McPhy Energy raises €13.7M second round for hydrogen storage technology

Funding

McPhy Energy, which is developing a technology for the solid storage of hydrogen in the form of magnesium hydride, has closed a second round funding of €13.7 million.

The round was led by new investor Sofinnova Partners with Gimv and Amundi Private Equity Funds, together with existing investors. The money will be used for the global expansion of McPhy and the further industrialisation and commercialisation of its products.

McPhy, founded in January 2008, has developed methods for the on-site production of hydrogen for industry and for the renewable energy sector.

Following a €1.6m first round of financing in January 2009 from Emertec and Areva, the firm established its production line and created a reservoir of magnesium hydride that was delivered to an industrial partner in March 2010 for testing on an industrial scale. The company is now developing a second large-capacity reservoir that will become operational during the second half of 2010.

The second round of funds will allow the start-up to scale quickly, from both an industrial and commercial development point of view, by reinforcing its commercial and technical team and investing in additional production equipment. Already present in Spain and in Italy, the company also plans to open offices in Germany, Northern Europe, the Middle East and Japan.

“McPhy Energy offers a new perspective on technical, ecological and economical solutions in the areas of industrial hydrogen distribution and energy storage,” said Pascal Mauberger, CEO.

Alessio Beverina, Principal at Sofinnova Partners, said “McPhy Energy exemplifies what we actively seek in a start-up: an innovative technology that solves an unanswered issue in a growing international market and, above all, a high-quality managerial team.”

Bart Diels, Partner at Gimv added, “We are convinced that solid state hydrogen storage will be one of the winning solutions to address the growing need for green and large-scale energy storage.” McPhy Energy is Gimv’s first cleantech deal in France.