H2 MOBILITY raises €110 million to upgrade hydrogen refuelling infra in Germany
H2 MOBILITY Deutschland has recently announced a €110 million investment round, led by world's largest clean hydrogen infrastructure investment platform 'Hy24' with €70 million. Other notable investors include Air Liquide, Daimler Truck, Hyundai, Linde, OMV, Shell, and Total Energies.
The company has said that the latest investments will be used to upgrade the existing network of hydrogen refuelling stations, and build new stations to meet rising hydrogen demand for commercial and intensive use vehicles. The investment will be executed by Hy24 through the Clean H2 Infra Fund, which is to date the world's largest hydrogen fund.
H2 MOBILITY is a leading operator of hydrogen refuelling stations in the country with over 90 stations, and intends to use the funding to further expand its network to 300 stations by 2030 – becoming the backbone of zero-carbon private and commercial traffic in Europe.
Of these, over 200 will be large-scale refuelling stations capable of meeting demand for zero-carbon, heavy-duty and long-haul transportation on the European Continent. Heavy mobility is one of the most challenging sectors of the economy to decarbonize, and hydrogen-powered vehicles offer the best solution, as they can refuel quickly and cover long distances without sacrificing payload, claims the company.
The expansion of H2 MOBILITY Deutschland's network will be focused on several high-traffic transportation corridors, giving it a cornerstone role in the future mobility system of the European Union, it further adds.
Nikolas Iwan, Managing Director of H2 MOBILITY, said, "Green Hydrogen will become a game changer on the journey to replace fossil fuels in transport and to reduce our dependency on extracting resources from our planet's surface. I am excited that we can combine the skills of H2 MOBILITY with the significant capital raised in this round to accelerate the transition to green hydrogen in mobility and transport".
The company's track record of building over 50 projects and operating over 90 stations has the institutional knowledge and understanding necessary for practical hydrogen infrastructure development, reinforced by its existing shareholder base of leading energy and mobility players.
Hy24's investment, on the other hand, marks the first such move by any international investment fund into the hydrogen mobility space, and will also seek to use its leading industrial and financial expertise to support the business case for the hydrogen sector.
"Hydrogen is a crucial part of achieving the European Union's Fit-for-55 plans, further reinforced by the recent REPowerEU proposal. Our investment alongside pioneers in this ecosystem also supports the European Commission's efforts to implement the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) to greatly expand the European network of hydrogen refuelling stations", said Pierre-Etienne Franc, the CEO of Hy24.
"It fits perfectly with our ambition to be the catalyst for a hydrogen economy at scale – active across the system and value chain to effect real change for the planet", he added.
