Fresh funding provides boost to UK firm’s plans to build Europe’s first plastic to hydrogen plant
Waste-to-energy firm Hydrogen Utopia has raised £3m in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE) on Thursday, which valued the London-based business at approximately £28.8m.
The company is aiming to build Europe’s first plastic to hydrogen plant in Poland, before rolling out its technology globally as part of a plan to become a global leader in recycling mixed waste plastic into carbon-free fuels and new materials, while also providing distributed renewable heat.
Hydrogen Utopia’s process converts end of life plastics into a source of energy using an advanced thermal chemical recycling process that breaks plastic into a synthetic gas that is a mixture of methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide. It said it expects to see an output of up to 2.7 tonnes of “pure road fuel” quality hydrogen from 40 tonnes of plastic feedstock at its operations.
The company, now listed as HUI, placed 40 million shares priced at 7.5 pence apiece in the IPO.
Hydrogen Utopia’s executive chairman Guy Peters touted the listing as an “important milestone” for the firm, which was founded in 2020.
“We are pioneering the use of technology to turn non-recyclable waste plastics into hydrogen – addressing the major environmental threat posed by waste plastic and providing alternative energy sources which are not dependent upon the use of coal, natural gas, oil and fossil fuel derived electricity,” he said.
The company said it has signed an agreement with the city of Konin in central Poland to build a plant close to the city’s existing waste remediation facilities, and expected to build 10 plants across the region in due course. It has also signed letters of intent with the city of Simitli in Bulgaria and the city of Florina in Greece.
It said it planned to target areas where there was significant private sector interest, or where substantial public funding was available, for instance through the EU’s Just Transition Fund which is geared at helping fossil fuel dependent communities transition to clean energy.
Company CEO Aleksandra Binkowska said there was a strong demand for Hydrogen Utopia’s plastic recycling technology across Europe.
“In a very limited time, we have established our presence across the European continent, and we have created strong alliances, including those with Linde and Sweco, two of the most prominent companies in the sector,” she said.“Europe is in desperate need of this technology and it is our duty to be pathfinders in bringing the mission to realisation.”
