Siemens Financial Services has signed a deal with GeoPura to support the hydrogen specialist in its next phase of growth.
GeoPura provides hydrogen-fuelled clean energy to allow decarbonisation of temporary, backup, off-grid, and grid augmentation energy.
Its solution uses renewable energy, normally solar PV or wind, to create hydrogen, with fuel transported to customer locations, where a hydrogen power unit (HPU) converts it to electrical power.
Customers rent the units and pay for the fuel used. The power generation process is clean and carbon free – with pure water the only by-product – eliminating harmful CO2, NOx, SOx, and particulate matter emissions entirely.
Currently it is working with the Ministry of Defence, Balfour Beatty, the BBC, and National Grid, among others, to help reduce their carbon footprint. It secured support under the first hydrogen allocation round (HAR1) in 2023; and, if selected, GeoPura also intends to take part in HAR2.
So far, GeoPura has raised £92 million to date from its investor panel and financing will continue to be an important enabler of its growth.
GeoPura was looking to refinance existing HPUs, trailer mounted Multiple Element Gas Containers (MEGCs or tube trailers) and Multiple Cylinder Packs (MCPs), and Siemens Financial Services (SFS) knowledge of the industry allowed for the partnership, it said.
Derek Bulmer, Chief Financial Officer, GeoPura, said:
“In our case, the assets are fairly new and the business model is new too. So, from a financing perspective, it goes against the grain of how you would fund something.
“Because of this, timing was everything. It took around 18 months from when we began initial conversations with Ollie Finkill and the team at Siemens Financial Services (SFS) before we arrived at the right solution at the right time. Why did we want to work with SFS specifically? Of course, they have a reputation that precedes them. And they can scale financing sums as we grow. But they also really understood the product and the technology.”
“Private financing has a huge role to play in wider sustainable transformation. It’s going to take an infrastructure change, which entails large capital investment.”
Ollie Finkill, Head of Specialist Finance, SFS UK, said:
“We can’t deny this is a difficult area, since businesses like GeoPura are at the beginnings of an expected high-growth trend, and there are many unknowns. However, we had multiple incentives.
“The strength of GeoPura’s business plan, its success to date in raising cash, and the good residual value in the assets being funded – the HPUs themselves, as well as the containers and cylinder packs – all contributed to our ability to see this deal through. This was true asset finance, led by growth potential, not balance sheets. We are proud to be part of the work GeoPura is doing.”
Image courtesy of GeoPura
