Sunfire, a Germany-based hydrogen electrolyser and fuel cell provider which counts several energy and industrial corporates as investors, received €109m ($126m) in series D funding round on Monday.
The round was co-led by Lightrock and Planet First Partners and backed by Carbon Direct Capital Management, HydrogenOne Capital and unnamed existing investors.
Founded in 2010, Sunfire manufactures electrolysers and fuel cells to produce hydrogen and synthesis gases for use in gas heavy industries such as chemical production, aviation and transportation as an alternative to fossil fuels.
Energy services provider Neste bought a minority stake in the company in return for an undislcosed amount in March 2020.
The company had raised $25m in an early 2019 series C round led by industrial product manufacturer Paul Wurth that also featured energy utility CEZ’s investment arm, Inven Capital, and oil and gas producer TotalEnergies’ corporate venturing unit Total Energy Ventures, as well as Idinvest and Sunfire Entrepreneurs Club.
Inven Capital had previously led a 2015 round for the company in the eight-figure range that included Total Energy Ventures and Electranova Capital, a venture capital fund sponsored by energy utility EDF.
Sunfire had secured a high seven-digit amount in a 2014 series B round featuring Total Energy Ventures, Electranova Capital and Idinvest.
Nils Aldag, Sunfire’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “Today’s announcement marks the largest equity raise of a green-hydrogen-focused private company anywhere to date.
“These new funds will allow Sunfire to bring its advanced pressurised alkaline and game-changing solid oxide (SOEC) electrolysis technologies to industrial scale, building the first in a series of production gigafactories, creating both meaningful electrolysis capacity for our customers and attractive returns for our investors.”
