Participating Startups

• Advanced Ionics (Milwaukee, WI) is enabling green hydrogen production without the green premium.
• Arco Technologies (Bologna, Italy) is developing a proprietary Anion Exchange Membrane electrolyzer with the lowest capital expenditures and operating expenses possible today.
• Clean Power (Greater Manchester, United Kingdom) is developing a novel, low-cost, highly durable hydrogen polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell delivering zero-emission electricity.
• Element Resources (Houston, TX) is enabling compressed hydrogen storage tank technology. 
• Smartpipe Technologies (Houston, TX) is developing a robust self-monitored repurposed pipeline system for hydrogen with minimal environmental disruption.
• SPEC Sensors (Newark, CA) is creating a robust and reliable meshed sensor network for hydrogen leak detection and line-monitoring systems.
• RUNWITHIT Synthetics (Alberta, Canada) is creating a live, digital twin modeling platform that generates decision-support data for regional hydrogen-demand scenarios.

About The Program

Large-scale commercialization of low-carbon hydrogen will play a key role in the transition to a decarbonized economy. Because of its versatility, hydrogen is uniquely suited to help realize decarbonization goals. Hydrogen’s ability to act as both a carrier for electricity and a fuel means it can be used for a broad range of applications, including in hard-to-decarbonize sectors. As more intermittent renewable energy comes onto the grid, hydrogen can also act as an electricity storage medium, allowing grids to make full use of wind, solar, and other intermittent renewables. Most importantly, hydrogen produces no direct greenhouse gas emissions or pollutants when generated via low-carbon methods, such as electrolysis with electricity from renewable sources.

Low-carbon hydrogen is enjoying unprecedented commercial and political momentum; over $300B is announced or projected to be spent on hydrogen projects globally through 2030. With the launch of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Shot Initiative in 2021, the U.S. federal government has both identified hydrogen as a key energy solution for the future and highlighted the importance of reducing the cost of low-carbon hydrogen. If price reduction goals set by the Hydrogen Shot Initiative are met, experts predict a five-fold increase in low-carbon hydrogen use, leading to critical carbon dioxide emission reductions and billions of dollars in revenue and jobs created by the growing industry. 

Together with Greentown Labs and the Urban Future Lab, EPRI and Shell recognize the need to accelerate the development and commercialization of low-carbon technologies required to enable economy-wide decarbonization. As leaders in the utilities and energy industries, respectively, with domain expertise, R&D facilities, and access to global customers, EPRI and Shell are uniquely positioned to drive this transformation in partnership with startups innovating at the cutting edge of low-carbon hydrogen. LCHA is supported by the City of Houston, the location of Greentown Labs’ newest incubator and a city whose world-class energy infrastructure, low-cost electricity, and human capital position it to become a global hydrogen hub.