Insider Brief
- Stargate Hydrogen has secured €42 million in equity and grant financing, led by UG Investments and supported by IPCEI for hydrogen technologies, to advance its innovative electrolyzer technology aimed at reducing green hydrogen production costs to €1 per kilogram.
- Unlike conventional electrolysis methods, Stargate Hydrogen employs a ceramic-based catalyst material that eliminates the need for precious metals while maintaining the reliability of alkaline technology. The company also integrates a system design approach influenced by lithium-ion battery development, improving scalability and cost-efficiency.
- In addition to its financial milestone, Stargate Hydrogen has appointed Skeleton Technologies Founder and CEO Taavi Madiberk as Non-Executive Chairman. His expertise in deep-tech innovation is expected to bolster the company’s strategic expansion and manufacturing scale-up.
PRESS RELEASE – Stargate Hydrogen announces the successful completion of its seed funding round, raising €42 million. This substantial investment, comprising both equity and grant instruments, is designated for the scaling of its patented electrolyzer technology. Stargate Hydrogen’s technology is fundamentally different from other electrolyzers in terms of both materials and the development approach used, allowing to bring down the cost of green hydrogen to 1 Euro per kilogram.
Stargate Hydrogen raises 42 million Euros for scaling up ceramic-based electrolyzers.
The financing round is led by an equity investment by UG Investments and grant financing from IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) framework for hydrogen technologies but also includes other investors and grants. Stargate is proud to be recognized as an IPCEI project and to be part of the hydrogen technology wave that includes industry-leading companies such as Enel Green Power, De Nora, Sunfire and others. The core of Stargate’s IPCEI is complementing reliable and robust alkaline technology with a new form of catalyst material that is inherently more active compared to alternatives available on the market today.
Instead of precious metals, Stargate is using ceramic-based catalyst material that significantly contributes to the reduction in levelized cost of hydrogen, without renouncing the reliability of alkaline technology. Additionally, Stargate has developed its proprietary stack and system design, using a development approach that considers electrolyzer as a battery system, thereby adopting the learnings from the rapid developmental cycles of lithium-ion batteries over the past 15 years.
Stargate Hydrogen is thrilled to announce the appointment of Mr. Taavi Madiberk.
The IP portfolio of Stargate covers all the levels of the system, including materials, electrodes, stack and even control systems of the whole plant. The first installations of Stargate´s electrolyzer technology are already on the field, and offtake customers include Utilitas, one of the largest renewable energy developers in the Baltic Sea region. In tandem with this financing achievement, Stargate Hydrogen is thrilled to announce the appointment of Mr. Taavi Madiberk, the Founder and CEO of Skeleton Technologies, the world’s leading manufacturer of graphene-based supercapacitors, as the company’s Non-Executive Chairman.
With a deep understanding of disruptive innovation, Taavi Madiberk brings invaluable expertise and strategic vision to Stargate Hydrogen’s board. “We are delighted to welcome Taavi Madiberk to our leadership team as Non-Executive Chairman,” remarked Marko Virkebau, CEO of Stargate Hydrogen. “His proven leadership in driving deep-tech advancements will be instrumental in guiding Stargate Hydrogen through its next phase of organizational and manufacturing scale-up.”
Taavi Madiberk also commented on his appointment: “When I first met with the CTO, Dr. Rainer Küngas, I immediately realized that his approach to developing electrolysers is completely different and could be a game-changer on the market. The management team of Stargate has made exceptional progress over the past years and there are already large corporations using their technology. I have been supporting Stargate from the beginning, but I look forward to working with the team even closer now”.
As the global demand for clean, sustainable energy solutions continues escalating, Stargate Hydrogen remains committed to decarbonising the industry by enabling the switch from grey to green hydrogen. The infusion of €42 million in funding, coupled with the appointment of Mr. Madiberk as Non-Executive Chairman, positions Stargate Hydrogen at the forefront of the growing hydrogen economy.
