19.10.2023
McPhy and Stargate Hydrogen announce the signing of a technology partnership to accelerate cooperation in electrodes for next generation alkaline electrolysers.
Tallinn, 18-10-2023
McPhy Energy, specialized in low-carbon hydrogen production and distribution equipment (alkaline electrolysers and refueling stations), today announces the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Stargate Hydrogen to accelerate cooperation in electrodes for next generation alkaline electrolysers.
This significant milestone marks a year-long fruitful discussion. The CEO of McPhy, Jean-Baptiste Lucas, and the CEO of Stargate, Marko Virkebau, along with the CTO of Stargate, Rainer Küngas, have signed the MOU on the occasion of the visit to Paris by the Estonian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas and the Minister of Economy and Information Technology, Tiit Riisalo, as well as a delegation of companies from the energy sector.
The next generation alkaline electrolysers
At the forefront of innovation, Stargate develops electrodes that are free from precious metals and use ceramic catalyst material for next-generation alkaline electrolysers. On the other hand, McPhy is making strides in developing large-scale pressurized alkaline electrolysers for the decarbonation of industry.
The MOU thus outlines the intent of both companies to work together on employing the ceramic technology designed by Stargate in large-scale alkaline electrolysis and also aims to improve the reliability of components of electrolysis systems. This sharing of knowledge and expertise is set to further strengthen the hydrogen value chain and accelerate cooperation between the two companies. It feeds into the scale-up strategy of both McPhy and Stargate, with plans for developing their industrial sites in France and Estonia.
The signing of this MOU illustrates a cross-border collaboration between France and Estonia in the Green Tech and decarbonation spaces, supported by IPCEI on hydrogen, to which both companies belong in the Hy2tech wave.
Jean-Baptiste Lucas, CEO of McPhy, said: “This partnership with Stargate ties in perfectly with our strategy to extend our technological and industrial lead in the rapidly growing hydrogen market. Sharing the same technological and industrial challenges, this cooperation allows us to cross-fertilize our expertise to sustain the development of alkaline electrolysers.”
Marko Virkebau, CEO of Stargate, adds: “Our strategy consists of expanding by collaboration. We have already secured partnerships with several system integrations using our technology in their systems. Now, we are taking the next step by also partnering with the leading alkaline electrolyser manufacturers interested in using our unique technology in their products. The partnership with McPhy will surely allow both parties to scale faster and bring down the cost of green hydrogen for large-scale projects.”
About Stargate Hydrogen Solutions OÜ
The story of Stargate started in 2020 when the founders understood that in order to effectively combat climate change, electrification is not enough, and we need affordable green hydrogen to reduce carbon emissions in the hard-to-abate sectors such as steelmaking, fertilizer and chemical industries. We believe that the price of green hydrogen is key for unlocking widespread industrial use and thereby significantly reducing emissions.
In order to make this happen, we understood that we need to increase the efficiency of the electrolysis process and bring down the capital cost of the Green hydrogen production equipment. We do this by developing novel catalyst materials, based on ceramic materials, which we proudly call Stardust.
As a result of this, our technology can achieve high efficiency with very low capital cost and as an additional benefit, our products face no critical raw material availability issues. Our core team comes from the high-temperature world (SOEC) and has ample experience with ceramic materials, the challenge is making those work in an alkaline environment, which is the most robust and proven form of electrolysis.
We are now over two years old, have a world-class team and secured 54+ million euros of financing thanks to our investors and IPCEI status that allows us to execute our vision. We are part of a large industrial group of companies which includes the largest renewables developer in the region.
Specialized in hydrogen production and distribution equipment, McPhy is contributing to the global deployment of low-carbon hydrogen as a solution for energy transition. With its complete range of products dedicated to the industrial, mobility and energy sectors, McPhy offers its customers turnkey solutions adapted to their applications in industrial raw material supply, recharging of fuel cell electric vehicles or storage and recovery of electricity surplus based on renewable sources.
