Another Houston hydrogen and syngas production company has received investment after expanding its footprint in the Bayou City.
Utility Global Inc. filed a Form D with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 24 announcing the raise of $48.2 million in new equity funding. According to the filing, the company is seeking to raise over $120 million in funding. A spokesperson told the Houston Business Journal that as the round was still being completed, the company could not comment on what the money would be used for.
The funding round comes after several partnership announcements for the company, but it also demonstrates the continued interest in waste gas-to-hydrogen conversion technology for investors. Houston has seen several companies exploring hydrogen conversion receive millions in funding.
Utility Global produces hydrogen using several installations, the H2Gen and the AM2H2, which convert waste gas and ammonia respectively into hydrogen. The technology is aimed at several industrial sectors where decarbonization is difficult, such as the steelmaking industry.
The company’s decision to search for more funding follows expansions both in Texas and elsewhere. A year ago, Utility Global opened its new office space at 15721 Park Row in the Energy Corridor, which doubled the company’s Texas office space and allowed it to expand manufacturing capabilities. That expansion followed a successful pilot test of its technology, which was completed in February.
Utility Global last raised an equity round in 2022, closing a $25 million Series B round. Among the investors in that round were Saudi Aramco and Houston-based private equity firm Ara Partners. According to the company's Crunchbase profile, it has raised $81.3 million to date in funding rounds, including the May 24 Form D.
Meanwhile, Utility Global moved into a new lab space in Denver around the same time as its Houston expansion. Claus Nussgruber, CEO of Utility Global, told the Denver Business Journal, the HBJ’s sister publication, that Denver provided electrochemical expertise that it couldn’t find in Houston.
“It’s about great ideas by bright people, but it’s also about having the people turn things into practical reality,” Nussgruber said.
In commercial deals, the company previously said it was building a conversion system for Canadian company Stelco and announced a hydrogen partnership in December with an undisclosed South Korean company. Utility Global declined to comment on the company’s identity when contacted by the HBJ.
Another Houston company converting waste products to fuels and feedstocks, Cemvita, spun out its hydrogen production business into a new company, Gold H2, this month. Gold H2 also raised some funds with $6.5 million closed as of early May, and former NextEra Energy Resources leader Prabhdeep Singh Sekhon joined the company as its new CEO.
Houston’s leaders have cast eyes on an abundant hydrogen economy, with a consortium of nonprofits, industry and academia winning funding from the Department of Energy to create a network of projects across the Gulf Coast known as the HyVelocity Hub.
The Center for Houston’s Future, which is involved in the HyVelocity project, was also part of the effort that brought the European aerospace giant Airbus to Houston for one of its first North American hydrogen studies last week.
