GeoPura has secured £22m ($29m) to manufacture and deploy over 3,600 hydrogen power units (HPUs) by 2033 as part of a renewable fuel infrastructure expansion.
The latest investment round represents the “first major” asset-backed debt funding announcement by a green hydrogen company in the UK. The debt funding was secured from a panel of bank and non-bank financial institutions including BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, HSBC UK and Siemens Financial Services.
The financing round follows £56m ($75m) in February 2024 and £36m ($48m) in Series A funding in February 2023, bringing its total capital raised to £114m ($152m) over the last two years.
GeoPura welcomed investment from Siemens Energy, General Motors Ventures, Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, Swen Capital Partners and the UK Infrastructure Bank.
“Securing this debt funding is a pivotal milestone in our journey to build a global fleet of over 3,600 HPUs, which will require over £2.5bn in capital over the next decade,” explained Derek Bulmer, CEO of GeoPura.
“This funding will not only accelerate our expansion but also drive significant reductions in carbon emissions and improve local air quality while contributing directly to the UK’s Net Zero targets.”
Eric Gandemer, CEO at BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions UK, said, “By supporting innovative solutions like GeoPura’s hydrogen generators, we are not just financing assets but also investing in a sustainable future.
“By providing tailored financial solutions, we enable businesses to adopt these technologies and lead the way in the global energy transition.”
Over the past year, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) has used GeoPura’s HPUs to power vehicles a five key locations, resulting in a combined total of approximately 120,000 miles travelled.
Read more:UK MOD logs 120,000 miles with GeoPura’s hydrogen generators
Additionally, EKFB agreed to deploy GeoPura HPUs at two of its high-speed train (HS2) construction sites in Aylesbury, the UK.
Read more: EKFB extends the use of GeoPura HPUs at HS2 construction sites
Operation off-grid: Introducing hydrogen to defence applications
While hydrogen is widely viewed as a key part of the decarbonisation puzzle, its benefits beyond its carbon-reducing potential attract a broader church of prospective end users.
Regularly across the pages of H2 View, readers will have seen calls from policymakers and industry to see hydrogen’s benefits used to bolster energy security, against an ever-strained geo-political backdrop.
In the military context, Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt) Richard Griffiths, Project Lead for the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Strategic Command, told H2 View, that the MOD was viewing hydrogen as a potential energy vector that could compliment operational output, reducing diesel dependency.
“Whether it’s in the UK or, importantly, overseas, because every time you use diesel you have to establish a supply chain for that diesel,” he explained.
It comes as part of the MOD’s Defence Operational Energy Strategy, which looks at the use of alternative fuels while maintaining or even improving operational effectiveness.
“So, if we can actually make fuel ourselves, we become less dependent on supply chains which can become difficult in times of conflict with the goal to become self-sufficient.”
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