AUSTIN, Texas – For those of you new to the topic, hydrogen is the lube that greases the gears of the modern industrial society and its food systems. Hydrogen is the foundational input for fuels, fertilizers, refinery operations, pharmaceuticals, toiletries, health drinks, and more.
In terms of the global supply chain, though, hydrogen is the opposite of healthy. The main source of hydrogen is natural gas, with coal and other fossil inputs coming in second.
Green hydrogen is a new development on the scene, having been made possible by the falling cost of wind and solar power since the early 2000s.
Green hydrogen is produced by electrolysis systems that jolt hydrogen gas from water with an electrical current. Sustainably speaking, that makes zero sense if the electricity comes from a conventional grid mix larded with fossil resources. However, green hydrogen purists emphasize that only renewable energy is to be used.
The technology behind electrolysis has been known for over 200 years, but it lay dormant in the hydrogen supply chain all this time while fossil fuels dominated. With low-cost renewables comes the opportunity for innovators to attract investor dollars with better, faster, cheaper electrolysis systems.
That’s where the billion-dollar unicorn comes in. Last week, a US startup called Electric Hydrogen raised $380 million in a Series C round of funding on the basis of building a better electrolyzer. That raised the company’s valuation over the $1 billion bar, earning it the title of the industry’s first unicorn from The Wall Street Journal (paywall alert).
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