John Cockerill Hydrogen raises €116m as Fluxys joins shareholder group

Belgian electrolyser maker John Cockerill Hydrogen has secured €116m ($136m) in fresh capital, with gas network operator Fluxys taking a stake in the business.

The round also included renewed backing from Belgium’s sovereign wealth fund SFPIM, Wallonie Entreprendre (WE), and existing investors SLB and Rely, the joint venture between SLB and Technip Energies.

Fluxys’ entry as a shareholder strengthens John Cockerill Hydrogen’s ties to Belgium’s national infrastructure strategy. The group, through its subsidiary Fluxys Hydrogen, has been designated as Belgium’s future hydrogen network operator and is expected to play a key role in enabling the national hydrogen backbone.

The fresh capital is planned to support John Cockerill Hydrogen’s expansion and scale-up of its pressurised alkaline electrolyser manufacturing. It comes after the firm raised €230m (€269m) from SLB, SFPIM, and WE last year.

The company said the new raise covers “nearly all” the funding needed to scale the hydrogen business.

John Cockerill CEO, François Michel, said the latest raise demonstrates the “strength” of the firm’s strategic plan and reinforces its ambition to “remain at the forefront” of green hydrogen.

The raise follows reports that John Cockerill Hydrogen was struggling to secure up to €100m ($117m) in fresh funding and was exploring potential asset sales worth around €10m ($11.7m). It was also alleged that a planned €100m investment had fallen through, forcing the firm to seek additional capital from existing shareholders.

John Cockerill has firmly denied those claims. “Neither John Cockerill Hydrogen nor, of course, John Cockerill Group, need a ‘rescue plan’,” a spokesperson told H2 View. “We have no particular concerns, and we are confident that we will achieve our fundraising target very soon.”

The company said it has been working on this raise for some time as part of its plan to continue investing in R&D and manufacturing capacity, backed by long-term strategic investors.

The raise also comes amid wider financial headwinds across the electrolyser industry. John Cockerill’s 2023 annual report revealed that equity had dropped from €72.6m ($89.7m) to €14.4m ($16.9m), driven by significant upfront investments and €17.3m ($20.3m) in one-off restructuring and acquisition costs.

However, the firm ended the year with a cash position of €241m ($282.4m), which it says provides the liquidity needed to navigate the current market environment.