MHI Group Undertakes Investment in HydrogenPro of Norway, Leading Producer of Advanced Electrolyzers

Oct 14, 2020 15:33 JST

Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Move Will Contribute to Creation of a Sustainable Society through Hydrogen Energy

- Investment will make MHI an industrial partner supporting HydrogenPro's business expansion
- Strategic collaboration in hydrogen production will strengthen and diversify MHI's hydrogen value chain

TOKYO, Oct 14, 2020 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has made a financial investment in HydrogenPro AS of Norway, a company engaged in the development and manufacture of electrolyzers, devices that produce hydrogen by the process of water electrolysis. MHI subscribed to newly issued shares placed by HydrogenPro in an initial public offering (IPO) undertaken to fund expansion of its business operations. MHI already provides various decarbonization technologies that allow for a realistic path towards net-zero and will form the strategic partnership with HydrogenPro to further expand its portfolio and provide green hydrogen production plants to the market going forward.

HydrogenPro was established in 2013 based in the Norwegian city of Porsgrunn, Telemark County. The history of water electrolysis technology traces back to 1927, when a fertilizer and heavy water plant employing water electrolysis technology was launched in Telemark by Norsk Hydro, a Norwegian state owned conglomerate. HydrogenPro has already developed a 9 megawatt (MW) class hydrogen production system (production capacity: 4.4 tons/day) adopting water electrolysis technology incorporating a pressurized cells with alkaline electrolyte. Plans are now underway toward achieving a 100 MW class plant (capacity: 48 tons/day).

Today, demand is growing for green hydrogen production plants, especially in Europe. France has announced a target of 6.5 gigawatts (GW) in electrolyzer capacity by 2030, Germany is targeting a capacity of 5 GW by 2030, and 10 GW by 2040, while the EU aims at securing 40 GW of renewable hydrogen electrolyzers by 2030.

MHI's investment in HydrogenPro provides further financial stability and long-term certainty for projects utilizing green hydrogen to decarbonize various sectors. MHI's investment in HydrogenPro not only signals its confidence in HydrogenPro's offerings, but more importantly, this investment underscores its confidence in the green hydrogen market which will be supported by a multitude of electrolyzer manufacturers and technologies.

Going forward, MHI will continue to explore technology innovations that will drive decarbonization of industrial sectors including power generation, refinery, fertilizer, steel and transport utilizing hydrogen as fuel, feedstock, or for hydro processing. In parallel with initiatives promoting green hydrogen, MHI will explore the feasibility of hydrogen derived from fossil fuel in combination with CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage) - blue hydrogen - as another approach to decarbonize industries.

Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
Sectors: Alternative Energy, Engineering