One of Endua’s hydrogen power banks
A major problem with renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydropower is interruption. This means that it cannot be relied on constantly, because, for example, the sun may stop shining or it may be a still, windless day. To fill gaps, users often rely on diesel generators or batteries. But diesel generators produce emissions and batteries only last a short time. Clean tech startup Endua says it has found the solution with its modular hydrogen generation and storage technology.
The Australian startup announced today that it has raised $11.8 million AUD (approximately $7.8 million USD). Round participants included new investors, Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), Melt Ventures and 77 Partners, which together raised $7.5 million AUD. The rest of the funding came from returning strategic investors Main Sequence (the deep-tech fund set up by the government’s science agency CSIRO) and Ampol, Australia’s largest transport energy provider.
Launched in 2021 by CEO and founder Paul Sernia, Endua uses stand-alone, modular hydrogen power banks that it says can power power loads of up to 100kW per module. This is enough to power water pumps, barns or stand-alone telecom infrastructure. The amount of electricity used is scalable because excess renewable energy is stored as hydrogen and converted into electricity by fuel cells as needed.
Sernia told TechCrunch that storing excess renewable energy in the form of hydrogen solves intermittent challenges because users can use their stored energy when needed, or when renewable energy generation is insufficient. Endua serves a broad range of customers, including regional communities, agriculture and farming, telecom infrastructure, energy distributors and remote infrastructure.
Endua designed and built electrolysers that split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis using renewable energy sources such as solar or wind energy. Then that generated hydrogen is stored in its modular benches, which are high-pressure storage tanks that can maintain the integrity of hydrogen for months. Once Endua’s customers are ready to convert their stored hydrogen into electricity, the power banks use electrochemical technologies, usually through hydrogen fuel cells, which create zero carbon emissions.
Endua founder and CEO Paul Sernia
Sernia said Endua’s power banks are designed to integrate with existing energy systems, including renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines, to capture excess energy. This helps ensure that customers have a continuous power supply.
Endua will use its new capital to scale up its pilot systems and adopt them over the next 18 months. In addition to the funding, Endua also received a total of $4.3 million in grands, including the Entrepreneurs’ Program Accelerating Commercialization Grant, the Cooperative Research Centers Project and the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Center Grant. All of its products are manufactured in Australia and the company is currently setting up production facilities in Queensland.
In a statement on the funding, Ampol director Matthew Hallliday said: “Endua’s technology lays the foundation for off-grid and diesel users to meet low-carbon commitments and become self-sufficient. We look forward to working with customers as the technology scales to further explore applications in our economy.”
