In the presence of Ismail Ertug, Member of the European Parliament and rapporteur in the Transport Committee, today German hydrogen fuelling station startup H2 Mobility raised a €110 million investment round. The round was provided by Hy24, which claims to be the world’s largest clean hydrogen infrastructure investment platform, alongside significant investments from existing industrial shareholders.
Next to Hy24 managed fund, Air Liquide, Daimler Truck, Hyundai, Linde, OMV, Shell, and TotalEnergies contributed to the capital raise.
300 stations by 2030
The investment will be used to upgrade the existing network and build new stations to meet the rising hydrogen demand for commercial and intensive use vehicles. Further, Hy24 will invest €70m alongside H2 Mobility’s existing shareholders, investing together with a further €40m. Hy24 will execute the investment through the Clean H2 Infra Fund, which is to date the world’s largest hydrogen fund.
H2 Mobility‘s hydrogen refuelling stations already operate over 90 stations across Germany. It 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 decarbonise, and hydrogen-powered vehicles offer the best solution, as they can refuel quickly and cover long distances without sacrificing payload.
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.
In a sign of the existing demand for hydrogen vehicles, many of the company’s new projects will be developed hand-in-hand with off-takers, public authorities, and fleet operators – guaranteeing baseline offtake for the stations and a significant step towards a profitable and self-sustained refuelling network.
H2 Mobility Deutschland with its 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 marks the first such move by any international investment fund into the hydrogen mobility space – and it will seek to use its leading industrial and financial expertise to support the business case for the sector, helping it to profitably achieve sustainability goals.
Nikolas Iwan, Managing Director of H2 Mobility: “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!”
Pierre-Etienne Franc, the CEO of Hy24, said: “H2 Mobility Deutschland is leading the way in developing the necessary European infrastructure for zero-carbon intensive, and heavy mobility. Hydrogen will enable this segment to shift away from fossil fuels – and so 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. 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.”
Dr. Volker Wissing, Federal Minister of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV): “Thanks to the excellent combination of private-sector commitment and government funding, Germany now has a leading role that is much respected internationally and the largest network of hydrogen refuelling stations in the world. We don’t want to rest on our laurels, but work together to press ahead with the deployment of hydrogen refuelling stations. Our efforts are focussing primarily on commercial vehicles and the electrification of heavy-duty transport, where we still see great potential for climate change mitigation.”
— Press release
