Darcy Partners – 2023 Review: Top Innovators in Hydrogen

There’s no shortage of lists to summarize the past year. But here at Darcy, we have a unique data set with activity on Darcy Connect from over 10,000 energy company Connect Users. Our data highlights which innovators gained most attention on Darcy Connect through views, clicks, likes, follows, meetings scheduled, fundings, among others. Combined with analysis from our Research Team about technology developments and market traction, we have selected the Top 10 Innovators from 2023 in each of our coverage channels. This is our way of saying: “these are the innovators that your peers are most interested in, so you should definitely go and learn more about them”. In this article, you will find the Innovators that made it on the list in the category of Hydrogen.

But there is far more detail to dig into than what you’ll find in this article:

• The Innovator names are all linked to their Storefront, where you can find in-depth information on their products, business model, and our Research Team’s opinion; Connect Users are even able to schedule meetings with the Innovators through the “take action” tab on their page.
• Over the next month you will find weekly articles like this with Top 10 lists from our Energy Transition Research Program as we work through the coverage areas of CCUS, Hydrogen, Low Carbon Fuels, and New Energies.
• All articles will be followed by a Darcy Live Event. We will address the State of Innovation: Hydrogen on February 13, 2024.

The Top 10 Darcy Innovators of 2023 in Hydrogen are (in random order):

Hydrogen Production: Hydrocarbon Feedstock

• Modern Hydrogen develops distributed thermal methane pyrolysis technology that takes natural gas from fossil fuels or biogas and, through their thermal process, produces both solid carbon and hydrogen fuel. The company has been working on additional experimentation with their carbon black products for production of concrete and asphalt. The Bothell, Washington based company has raised more than $100 million, with their most recent round in 2023 led by NextEra Energy, with additional partners including Miura, National Grid, Gates Frontier, IRONGREY, Starlight Ventures, and Valo Ventures. In addition to other active projects, Modern made significant progress on their project with midstream gas operator Northwest Natural this year, successfully completing their preliminary acceptance test and delivering their unit for installation.
• STARS Technology Corporation is a Washington based startup developing distributed scale, additively manufactured microchannel Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) technology with advanced heat exchangers. The company is targeting low to negative emission hydrogen production from natural gas or biogas feedstocks. In 2023 they had significant project momentum with SoCalGas and Sunline Transit on their demonstration project, received recognition as a Top Ten new energy tech company at the 2023 Rice Alliance Event, and announced a collaboration with Sugar Valley Energy at SVE’s sugarcane ethanol biorefinery. They also received significant interest as speakers at a 2023 Darcy event, “Turning Blue Hydrogen Green.”

Hydrogen Production: Electrolysis

• Sunfire GmbH is a German company developing alkaline and solid oxide electrolyzers that target industrial applications. In 2023, the company achieved significant milestones, including the launch of serial production for pressurized alkaline electrolysis, receiving a significant funding boost of €169 million for electrolyzer production scaling, and involvement in the Bad Lauchstädt Energy Park, including the construction of a 30MW electrolyzer.
• HydrogenPro develops large scale, standardized high-pressure alkaline electrolyzers with novel electrode design, producing Hydrogen at 15 bar, along with gas-liquid separation units. In 2023, HydrogenPro completed and delivered all 40+ electrolyzers and fuel separation skids for one of the world’s largest hydrogen hubs, the Advanced Clean Energy Storage Hub (ACES Delta). The company also entered a partnership with ANDRITZ to collaborate on scaling up manufacturing and assembly of electrolyzers for the European market.
• Enapter is a German company that develops and manufactures Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) electrolyzers. Their distributed scale, modular systems are used in energy, mobility, industry, heating, and telecommunications applications. In 2023, Enapter set a production record in Q4, delivering more than 1200 electrolyzers to customers, received $10 million in financing, and revealed a large scale production unit in development.
• Electric Hydrogen is a Massachusetts-based company developing an advanced PEM Electrolysis system, including entire balance of plant equipment including shipping, field assembly, commissioning, and warranty in 100MW units. In 2023 they raised $380 million in Series C financing, claiming title of the first $1B green hydrogen startup. Additionally, they announced a new gigafactory for mass manufacturing to lower cost of their systems. They were also selected to equip New Fortress Energy’s plant in Texas, marking a first firm sale of their 100MW system.
• Advanced Ionics is a Wisconsin based developer of a novel high efficiency, mid-temperature water vapor electrolysis method that can use vapor from heavy industry to reduce production costs of green hydrogen. In 2023 they received a large investment by BP and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Clean Energy Ventures, and GVP Climate along with a pilot program with Repsol. This funding is meant to support expansion of production and scaling.

Hydrogen Storage, Transport, Distribution

• Smartpipe Technologies is a company that specializes in fiber reinforced composite pipeline liner technology, with a focus on enabling the transportation of Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide in retrofitted pipelines. In 2023, Smartpipe received investment by Enbridge, achieved significant project momentum in projects related to green hydrogen, underwent testing by the DOE, including a burst test at Savannah River National Laboratory, and received a PHMSA permit for their project with Enbridge.
• Bayotech is a developer of hydrogen production, transportation, and storage solutions. In 2023, Bayotech acquired IGX Group, a company in high pressure, cylinder based Hydrogen storage and delivery equipment and the delivered over 700 high pressure transport and storage systems to manufacturers and distributors. Additionally, they completed their first hydrogen hub in Wentzville, Missouri, with plans to launch two additional hubs in California in 2024, and work on 12 additional sites across the US to meet growing demand as the clean Hydrogen industry expands.

Hydrogen Sensing

• H2Scan is a company that specializes in hydrogen sensing technology, providing advanced solutions for the detection of hydrogen in various applications. In 2023 they were awarded a contract in GRIP projects for real-time Hydrogen measurement in electric grid infrastructure, released their HY-ALERTA 5021 solid state hydrogen monitor and HyView explosion proof process meter, and received significant funding in a partnership with ICON for joint development of an integrated multigas and leak detection sensing unit. They are involved in many Hydrogen projects, including many in R&D, globally.

Written by: Lindsey Motlow

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