Yara invests in electrolysis technology firm to boost hydrogen production

As part of the ambition to decarbonize fertilizer production and enable the hydrogen economy, Yara Growth Ventures, an investment arm of Norwegian Yara International, has invested in Dynelectro, a Danish innovator that develops technologies to unlock the potential of solid oxide electrolysis (SOE).

According to Yara, Dynelectro’s approach dramatically increases the lifetime of SOE systems, from typically two to ten years, and it also allows for the integration of SOE with intermittent renewable electricity, which is a key requirement for large-scale adoption.

Björn Heinz, Investment Director and part of the Yara Growth Ventures team, said: “Electricity is the key driver for the cost of renewable hydrogen. While solid oxide electrolysis has the best potential for low cost, it suffers a niche existence due to system lifetime issues. We believe Dynelectro will overcome these issues and pave the way to make low-cost renewable hydrogen a reality.”

“Decarbonization of the fertilizer value chain is an essential part of securing global food supply in a sustainable way and one of our primary objectives. Investing in companies like Dynelectro realizes that strategy by supporting new technologies for the production of affordable low-emission end products. We are excited to join forces with them.”

Sune Lilbæk, Dynelectro’s CEO, stated: “The addition of Yara Growth Ventures is a significant milestone as they are our first industrial investor thereby demonstrating market readiness and pull for innovation within clean sustainable technologies.”

The investment follows the company’s seed investment round, which was led in May 2023 by The Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO), Denmark’s national promotional bank and export credit agency, with contributions from Vsquared Ventures, a European deep-tech fund, and further local venture investors, Yara noted, adding that the funding will be used for demonstration projects and further technology development.