Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has invested in a Colorado-based natural hydrogen start-up, joining Breakthrough Energy, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and United Airlines.
Headquartered in Denver, Koloma is a geologic (natural) hydrogen company planning to use its technology and propriety data to identify and commercialise natural hydrogen globally.
Little is known about the company, which claims to boast a “clean, continuous and cost-effective” method of producing hydrogen, with intentions of “powering the discovery of geologic hydrogen resources around the world.”
Having already raised $245m in Series B funding, the undisclosed investment by MHI is hoped to “maximise the positive impact geologic hydrogen can have as a new clean primary energy source,” according to Koloma CEO, Pete Johnson.
“We are excited to welcome MHI to the Koloma family,” Johnson said. “We look forward to collaborating and innovating together to drive progress in this field and in the broader energy transition.”
Formed by natural processes inside the Earth’s crust through processes such as serpentinisation and iron oxidation, natural hydrogen can accumulate in underground reservoirs and has been coined as a low-cost alternative to clean hydrogen production.
Read more:Is natural hydrogen the next breakthrough or bust?
While fossil fuel-based grey hydrogen costs less than $2/kg on average, many anticipate natural hydrogen costs, depending on deposit purity and depth, to be around $1/kg, according to Rystad Energy.
In March, it was estimated that 40 companies were searching for natural hydrogen deposits at the end of 2023, up from just 10 in 2020.
“Building a hydrogen solution ecosystem is one of the core strategies in the energy transition business for MHI,” said the Japanese industrial major’s President and CEO, Takajiro Ishikawa.
“In MHI’s role as a value chain solutions provider, we are aiming to accelerate the hydrogen economy by both offering cutting-edge technologies and enabling breakthrough innovations in the hydrogen space through investments into startups.”
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