean hydrogen, carbon black and ammonia, has raised $300m in an investment round led by TPG Rise Climate.

Monolith, a developer of clean hydrogen, carbon black and ammonia, has raised $300m, according to a press release.

The investment was led by TPG Rise Climate, the dedicated climate investing strategy of TPG’s global impact investing platform TPG Rise, and joined by Decarbonization Partners, a partnership between BlackRock and Temasek, as co-lead. Additional investment was also received from NextEra Energy Resources, SK, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America and Azimuth Capital Management.

J.P. Morgan Securities and Goldman Sachs acted as placement agents.

The existing investor group, including Azimuth Capital Management, Cornell Capital and Warburg Pincus will retain their majority ownership stake in the company.

Monolith, based in Nebraska, produces essential materials including hydrogen and carbon black through methane pyrolysis. The company says it was the first U.S. manufacturer to produce clean hydrogen using methane pyrolysis at scale.

South Korea’s SK Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding last October with Monolith to produce hydrogen and carbon black in that country. It also generated a collaboration agreement and letter of intent with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company late in 2021.

This latest round of funding will be applied toward further technological development that will offer next generation product capabilities and other corporate-level expansion. It will also enable Monolith’s continued development of a deep backlog of clean hydrogen, ammonia and carbon projects with industry leading partners.

The company also received conditional approval for a more than USD 1bn loan from the Department of Energy Loan Programs Office to expand its production facilities in Nebraska.

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July 14, 2022

M&A, Project news, Raising capital

CleanBay Renewables signs LOI for SPAC takeover

The proposed transaction values CleanBay, a producer of RNG, green hydrogen and controlled-release fertilizer, at $330m.

CleanBay Renewables, a producer of RNG, green hydrogen and controlled-release fertilizer, has signed a letter of intent for a potential business combination with NASDAQ-listed SPAC BurTech Acquisition Corp., according to a news release.

Under the terms of the letter, CleanBay’s existing equity holders would convert 100% of their equity into the combined public company. The proposed transaction values CleanBay at $330m. The BurTech trust account currently holds approximately $294m in cash.

“BurTech expects to announce additional details regarding the proposed business combination when a definitive merger agreement is executed in the second quarter of 2023,” the release states.

CleanBay’s process converts agricultural byproducts into fertilizer. CleanBay’s Chief Executive Officer Donal Buckley said in the release that the company is pursuing new facility developments for that purpose.

“We are excited to partner with CleanBay and believe that access to capital markets will enable CleanBay to commercialize and scale its proprietary and patented processes,” BurTech Chairman and CEO Shahal Khan said in the release. “CleanBay’s ‘shovel-ready projects’ present an attractive investment opportunity for existing and future shareholders.”

The release also highlights Maryland and California state policies to assist in financing such plants and produce RNG, hydrogen and natural fertilizer on an industrial scale.

“With nine identified facilities and eight potential future facilities in the pipeline, we believe that CleanBay will become a significant player in the North American RNG and natural fertilizer market,” Khan said.

According to CleanBay’s management, at full capacity, each CleanBay bioconversion facility can recycle more than 150,000 tons of poultry litter annually. By repurposing a potential source of excess nutrients, each facility can generate more than 750,000 MMBtus of sustainable RNG, 100,000 tons of natural, controlled-release fertilizer, and up to an estimated 1,000,000 tons of CO2 equivalent carbon credits that can be available for monetization in global carbon markets.

As an alternative to renewable natural gas, the facilities can also produce clean hydrogen at an estimated rate of 20,000 tons per year. CleanBay has accumulated proprietary intellectual property covering its conversion process to include trade secrets, a U.S. patent and pending patent applications in the U.S. and Europe.

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February 27, 2023

Innovation, Project news, Raising capital

Exclusive: Advanced Ionics raising $12.5m, seeking pilot project partners

Advanced Ionics, an electrolyzer developer based in the Midwest, is approaching a close on the second tranche of its Series A and is seeking sponsors for pilot projects in Texas and elsewhere.

The company’s Symbiotic electrolyzers use steam by tapping into excess heat from industrial settings, thereby lowering electricity needs for water splitting to 35 kWh per kg, with 30 kWh per kg possible. That compares to industry averages over 50 kWh per kg.

Advanced Ionics, the Milwaukee-based electrolyzer developer, is about six weeks out from closing a second tranche of its Series A and is seeking new partnerships for pilot projects in the US, Chief Commercial Officer Ignacio Bincaz told ReSource.

Bincaz, based in Houston, is working to close the second $12.5m tranche, which is roughly the same size as the first tranche. The company has technical teams in Wisconsin but could build out those as well as commercial capabilities in Houston.

