- The new company, H2SITE, to be located in Bizkaia province (Spain), is the result of a partnership between TECNALIA, ENGIE Group headquartered in Paris and the Eindhoven University of Technology (TUe). It marks the first time ENGIE New Ventures, one of the world’s leading funds in the utilities sector, invests in a start-up in Spain
- The main innovation of H2SITE lies in developing technology for small and medium-scale distributed hydrogen production, whereby high purity and low-cost hydrogen is produced using advanced membrane reactors
ENGIE, through its corporate venture capital arm ENGIE New Ventures, announces its strategic investment in H2SITE.
Headquartered in Bilbao, Spain, H2SITE is a spinoff created by Tecnalia research and technology center and Eindhoven University of Technology. It aims at commercializing a membrane reactor-based system able to produce high purity hydrogen, on customer’s premises, from various hydrogen carriers such as methane in particular biomethane and ammonia, etc.
The H2SITE technology platform aims at addressing the issue of decentralized production, transport and storage of hydrogen with a compact and cost-effective on-site solution, and is based on a one-step industrial process combining membranes in a reactor. This disruptive technology was identified and assessed by ENGIE through diverse collaborative research projects.
In addition to a minority investment in the capital of H2SITE, ENGIE, through its research center ENGIE Lab CRIGEN, has forged an R&D cooperation partnership with Tecnalia and Eindhoven University of Technology to further develop emerging applications of this technology contributing to transition towards carbon neutrality. Indeed, hydrogen is an essential component of the energy transition, that meets many needs such as in mobility, energy storage, and industrial applications.
Shankar KRISHNAMOORTHY, Executive Vice President of ENGIE said :
“Our investment in H2SITE lies at the heart of the energy transition that ENGIE is leading in particular by fostering and participating in the development of a market for hydrogen. We are pleased with this new research cooperation that will enable to unlock the full potential of a versatile and promising technology, and to scale up sustainable and efficient solutions for industry and mobility needs”
Iñaki SAN SEBASTIAN, CEO of Tecnalia said :
“H2SITE is the result of deep-tech venture building at pan-European level, combining: breakthrough R&D capabilities at University, Research and Technology Organization and Corporate level with ENGIE’s smart capital together with a top extended entrepreneurial team. Hydrogen is core to Tecnalia´s focus on zero-carbon solutions”
Source: Engie
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