Electrolyser maker H2Pro eyes USD-250m opportunity with Sumitomo

H2Pro Ltd has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Corp (TYO:8053) under which they will collaborate on the piloting of the Israeli cleantech firm’s electrolyser technology and possibly on the subsequent deployment of hundreds of megawatts of capacity.

More specifically, the partnership could eventually lead to the installation of up to 500 MW of H2Pro's electrolysers by 2030 and thus generate an estimated USD 250 million (EUR 233m) in revenues.

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A news release from earlier this month says that Sumitomo and its partners will assist H2Pro in piloting its technology and will supply it with manufacturing equipment. In return, the Japanese group will receive data to support the strategic planning for its pipeline of green hydrogen projects.

Sumitomo’s idea is to use H2Pro's electrolysers primarily for the production of green ammonia. It hopes to incorporate the technology by the second half of the decade in order to achieve a daily production of several hundred tonnes of green hydrogen.

Backed by Sumitomo itself and Bill Gates’ climate fund, among others, Caesarea-based H2Pro is developing a green hydrogen production method that differs from traditional electrolysis. Called E-TAC, which stands for Electrochemical - Thermally Activated Chemical, this method uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen in separate steps. As a result of the time-separating generation, the system does not require the use of a costly membrane and has significantly lower power consumption needs. According to H2Pro, it is over 95% efficient and cost-competitive with fossil-fuel hydrogen.

"From pilot system deployment to the eventual integration of our commercial class system into their pipeline, we will benefit tremendously from Sumitomo's operations expertise and diverse industrial experience,” H2Pro’s CEO Talmon Marco said in a statement when announcing the MoU.

In November, it was announced that Moroccan renewables developer Gaia Energy considers using the E-TAC technology on a gigawatt scale.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.933)