Mind the Gap: Venture Funding of Hydrogen
Start-ups
EU and US Investment Patterns
and their Policy Implications
Study 01/2024
Key Findings
There is a huge scale-up gap between the US and Europe, although Europe is slowly catching up. We need to build tomorrow's champions now, or we will miss our window of opportunity.
Download our study to read the full analysis and our recommendations for European policymakers 👇
State of Venture Investment in Climate Tech & Hydrogen
There is a steady increase in funding for climate technologies. Total investment is highest in the US, but Europe catches up significantly. In particular, hydrogen funding has taken off, outpacing the general climate tech trend.
Hydrogen Venture Investment in Europe & the US
The total volume of equity invested is around twice as high in the US. The same is true for average deal sizes. While early-stage financing in Europe is on a par with the US, the volume of later-stage financing in the US is five to six times higher.
Who invests in which start-ups & technologies?
The majority of funding in Europe and the US goes to H2 production technology, but with different emphases.
Facts & Figures
higher is the total funding in the US compared to Europe (2019 to 2023).
The IRA is a key driver.
Political incentives and external shocks drive growth: IRA, CBAM, Green Deal, but also the Russian invasion of Ukraine have driven the growth of hydrogen funding.
Hydrogen is a hardware game:
97 percent of venture funding goes to hardware-based start-ups.
hydrogen
funding map
Funding & deal count across Europe
Central and northern countries dominate the hydrogen funding landscape: The highest funding volumes go to start-ups from Sweden, Germany and the UK. In southern countries, the funding volumes are much lower.
The huge funding volumes allocated to H2 Green Steel make Sweden a statistical outlier. The average deal size is 15 times higher than in Switzerland or about 20 times higher than in Germany, which are ranked 2nd and 3rd for average deal size.
Download our study to read the foreword by
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe 🚀
Credits
Data origin and classification
Programmatic monitoring, partnerships with ecosystem players and innovators submitting their own data: Our insights originate from a variety of data points.
For more information about our methodology, get the study now and take a look at page 36.
Responsible
H2UB is Europes leading Open Innovation Platform for the whole hydrogen value chain.
We collaborate with the brightest entrepreneurs, corporates & investors to reach one goal: the net zero energy transition.
In our own accelerator program "SPRINT" and "BOOTCAMP" start-ups benefit from compact, focused and customized individual and group coaching sessions with mentors and industry experts.
Special Thanks to
Net Zero Insights is the leading data and research platform for Climate Tech.
The Net0 Platform provides access to thousands of startups/SMEs, deals, and investors, allowing users to spot new innovations, trends, and deals in the rapidly evolving world of climate technology.
Investors, corporates, researchers and business developers use the platform to identify new startups and keep track of emerging trends and opportunities.
Get in touch
info@h2ub.com.