Hydrogen tech company Elcogen secures €5m investment
The Estonian company will use the funds to support ongoing construction of its new 14,000 square metre factory in Tallinn.
European hydrogen technology manufacturer Elcogen has secured a €5m (£4.23m) investment from Estonia’s state venture capital fund SmartCap to fund efforts to scale up its operations.
The strategic investment comes at a key time for the Estonian company as it works towards the opening of a new factory in Tallinn and begins scaling the production capacity of its solid oxide hydrogen production technology.
SmartCap CEO Sille Pettai said the investment, part of its Green Fund initiative, reflected the “growing need for highly efficient hydrogen technologies”.
She said: “The new plant will significantly increase the manufacturing capacity of solid oxide fuel cells and solid oxide electrolyser cells — technologies we see as key drivers of the green transition in industrial processes and enablers of energy security.”
Elcogen’s technology was developed in both Estonia and Finland, and is supported by offices in the UK, it provides emission-free power and hydrogen production that can be integrated into third party applications.
The three products, the elcoCell, elcoStack, and elcoModule, are designed to reduce commercial costs for customers and have been shipped to 30 countries so far, with the new Tallinn facility expected to further drive Elcogen’s business development worldwide.
“Elcogen is well-positioned to capitalize on the global shift toward clean energy and hydrogen technology, supported by over 25 years of expertise, proven solid oxide cell technology, a strategic presence in rapidly emerging hydrogen markets, and the invaluable backing of our key investors and partners.” Elcogen CEO Enn Õunpuu said.
SmartCap’s investment into Elcogen comes only a few months after the European Union also gave a boost to the company through a €24.9m grant from the EU 2024 Innovation Fund.
The company’s new factory in Tallinn began construction in January 2024 and is expected to be ready for production by mid-2025, the 14,000 square metre facility will increase Elcogen’s production capacity from 10 megawatts to 360 megawatts.
