"3M is excited about our investment in EvolOH and the potential collaboration opportunities between our companies," said Mark Copman, senior vice president,3M New Growth Ventures.
"3M has the opportunity to leverage our long-standing expertise in high volume membrane electrode assembly and shares EvolOH's vision to make clean and affordable hydrogen available around the world. 3M's investment in EvolOH fits well with the work 3M is doing to help support the hydrogen economy and move the planet toward a clean energy transition."
EvolOH takes an innovative approach to manufacturing electrolyzers with core components made from abundant materials like steel, plastic and aluminum. That means lower cost electrolyzer modules for users, as well as lower costs for installation and maintenance.
3M Ventures, the venture capital arm of 3M, recently participated in EvolOH's $20 million Series A fundraising round, which will help the company scale up its manufacturing abilities.
"This round of funding positions EvolOH to lead the electrolyzer manufacturing market by transforming electrolyzer stacks into affordable, efficient hardware commodities made with 100% local supply chains," said Dr. Jimmy Rojas, founder and CEO of EvolOH.
The investment in EvolOH is just one of several 3M initiatives to enhance hydrogen technologies. Other examples include the development of a high-performance catalyst technology used in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis, another form of hydrogen production technology.
Also, 3M and HD Hyundai Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (KSOE) have signed a joint research project agreement to develop large liquid hydrogen storage tanks using 3M glass bubbles – a high-strength, low-density hollow glass microsphere.
