Modern Hydrogen, a clean energy company focused on hydrogen production, recently raised $32.8 million in an oversubscribed Series B-2 funding round.
The funding was led by NextEra Energy and included strategic investors and partners such as Miura and National Grid Partners, along with existing investors. Modern Hydrogen will use the investment to scale-up its hydrogen production units and expand its clean carbon material offerings while boosting its global market presence.
The company’s technology focuses on producing clean hydrogen from natural gas at the point of use, without the need for new hydrogen pipelines or massive infrastructure upgrades. The participation of strategic investors highlights their confidence in Modern Hydrogen’s vision and potential to help decarbonize one of the largest sources of energy in human civilization today: natural gas.
Daisuke Miyauchi, President & CEO of Miura Co., explained that among various hydrogen production and transportation pathways, clean hydrogen production at the point of use from natural gas is unique, and with their hydrogen-fired boiler, it will be a great solution for customers who have limited access to clean hydrogen in other pathways.
National Grid’s Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, Lisa Lambert, explained that hydrogen plus renewable natural gas are key pillars of their net-zero strategy, and Modern’s technology could help their gas customers adopt clean hydrogen sooner by making low-CO2 hydrogen affordable onsite. Moreover, by pairing Modern’s pyrolysis technology with renewable natural gas in National Grid’s network, they have the potential to achieve negative emissions without the high cost of CO2 capture.
Modern Hydrogen’s Co-founder and CEO, Tony Pan, noted that with 3 million miles of natural gas pipelines in the USA alone and the delivered price of natural gas much cheaper than delivered electricity, their technology can deliver decarbonized gas (clean hydrogen) on location. By stripping out the carbon atom from gas at the end of the pipe, before it has a chance to become CO2, Modern’s technology can deliver hydrogen to the end consumer, without the decades and billions of dollars it would take to build out hydrogen infrastructure.
In addition, Modern Hydrogen’s Co-founder and CTO, Max Mankin, explained that they can generate net negative emissions by applying their pyrolysis technology on carbon-neutral gases such as biogas. The solid carbon they pull out from the gas is directly weighed, so every ton of solid carbon they put into products and building materials is verifiable emissions captured, avoided, and utilized.
Overall, Modern Hydrogen’s technology and recent funding raise have the potential to accelerate the decarbonization of gas networks and support distributed production of hydrogen, all without a reliance on new hydrogen pipelines or massive infrastructure upgrades. However, the company may face challenges such as scaling up its technology and competing with other hydrogen production methods. Nonetheless, the involvement of strategic investors and partners underscores the growing interest in clean hydrogen and the potential of Modern Hydrogen’s unique approach.