“We just put together our first stack, Generation One, which are 100 square centimeters,” Bincaz said. Generation Two stacks will come later this year, but to get to Generation Three — commercial size, producing between 7 and 16 tons per day — the company will have to conduct a Series B about one year from now.

“For that, we need to hit certain benchmarks on durability of a stack,” he said. “The money will go toward scaling up and getting the data expected by investors to get us to Series B.”

Aside from equity provisions, Advanced Ionics is looking for sponsors for pilots and related studies, Bincaz said. “There’s different ways that we’re looking for collaboration.”

Between 2027 and 2028 the company expects to have commercial-size Generation Three stacks in the market.

Pilot projects

Advanced Ionics has two pilot projects in development with Repsol Foundation and Arpa-E (US Department of Energy), respectively.

The Repsol project is a Generation One development producing 1 kilogram per day, Bincaz said. The government project will be the first Generation Two project.

Another pilot is in development with a large energy company that Bincaz declined to name. The company is also exploring pilot projects with bp, which is an investor in the company.

After four or so pilot projects of ascending scale, the company will look to do its first industrial-scale project using real process heat or steam, integrated into a hydrogen-use process like ammonia manufacturing or chemical refining.

“We’re talking to companies in Asia, companies in Europe, companies in the US,” he said, specifically naming Japan and Singapore. “I’m in early conversations.”

Advanced Ionics’ first tranche Series A was led by bp ventures, with participation from Clean Energy Ventures, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and GVP Climate.

April 5, 2024

exclusive

Innovation, Raising capital, Regulatory

Ammonia-to-industrial heat provider raising early-stage capital

An early-stage technology provider targeting clients in hard-to-abate industries is engaging investors and financial advisors to raise a seed round, with sites on a Series A in 2025.

Captain Energy, a Houston-based provider of ammonia-to-industrial heat technology, is seeking strategic investors for an early-stage seed round with plans for an eventual Series A, co-founder and interim-CEO Kirk Coburn said in an interview.

The company is developing a single-step process that can create industrial heat from cracked ammonia up to 700 degrees Celsius with zero NOX emissions, with hydrogen as a byproduct, Coburn said. The process uses a ceramic-based tubular solid oxide fuel cell that Captain manufactures in Dundee, Scotland.

“The results from the testing are that we’re 85% efficient,” Coburn said.

He likened the company to Amogy, but serving steel, cement and chemicals instead of transportation. Getting the kind of high-quality heat those industries need in a clean way can only come from a few sources, he noted.

“Ammonia is one of the greatest ways to do it if you can crack it efficiently like we can,” he said.

Past lab

The company is “past the lab stage” and needs to develop a pilot product to showcase to customers, Coburn said. About $5m will get the company to a 100-kilogram-per-day product, up from 25 kilograms now.

“That’s not, probably, big enough for most customers, but we can stack them,” Coburn said. “At this point we need to demonstrate commercially the product… after showcasing it we want to make larger units.”

Captain is owned by three co-founders, including Coburn. They have an 18-month line of site on a “much larger” Series A, Coburn said.

Strategic investors that would be end users of the technology are of interest to the company, particularly in Asian and European markets.

“We’re not getting in the game of making ammonia,” Coburn said. “We have to buy green ammonia.”

The company’s model is at “grid-parity” in Europe now, Coburn said, pointing to Germany in particular.

“We think we’re almost at subsidy-free pricing,” he said.

November 2, 2023

exclusive

M&A

Gas-fired peaker sale touts hydrogen blend potential

An equity process for 25% ownership of a California peaker plant includes plans to blend up to 30% hydrogen as part of the sales pitch, according to a teaser.

An opportunity to acquire 25% of the Sentinel Energy Center in California includes decarbonization initiatives like blending 30% hydrogen and installation of on-site battery storage, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Project Oasis is being run by CIBC, the sources said. Voltage Finance, an entity managed by Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, is exploring the sale of its 25% indirect equity interest in the 850 MW generating facility in Riverside County.

The facility has more than 75% of its capacity contracted through 2027, according to a teaser seen by ReSource. The potential to execute a long-term green hydrogen offtake contract on several of Sentinel’s turbines is being evaluated.

“Sentinel is pursuing the implementation of hydrogen blending capabilities and has advanced the engineering and design through an agreement with a global OEM with beta testing expected in Q1 2025,” the document states.

Sentinel is also co-located with 15 MW of battery storage.

Guggenheim and CIBC did not respond to requests for comment.

Diamond Generating holds a 50% stake in Sentinel. The remaining 25% interest is owned by California-based fund manager Climate Adaptive Infrastructure (CAI), which bought its stake from Partners Group last year.

June 29, 2023