The quest for white hydrogen as a potential source of clean fuel for the energy transition is going to the next level.
What’s happening:
- Geologic hydrogen startup Koloma has raised $246M in a new round of financing
- The round saw participation from multiple large companies and legendary venture capital funds including Amazon, Khosla Ventures and United Airlines
The big idea:
- White hydrogen, which is also often referred to as geologic hydrogen, is formed by reactions between rock in the Earth’s subsurface and water
- White hydrogen comes from iron-rich source rocks, as opposed to carbon-rich source rocks which are responsible for oil and gas
- Because of this, white hydrogen can be produced with low carbon intensity, no external water inputs and minimal surface disruption
- When combined with a fuel cell, white hydrogen has the potential to power electrical grids, provide heat and propel vehicles
Why it matters:
- Koloma is one of the most well funded companies in the world pursuing the production of white hydrogen at scale and could unlock significant breakthroughs in the clean energy space if they are able to successfully extract geologic hydrogen from the Earth without creating greenhouses gases in the process
Going deeper:
- Bill Gate’s venture capital fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures has been one of the earliest backers of Koloma
- The United States Department of Energy previously gave Koloma a grant to accelerate locating natural white hydrogen deposits and develop new methods to stimulate production of white hydrogen underground
By the numbers:
- Koloma has raised $350M USD in total venture capital funding since inception
The intrigue:
- Koloma leverages technology from extracting white hydrogen that was first incubated at Ohio State University
