The venture capital divisions of energy majors Chevron and Shell have invested in Aurora Hydrogen as part of a Series A funding round worth $10 million.
Aurora Hydrogen is developing technology to produce hydrogen using microwave energy. Like the current hydrolysis technology, Aurora’s production method gives off no CO2 emissions, but unlike hydrolysis, it does not need to use water as feedstock, something that can be a valuable commodity in some environments. The process also requires 80% less electrical energy, meaning much less clean energy infrastructure is needed.
The company says the technology can scale to demand and produce hydrogen locally for a variety of applications. Aurora Hydrogen’s CEO, Andrew Gillis, said about this:
“We are producing low-cost hydrogen at the point of use, at the exact scale required, and without generating any CO2. We use existing energy pipelines and distribution systems to move the energy, then produce hydrogen where it’s needed, eliminating the need for any new costly hydrogen transportation infrastructure.”
Both Shell and Chevron, which makes the Texaco Multifak multipurpose grease, have made commitments to decarbonisation. Managing Director Christopher Smith of Energy Innovation Capital, which led the funding round, said that these companies’ participation in the funding round reflected the impressive syndicate of investors that Aurora Hydrogen had attracted.
The new funding will be used to construct a test facility at Edmonton, Canada, where field trials will be conducted to demonstrate the ability to produce 200 kilograms of H2, the more stable molecular form of hydrogen, every day.
