Bill Gates backs start-up for hydrogen storage & transportation

The following Bloomberg article looks at a Bill Gates backed investment in the hydrogen mobility space.

Read the full article here.

Below are our key takeaways from the article:

• A key part of having hydrogen form part of the global energy mix is to find a way to store and transport it effectively.
  
• Spanish startup H2Site is aiming to do this and just secured €12.5M in investments from Bill Gates-led Breakthrough Energy Ventures, French utility Engie SA and Norwegian oil giant Equinor ASA.
  
• Current existing methods to store and transport hydrogen are expensive, especially when compared to gas storage/transportation.
  
• H2Site aims to find technological solutions to use existing natural-gas pipelines to move hydrogen by diluting natural gas with ~30% hydrogen before being recovered using H2SITE’s filter where it needs to be consumed. The process would use a palladium alloy with the aim of filtering hydrogen at 99.9% purity from a pipe carrying between 5% and 30% hydrogen.
  
• Another technology being focused on is transportation via ships within ammonia and methanol. The aim being that projects like the ones in Australia where hydrogen is converted into ammonia then transported using ships could then have hydrogen recovered by undoing the chemical reaction after shipping is completed.

In summary, the article speaks to the volume of capital pouring into the downstream technologies that are required to build up a sound and efficient hydrogen supply chain.

For hydrogen to become a part of the energy mix the infrastructure required to produce, transport and then consume it all needs to be developed to the standards of current energy technologies.

With institutional capital and big names like Bill Gates now making investments into the hydrogen space we think it is a matter of WHEN not IF for the hydrogen sector.

Historically, our best performing Investments have come from industries where we have Invested well ahead of institutional capital arriving on the scene. Our Investments in the green hydrogen space are no different.

The following companies held in our Portfolio provide exposure to an industry that we think is on the cusp of exponential growth:

Province Resources (ASX: PRL)

• Feasibility stage, green hydrogen, WA (Australia)

Elixir Energy (ASX: EXR)

• Scoping stage, green hydrogen, Mongolia

Minbos Resources (ASX: MNB)

• Scoping stage, green hydrogen/ammonia, Angola