H2U Technologies

H2U Technologies produces green hydrogen solutions based on water electrolysis. The company is developing a grid-scale proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, the “Gramme50.” The technology is based on 10 years of R&D funded by the US Department of Energy. H2U uses AI and data-driven processes to identify non-platinum group metals-based (non-PGM) PEM catalysts for use in electrolyzers to produce hydrogen. In October 2022, the company introduced its patented Catalyst Discovery Engine (CDE), which advances the identification of catalyst alternatives to expensive and rare materials like iridium. By June 2023, H2U had successfully scaled this technology to a 200 KW electrolyzer system resulting in, reportedly, the industry’s first commercial-scale non-iridium PEM electrolyzer.

Key customers and partnerships

In March 2022, H2U entered into a joint development agreement (JDA) with De Nora, an Italian developer and supplier of electrodes, to examine the feasibility of non-PGM for green hydrogen production. The company continued its collaboration with De Nora when it announced an R&D agreement to identify and develop low-cost, high-performance electrocatalysts for hydrogen production through water electrolysis in December 2023, using H2U’s proprietary CDE. H2U has also partnered with SoCalGas to conduct pilot testing on its grid-scale PEM electrolyzer “Gramme 50” (G50) in April 2021.

In March 2023, H2U entered into a JDA with Tokyo Gas Co. to discover novel catalysts and develop techniques to apply those catalysts onto membranes, using H2U’s proprietary CDE to lower the cost of PEM electrolyzers.

Funding and financials

H2U most recently raised funding from a Series A round led by Jericho Energy Ventures, raising USD 7 million in the first round in October 2021 and USD 11 million in March 2022. The proceeds were used to develop innovative electrolyzer designs and to build its proprietary CDE by using H2U’s non-PGM PEM electrolysis technology.