Clean energy startup Koloma Inc. has raised $245.7 million, according to a Feb. 9 Form D filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Based in Denver but with a lab in Columbus, Koloma first emerged from stealth mode in July. It aims to find plentiful hydrogen in deep underground rocks and extract it without creating more greenhouse gases.
The startup licenses technology from Ohio State University that was developed by its CTO Tom Darrah, a professor of earth sciences who now works for Koloma full-time.
"Vast stores of hydrogen are present beneath the earth's surface. Koloma has developed the technology to identify, access and produce geologic hydrogen, resulting in clean, cost-effective energy worldwide," according to the startup's website.
Koloma did not respond to a request for comment from Colorado Inno by publication time. Typically companies do not comment on still-open funding rounds.
"We are actively engaged in exploration and are appraising assets that will play a significant role in U.S. decarbonization efforts," Koloma says on its website. "As the rapidly emerging geologic hydrogen industry takes shape, Koloma's data-driven approach will power the discovery of geologic hydrogen resources around the world."
The startup was incorporated in Dublin but is headquartered in Denver along Grant Street, Colorado Inno has reported. On its website, Koloma lists two field-based positions based in Columbus and an engineering technician role in Denver.
The recent $245.7 million comes as equity and an "option, warrant or other right to acquire another security," according to the filing. The funding comes from 19 investors.
Koloma has raised approximately $337 million since March 2022, per SEC filings.
According to its website, Koloma is backed by the likes of Amazon, United Airlines, Breakthrough Energy, Energy Impact Partners, PIVA, Evoke Innovations and others.
The company was a Columbus Inno Startup to Watch for 2023. The combined $91 million it had raised over several tranches was reported as the largest fundraising for a Columbus-area startup last year, although the company had chosen Denver for its HQ by then.
