Industrial product manufacturer Paul Wurth has led a €25m ($28.8m) series C round for Germany-based electrolyser and fuel cell developer Sunfire.
Inven Capital, the corporate venturing arm of energy utility CEZ, and Total Energy Ventures, the investment subsidiary of petroleum producer Total, also provided capital for the round, as did investment firm Idinvest Partners and angel investment group Sunfire Entrepreneurs Club.
Founded in 2010, Sunfire produces high-temperature electrolysers and fuel cells that are used to produce clean energy, hydrogen and synthesis gas for customers in industries that currently rely on fossil oils and natural gases, such as transportation, aviation and chemical production.
The series C proceeds will be used to implement commercial projects that apply high-temperature electrolysis and power-to-liquid technology.
Paul Wurth, a subsidiary of metal industry equipment producer SMS Group, invested in connection with a partnership that will help it explore the e-fuel space and produce steel in more sustainable ways.
Georges Rassel, Paul Wurth’s chief executive, said: “Our collaboration with Sunfire clearly expresses our strategy to play a leading role in the upcoming transformation of the steel industry towards CO2-free steel production.”
Inven Capital led an eight-figure round for Sunfire in 2015 that also featured Total Energy Ventures and Electranova Capital, the venture capital fund sponsored by utility EDF and managed by Idinvest Partners.
The latter two had previously provided a seven-figure sum for Sunfire the year before, and its earlier investors also include ERP Startfonds, which is managed by development bank KfW.