Coloma, a startup that aims to lead a new industry based on extracting carbon-free hydrogen from natural underground deposits, It just raised $245.7 million in a funding round that puts it ahead of its competitors In this evolving field of clean energies.
The company revealed the new funds in Power point before the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 9, one day later Obtaining a research grant A US Department of Energy program to improve methods for stimulating underground hydrogen production and elemental fuel recovery. The round was led by Khosla Ventures and included investments from Climate Pledge Fund From Amazon and Sustainable Aviation Fund From United Airlines. They join previous cleantech backers such as Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Bill Gates' Energy Impact Partners, bringing Coloma's total funding to more than $300 million.
“We are extremely grateful to have the support of some of the world’s leading companies and investors in our recent fundraising,” he said. Forbes Paul Haraka, Commercial Director and Co-Founder of Coloma.
The company that Forbes It was removed from its anonymity last year, and is being marketed for extensive research conducted by a geoscientist at Ohio State University Tom Darrah, CTO and Co-Founder. He has spent years studying where pockets of hydrogen are most likely to be found and ways in which technologies developed by the oil and gas industry can be harnessed to capture the resource.
Awareness that hydrogen is generated naturally in underground pockets in the United States and around the world has grown rapidly in the past year. A “lump” of this gas was reportedly found in a mine in Albania Sciences On February 8th.
«It is found on all continents. “The scale of how much there is is very profound,” Darrah said in a 2023 interview. His research lab in Coloma recently moved to The Ohio State University's $49.3 million Energy Innovation and Development Center in Columbus, opening in December 2023.
Hydrogen's flexibility as an energy source – it can be used to reduce carbon emissions, power vehicles and store or manufacture electricity – makes it very attractive. currently, Most industrial hydrogen is made by separating it from natural gas with steamIt is a process that emits carbon dioxide. The new carbon-free “green” hydrogen industry, which uses electrolysis to electrolytically extract the element from water, is a promising but more expensive option. Proponents of geohydrogen believe it will prove to be the cheapest method, given the ability to harness established energy extraction techniques.
“There's a lot more awareness that this opportunity exists in the world and we're seeing more groups following in Coloma's footsteps,” said Andy Luberchan, head of research at Energy Impact Partners, a lead investor in Coloma. “We think they are ahead of the curve and have some unique advantages.”
The Treasury's proposed rules for the new credit, which would provide up to $3 per kilogram of clean, carbon-free hydrogen, include the geological form as well as green hydrogen.
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