French hydrogen-mobility provider HysetCo raises €200m; investor Hy24 becomes majority shareholder
French hydrogen-mobility provider HysetCo has raised €200m ($217m) in a new funding round, with the lead investor, Hy24, becoming its majority shareholder.
The Paris-based company provides “full-service rentals” of fuel-cell cars and vans, mainly for taxis and commercial fleets, that includes fuel, insurance, maintenance and repair — and it now plans to use the cash injection to expand its offerings across France and Europe.
HysetCo also operates four hydrogen filling stations around Paris, including at three of the airports serving the city.
“With a robust track record in operating vehicle fleets, HysetCo has achieved an impressive 100% annual growth in hydrogen mobility over the past three years. HysetCo has successfully converted over 500 professionals to its solution (primarily taxi drivers), and now distributes nearly 30 tonnes of hydrogen every month,” the company stated in a press release.
Other investors in the latest funding round include French investment firms Eiffel Investment Group and Raise Impact, which join existing shareholders Air Liquide, TotalEnergies, Toyota France (which provides its Mirai fuel-cell cars) and Luxembourg-based energy-transition investor Kouros.
Due to the advancement of battery-electric cars and vans in recent years, which tend to be cheaper and easier to run than hydrogen-powered equivalents, most companies operating in the H2 road transport space are increasingly focusing on heavy-duty road transport — because hydrogen offers longer travel distances and far shorter refuelling times than fully electric options.
Article continues below the advert
So HysetCo’s focus on commercial vans and Toyota Mirai cars used as taxis makes it something of an outlier in the industry.
Nevertheless, it believes that demand is strong from green-minded businesses that also require long ranges and fast refuelling times.
“Hydrogen for mobility offers several advantages when compared with other solutions: zero emissions at the point of use, silent operation, no odour, or vibrations, effortless refuelling in three to five minutes, and a remarkable range of up to 600 km,” the company said.
HysetCo CEO Loïc Voisin added: “The success of this fundraising, totalling nearly €200m, signifies the dawn of a new era for HysetCo. It heralds an era where we will expedite our expansion across France and Europe, thereby making an even more significant contribution to a tangible, swift, and effective transition toward a low-carbon society, while concurrently preserving air quality.”
Pierre-Etienne Franc, CEO of Hy24, commented: “The decarbonisation of our energy system remains incomplete, particularly in the transport sector where reliance on fossil fuels is most pronounced.
“We believe that transitioning to hybrid electric and hydrogen models, especially for intensive and heavy-duty engines, is the best solution for operators, as it offers the advantages of electric power without compromising the user experience.
“HysetCo’s model is replicable and scaleable across all major cities seeking to adopt cleaner and more efficient transport systems.”
Hy24 is a hydrogen-focused joint venture between Swiss cleantech investor FiveT Hydrogen and French private equity house Ardian, which launched in October 2021, and describes itself as “the world’s leading clean hydrogen pure-play investment manager”.
The fund has also invested in German refuelling station operator H2 Mobility Deutschland, German green hydrogen developer Hy2Gen, Norwegian H2 storage cylinder manufacturer Hexagon Purus, and it has also bought a 30% stake in Enagás Renovable, the renewable gases arm of Spanish gas infrastructure owner Enagás.
Hy24’s six founding investors were Air Liquide, TotalEnergies, US hydrogen-equipment manufacturer Plug Power, US oil-field services company Baker Hughes, construction giant Vinci and cryogenic tank manufacturer Chart Industries, which were later joined by the likes of Italian gas distributor Snam, French gas transmission system opertor GRTGaz, French utility EDF and European aircraft maker Airbus, as well as a selection of institutional funds and commercial banks.
