KPMG helps GeoPura raise £36 million in investment round

Big Four firm KPMG has advised UK clean energy company GeoPura in raising £36 million in an investment round. Backers of the project included GM Ventures, Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, SWEN Capital Partners and Siemens Energy Ventures.

Green hydrogen is widely recognised as essential to achieve global climate goals, with one report from Goldman Sachs suggesting it could supply 25% of energy demand by 2050 – becoming a $10 trillion addressable market in the process. Getting to that stage will take major cooperation between the public and private sector, though.

Illustrating this, while the UK government has already set a target to hit 10GW of low carbon hydrogen capacity this decade, there are few commercial technologies able to capitalise on this demand. GeoPura is one private firm looking to fill that void, setting out to prove green hydrogen as a commercially viable solution to replace existing fossil fuels, as soon as possible.

The Nottinghamshire headquartered start-up was established with the aim to decarbonise global economies using zero-emission fuels, and to that end, GeoPura has grown rapidly since delivering its first Hydrogen Power Unit (HPU) in collaboration with Siemens Energy in 2019. GeoPura generates hydrogen and transports the fuel to customers for use in its HPUs – customers simply rent the units and pay for the fuel used – with GeoPura’s HPU technology and end-to-end service offering up a multi-purpose replacement for diesel power around the world.

Andrew Cunningham, CEO of GeoPura, commented, “Green hydrogen is too often seen as a technology that will happen in the future, but GeoPura and our partners are delivering a commercially viable technology, today. The world can’t afford to wait a decade for green fuels to scale – we must act now.”

As GeoPura looks to expand its mission, and build global capacity, it has raised a significant £36 million investment round. The new financial package will allow the company to build on its installed base of HPUs and hydrogen production infrastructure, stimulating the green hydrogen economy, and expanding the use of clean fuels into other hard-to-decarbonise areas of the energy system.

“We have secured the right mix of investors,” added Cunningham, “forming strategic partnerships that not only provide the funds to enable us to scale rapidly, but also the skills and resources to accelerate the transition to zero emission fuels. With the support of our investors we can help turn the market on its head and build a green hydrogen economy this decade, not next.”

Clean energy investment

Advisory and audit firm KPMG acted as lead M&A advisor to GeoPura, throughout the fundraising process. The team that advised on the deal included experts Kishlay Sinha, Ugo Iromantu, Emily Bowman and Ed Stirrup. Gavin Quantock, Head of Energy M&A at KPMG UK, meanwhile led the transaction.

Quantock explained, “We are incredibly proud to have worked alongside the GeoPura team to deliver this outstanding result. The hydrogen sector is gathering real momentum now and it is great to be leading the way advising on transactions like this. There is a lot more to come.”

The news comes weeks after the UK government rolled out the world’s first globally recognised certification scheme to help verify the sustainability of low carbon hydrogen. The initiative is aiming to incentivise further hydrogen production, investment and use across the country, by giving consumers confidence to invest in cleaner energy.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Minister Graham Stuart, noted, “Consumers and businesses care about investing sustainably. Thanks to this new scheme, investors and producers will be able to confidently identify and invest in trusted, high-quality British sources of low carbon hydrogen, both home and abroad. I look forward to working with industry as we deliver hydrogen as a secure, low carbon replacement for fossil fuels that will help us move towards net zero, secure jobs, and boost investment.”