EDP makes first investment in hydrogen through startup HySiLabs

• French startup is developing an innovative model for safe transportation and storage of hydrogen.
• EDP Ventures, EDP’s corporate VC, participated in international Series A funding round, led by Equinor Ventures, with €2 millions.

It is EDP first investment in a startup that works with hydrogen: in a Series A funding round completed this month, EDP Ventures invested two million euros in HySiLabs, a company based in France that is developing a simpler and more economical method for the safe transportation and storage of hydrogen. EDP Ventures is the corporate venture capital of EDP’s group, of which EDP Renewables is part.

EDP believes that renewable hydrogen will be a key enabler for the energy transition and aims to be an active agent in its development on a global scale. While focusing on its production, EDP see Hysilabs´ technology as an innovative booster for the creation of a renewable hydrogen market worldwide.

The innovation created by this startup lies in the unique process created to lock hydrogen molecules into a silica-based liquid carrier, from which it can then be released on demand. Early tests have shown very positive results, demonstrating that the transport is stable, and that hydrogen can be safely stored in infrastructure with the right pressure and temperature conditions.

In this model, the molecule requires energy to lock hydrogen in the carrier, but none to release it, which is a significant difference to current solutions. In a future where hydrogen production is expected to be shipped to power centres, this ability to release hydrogen without an energy cost offers huge potential.

In addition to EDP Ventures, the funding operation led by Equinor Ventures included the European Innovation Council Fund and PLD Automobile, as well as the support from investors Kreaxi, Région Sud Investissement and CAAP Création – in total, this Series A round added up to a total value of €13 million. The funding now achieved will support the development of HySiLabs’ patented technology, which thus aims to address the challenges of hydrogen transport and storage.

Based in Aix-en-Provence in France, HySiLabs was founded in 2015 by Pierre-Emmanuel Casanova (CBO) and Vincent Lôme PhD (CSO). The startup currently has several other industrial pilot projects underway, such as H2Gate with the Port of Amsterdam (industrial-scale hydrogen storage) and QualifHY with Helion Hydrogen Power (integration of HySiLabs solution with fuel cells). HySiLabs also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Vinci Geostock to test underground hydrogen storage. In 2022, the young company was selected in the French Tech Green20 (development program for the 20 most promising French startups in the field of green technology). The €13 million Series A will be completed with additional capital in a second closing planned for February this year.