WATT Fuel Cell has received an investment from Generac Power Systems, a market leader in residential energy technology, according to a press release.
The new investment closes 2022 with growing momentum toward commercial launch of fuel cell-driven power for homeowners. As a part of the transaction, a member from the Generac executive team will join the WATT board of directors.
WATT closed a separate financing round led by EQT Corporation earlier this year, alongside Senvest Management LLC, Park West Asset Management LLC, and Emerald Development Managers LP.
“This partnership with Generac is a major step forward for WATT as we begin addressing the world’s need for clean, reliable and cost-efficient energy sources in an increasingly disruptive marketplace,” said Caine Finnerty, WATT’s president, chief operating officer and founder. “Generac is the market leader in residential backup power, with a proven and growing brand built on the promise of dependable power for homes in the US and beyond. Partnering with and investing in companies with market leading energy-based technologies like WATT will maintain and extend that lead,” he added.
“Generac is excited to join WATT’s existing investor base and looks forward to collaborating with the WATT team towards the integration of this innovative technology into the Generac Home Energy Ecosystem,” said Patrick Forsythe, chief technical officer at Generac. “We assessed the global fuel cell industry and were impressed by the technological advancements the WATT team has made.”
WATT’s Imperium fuel cells make power using an electrochemical process that generates electricity from hydrogen molecules and other electrochemically oxidizable species derived from one of several readily available fuel options such as propane, natural gas, blended natural gas and hydrogen, or hydrogen.
“This investment by Generac further propels the viability of WATT’s fuel cell power generation technology and gives us an exponential boost as we approach our launch into the residential market,” said Rich Romer, CEO of WATT. “In today’s world of rising energy costs, growing disruptions and threats to the reliability of the power grid, and the need to for lower-carbon energy, WATT will help lead the continued drive for technology and innovation to address those issues.”
