Hexagon Purus acquires stake in cryogenic hydrogen storage technology company, adding future complementary capabilities to its portfolio

(Oslo, 21 April 2022) Hexagon Purus, a world leading supplier of zero emission mobility solutions, has entered into an agreement to acquire 40% of Cryoshelter GmbH’s (“Cryoshelter”) liquid hydrogen business. The transaction is in conjunction with Hexagon Composites’ acquisition of a 40% stake in Cryoshelter’s liquid natural gas (LNG) business.

Cryoshelter’s liquid hydrogen tank technology is in the early stage of development and builds on superior and differentiated LNG technology that provides more fuel capacity and higher hold times (a critical requirement for cryogenic storage) than competing offerings. The transaction brings early-stage expertise in liquid hydrogen tank technology for zero emission mobility applications and could potentially result in a future complementary offering to Hexagon Purus’ market leading compressed hydrogen cylinder technology.

Key terms and structure of the transaction

• Initial investment of EUR 3.5 million for 40% of the shares in Cryoshelter’s liquid hydrogen business.
• The transaction contemplates a split of Cryoshelter into separate legal entities for the liquid hydrogen and liquid natural (renewable) gas businesses, enabling Hexagon Purus’ direct investment in early-stage liquid hydrogen tank technology.  
• The separation of Cryoshelter’s liquid hydrogen and liquid natural gas businesses recognizes the different phases of market and product development – there is an established market for liquid natural gas mobility solutions and Cryoshelter’s technology is already at a pre-commercial stage, while the market and products for liquid hydrogen storage are in the early stage of development with longer runway to commercialization.
• Synergies between the separated business entities are expected to be maintained in key functional areas, sharing resources where possible.
• Hexagon Purus and Cryoshelter will further develop the technology and business over the next few years.  
• Hexagon Purus has options to buy remaining interests in Cryoshelter over the next 5 -10 years.
• Closing of the transaction is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2022, subject to fulfilment of certain closing conditions and customary regulatory approvals.

See Hexagon Composites announcement on 21 April 2022 for more details on their acquisition of Cryoshelter’s liquid natural gas tank technology business.

About Cryoshelter

• Cryoshelter is a cryogenic storage technology company founded in 2008 in Austria by Dr. Matthias Rebernik (currently holds approximately 80% of the shares in the Company) whose PhD thesis was part of the LH2-tank project for the BMW Hydrogen 7.
• The Company has developed and secured patented technology for heavy-duty trucks and buses using liquid storage solutions for natural gas and hydrogen based on the same technology platform.
• Using proprietary designs, Cryoshelter’s commercialized liquid natural gas tanks allow for maximum utilization of frame rail space to give industry leading performance (e.g., 20-50% better fuel storage and 2-4x improved hold time versus competitors)
• The company is headquartered in Graz, Austria

Future potential complementary offering to existing portfolio

The transaction represents an attractive investment for Hexagon Purus and confirms the continuous focus to develop and support future potential complementary hydrogen storage technology solutions enabling zero emission mobility. Combining compressed and liquid hydrogen storage capabilities will further broaden and strengthen Hexagon Purus’ position as a leading provider of zero emission mobility technologies and solutions.

“We remain strong believers in our market leading compressed hydrogen cylinder technology and that it will continue to play a key role in decarbonizing the global mobility sector”, says Morten Holum, CEO of Hexagon Purus. “The investment into Cryoshelter’s early phase liquid hydrogen tank technology can potentially strengthen and complement our future hydrogen capabilities to drive zero emission mobility”.

“We are very proud to team up with Hexagon Purus to develop market leading technology for storage of liquid hydrogen,”, says Dr. Matthias Rebernik, CEO and Founder of Cryoshelter. “Liquid hydrogen is currently in a very early stage and Hexagon Purus’ investment into our company is a validation of our technology”.  

About the market

Hydrogen is gathering strong momentum as a key energy transition pillar towards zero emission, and is underpinned by a global shift of regulators, investors, and consumers increasingly focused on decarbonization. It has become clear that hydrogen will play a key role in decarbonizing “hard to abate” sectors.

Liquid hydrogen storage technology can offer higher energy density compared to compressed hydrogen storage, and in space and/or payload-constrained applications, such as certain heavy-duty trucking applications, shipping, commercial aviation and aerospace, it could be a compelling future alternative.

For more information:

Mathias Meidell, Investor Relations Director, Hexagon Purus 
Telephone: +47 909 82 242 | mathias.meidell@hexagonpurus.com 

Karen Romer, SVP Communications, Hexagon Composites 
Telephone: +47 950 74 950 | karen.romer@hexagongroup.com

About Hexagon Purus

Hexagon Purus, a Hexagon Composites company, enables zero emission mobility for a cleaner energy future. Hexagon Purus is a world leading provider of hydrogen Type 4 high-pressure cylinders, complete vehicle systems and battery packs for fuel cell electric and battery electric vehicles (FCEV and BEV) including hybrid mobility applications on light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, transit buses, ground storage, distribution, marine, rail, and aerospace applications. 

Learn more at www.hexagonpurus.com and follow @HexagonPurus on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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