Mitsubishi and Startup Team Up for Hydrogen Future

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is one of the top manufacturers of energy equipment in Japan. The energy equipment manufacturing company has also invested in Koloma, a US-based geologic hydrogen-exploring startup. The investment is coming through Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, its American subsidiary. It is part of a larger strategy to stress the hydrogen economy and contribute to broader goals in supporting global efforts toward energy transition.

The funding round boasts prominent participants such as Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, and United Airlines’ Sustainable Flight Fund, even while growing interest in this geologic hydrogen as a potential clean energy resource. New fundings will now enable Koloma to continue its research efforts for finding and utilizing the hydrogen stuck underneath the earth’s surface and position the company as one of the leaders in global carbon emission reductions.

Koloma Focus on Geologic Hydrogen

Koloma’s objective is, above all, to discover and extract geologic hydrogen, a naturally forming hydrogen gas that is out there underground in reservoirs. Although hydrogen may be produced through technologies like electrolysis or the reforming of natural gas, geologic hydrogen offers an opportunity for a resource that is unique and, to date, untapped within a potentially critical role in the clean energy transition. Using advanced data-driven technology, Koloma plans to map and explore these underground hydrogen deposits, in itself representing perhaps a more sustainable way of producing hydrogen.

Hydrogen is a critical component of the global effort to decarbonize: it can be used as a clean energy source across a broad spectrum-from transportation to heavy industry-and the discovery of geologic hydrogen resources could contribute greatly to reduced dependence on fossil fuels and help meet even the most ambitious carbon reduction targets.

MHI’s Role in the Hydrogen Economy

This investment in Koloma is part of the MHI strategy for the acceleration of the hydrogen economy, enabling it to join the global energy transition. The Japanese multinational is increasingly emphasizing developing technologies and solutions that help industries shift from carbon-intensive business models to move towards net-zero emissions. Investments have been done in hydrogen-based solutions for renewable and other sustainable innovations.

Adding in:
“We believe that building a hydrogen solution ecosystem is one of the core strategies in the energy transition business for MHI. As a value chain solutions provider, we are aiming to accelerate the hydrogen economy by offering cutting-edge technologies and enabling breakthrough innovations in the hydrogen space through investments into startups,” Takajiro Ishikawa, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, said.

According to Ishikawa, this is not only about providing technology for MHI but about building partnerships to leverage towards driving innovation for clean energy. The investment in Koloma epitomizes and clarifies how MHI is engaging and partnering with emerging companies to develop solutions to growing demand for clean energy alternatives.

A Partnership for Innovation and Sustainability

Koloma CEO Pete Johnson was thrilled to announce their partnership with MHI, saying partnerships like the ones with industrial leading companies like MHI will maximize the potential of geologic hydrogen as a primary clean energy source. “Partnerships with industrial leaders like MHI will maximize the positive impact geologic hydrogen can have as a new clean primary energy source,” said Johnson. “We look forward to developing and innovating together for progress both in this space and more broadly in the broader energy transition.”

Johnson is upbeat, and so too is much of the clean energy sector, as hydrogen represents an increasingly critical component of ratcheting down greenhouse gas emissions while it is difficult to remove the well-established fuels from sectors including aviation, shipping, and heavy manufacturing.

Hydrogen’s Role in the Global Energy Transition

Hydrogen is believed to be the major driver of global shifts towards cleaner sources of energy. Energy can be stored and transported easily in the form of hydrogen, and therefore, it is an extremely versatile fuel for all applications. Hydrogen fuel cells are already applied to power vehicles, while hydrogen gas is expected to be a future replacement for natural gas used in power plants to produce electricity and for other industrial applications.

MHI has long seen the potential for hydrogen as a development material and actively supported its development. In this sense, MHI is currently working on hydrogen combustion turbines, hydrogen storage systems, and hydrogen production technologies, including electrolysis and carbon capture solutions. Through investment in starters such as Koloma, MHI extends its role in the hydrogen value chain further and thus supports innovation in the discovery, production, and utilization of hydrogen.
A Collective Effort towards a Sustainable FutureA new trend amongst major corporations and venture capital funds have begun investing in clean energy startups- the example of Koloma being one of them. Breakthrough Energy Ventures, as its name suggests, has been formed by Bill Gates to invest in companies which can make a tangible dent in causing less greenhouse gas emissions. Similarly, through Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and United Airlines’ Sustainable Flight Fund, the focus remains on finance-driven sustainability efforts in the future.

Such investments show increased awareness of the need for interplay between traditional corporations and innovative startups in order to accelerate the clean energy transition. Through resource and knowledge sharing, partnerships such as this should spur the development and deployment of new technologies for carbon reduction and underpin bigger sustainability.

MHI commits to Net-Zero Goals

MHI aims to support its partners in developing technologies that can significantly cut carbon emissions to the extent required to meet the net-zero targets set forth in the long term. The solutions that it brings include carbon capture in renewable energy technologies and environmental impact storage systems.

MHI further invests in Koloma as it reiterates the commitment toward supporting the energy transition and making hydrogen the reality of an economy. As hydrogen continues to grow into one of the cleanest sources of energy, partnerships between MHI and Koloma will prove very crucial in ensuring that the world can meet their climate goals and create a more sustainable future.

Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Koloma.

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