Spinout scores funding for clean data centre energy tech

H2CHP, a Durham University spinout developing clean electric generators for data centres and other energy intensive sites, has secured a £1.5m investment round.

The company is offering what it calls “fuel-flexible” technology, wherein high-efficiency generators can be run on hydrogen, ammonia, biofuels and e-fuels, mitigating supply-chain risks and reducing emissions with the goal of also improving performance.

“From the outset, H2CHP has been about translating advanced research in free-piston engine systems into a commercially meaningful power generation technology,” said the company’s co-founder and chairman Prof. Tony Roskilly.

“This support is a strong endorsement of the progress the company has made and of the wider potential for high-efficiency, fuel-flexible generation to play an important role in the transition to lower-carbon, more resilient energy systems.”

Fellow co-founder Stephen Hampson added: “This support is an important step for H2CHP as we continue to develop and demonstrate our free-piston linear generator technology.

“We believe there is a major opportunity for high-efficiency, low-emission and fuel-flexible local power generation in applications such as microgrids, EV charging, ports and data centres, where resilience, cost and decarbonisation all matter.”

The investment included grant funding from Innovate UK as well as backing from Blackfinch Ventures and Northstar Ventures from its North East Spinout Inspire Fund. This investment marks the first Durham spinout to be backed by the £22.5m fund.

“We have been consistently impressed by Tony, Stephen and the rest of the team as they tackle a growing and serious challenge in supplying clean, flexible power to a rapidly expanding market,” said Tom O’Neill, investment manager at Northstar Ventures.

“The market is driven by organisations seeking to decarbonise their existing operations in difficult sectors such as Maritime, as well as growth in new sectors such as data centres fuelled by the growth of AI and associated energy needs.”