Hydrogen power firm Geopura to create hundreds of jobs after £56m investment

Hydrogen power company Geopura has secured a £56m investment which will help create hundreds of jobs, it has been announced.

The Newcastle upon Tyne-headquartered business has received £30m from the UK Infrastructure Bank as well as a follow-on investment from Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital.

The funding round was also supported by Geopura’s existing investors – GM Ventures, SWEN Capital Partners, and Siemens Energy Ventures.

The financing will directly increase the manufacture and supply of Geopura’s Hydrogen Power Units (HPUs) at its Newcastle facility.

The HPUs have already been supplied to customers including the Ministry of Defence, Balfour Beatty, National Grid and the BBC. 

Geopura will also expand its production of green hydrogen, helping to transform an old coal power station site as part of the HyMarnham Power Green Hydrogen project in the East Midlands.

With hubs in Nottingham, Matlock, Sheffield and Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK, Geopura is mass manufacturing HPUs with Siemens Energy and plans to deploy a fleet of over 3,600 HPUs by 2033.

Geopura’s chief executive Andrew Cunningham said: “Having experienced the hottest year on record in 2023 with the negative impact of extreme weather events increasing globally every month, our need to combat climate change has never been more urgent.

“Now, more than ever, we need to act and provide industry with proven and effective solutions to achieve their Net Zero goals as well as allowing them to reduce their liability for destroying air quality with particulates, NOx and other harmful emissions from traditional generators.

“The challenge of replacing the estimated $300bn installed base of highly polluting diesel generators over the next 10 years is significant and requires the scale and commitment that investors such as UKIB and our existing highly supportive shareholders and partners provide.

“We’re delighted to be taking this next step and it’s brilliant to be working together to make a real, tangible impact today by reducing filthy engine emissions, providing better air quality for us all.”

John Flint, CEO of the UK Infrastructure Bank, added: “Our investment in Geopura is another example of our problem solving in action.

“By removing barriers to investment in the hydrogen sector – a critical nascent market on the route to net zero – we are creating a sustainable platform from which to finance additional green hydrogen projects in the near future.”

Geopura said it is anticipated that in the region 400 jobs will be created by Geopura within the hydrogen sector over the next five years. The latest round of funding follows a £36m raise 12 months ago.

Barclays’ Energy Transition Group, a group within the Investment Bank of Barclays Bank PLC, acted as a financial adviser and assisted Geopura in respect of the UK Infrastructure Bank’s investment.