One of the world’s richest men – Bill Gates – is continuing to back the hunt for natural hydrogen with another significant investment in a start-up.
Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures has joined a US$3.4m fundraise in French company Mantle8, one of a cohort of companies racing to find natural hydrogen.
Interest in the sector is ticking up. In January, natural hydrogen startup Snowfox, a spinout from the University of Oxford, said it had raised an undisclosed sum from mining conglomerate Rio Tinto and oil and gas major BP.
In the US, Koloma, raised $245m in 2023 – the industry’s largest round to date – including backing from Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Interest in natural hydrogen is booming in part because of confirmed finds like that made by Gold Hydrogen of a clean fuel that when burned produces nearly zero carbon. Many climate-friendly technologies would benefit from its commercialisation, from green steel manufacturing to the production of cleaner shipping fuels.
Natural hydrogen would be produced at a significant discount to man-made hydrogen.
Bill Gates previously shared his excitement for the potential of natural hydrogen, telling The Economist: “It could be gigantic or it could be a bust, but if it’s really there… wow!”
Full article on the Mantle8 announcement is here.