Royal Vopak, Mitsubishi Corporation, Covestro and AP Ventures invested €17m into Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies GmbH and its Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) technology for hydrogen logistics. AP Ventures was already a partner since its first investment in the German-based company in 2014.
The advantages of the partnership are not limited to financial support. The strategic international investors are committed to developing the LOHC technology as an essential component of the international hydrogen infrastructure. The operational knowledge of Vopak and the other new investors is expected to enable international distribution of renewable energies via hydrogen. Vopak stated that when stored in the carrier oil, hydrogen can be transported as easily and efficiently as conventional liquid fuels.
Marcel van de Kar, Director New Energies at Vopak said: “The combination of Vopak’s global terminal and knowledge network with this LOHC technology is a breakthrough in the storage and logistics of renewable energies. This strategic partnership will facilitate development of transregional and global transport of hydrogen and contribute to the development of hydrogen-based economies”.
Junya Nagase, GM for Precious Metals, Mineral Resources Trading Division, Mitsubishi Corporation said: “Asian countries have recognised hydrogen as a valuable energy carrier and the LOHC technology is expected to provide an economical viable solution that is ideal for storing large volumes of hydrogen in densely populated urban areas as well as distributing it over long distances. We expect that LOHC will play an important role in Asian energy market in the future”.
Source: Royal Vopak
