HYDGEN, a green hydrogen innovator specializing in anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzer technology, has successfully closed a USD 5 million pre-A funding round, including both equity and debt components. The round was led by Transition Venture Capital from India, with participation from Cloudberry Pioneer Investments (Europe), Moringa Ventures (Singapore), and strategic family offices from India and Singapore.

Addressing Industrial Hydrogen Supply Chain Challenges

The funding comes as HYDGEN targets what it identifies as significant inefficiencies in the current hydrogen supply chain. According to the company, hydrogen represents a global market worth more than USD 150 billion, but industrial users in chemicals, semiconductors, lab grown diamonds, refining, mobility, and laboratories currently depend on hydrogen delivered through compressed gas cylinders or tanker trucks.

This delivery model can inflate hydrogen costs by up to 70%, adding USD 2-3 per kilogram, while failing to meet the ultra-high-purity standards required by advanced industries. HYDGEN's approach focuses on on-site hydrogen generation directly at the point of use to address these supply chain gaps, reduce logistics costs, improve supply security, and enable efficient operational scaling.

“Many discussions about hydrogen focus on its role in a clean energy future, but the urgent opportunity is enabling industries to have hydrogen where and when they need it, with purity they can trust,” said Dr. Manipaddy Krishna Kumar, Co-founder and COO of HYDGEN. “Our AEM electrolyzers allow companies to produce hydrogen on-site at a competitive cost, solving supply chain challenges today while preparing them for the broader transition to green hydrogen in the years ahead.”

Proprietary AEM Electrolyzer Technology

HYDGEN has developed what it describes as a new class of AEM electrolyzers that combine the affordability of alkaline technology with the energy efficiency and operating flexibility of PEM systems, while eliminating the need for expensive platina-group metals. The company's technology features several key attributes: the lowest unit cost in the industry through proprietary catalysts, membranes, and stack designs; ultra-pure hydrogen delivered without additional purification systems; on-site, on-demand generation to reduce logistics costs and improve resiliency; and industrial-grade stack range from 1 kW to 100 kW.

The company is currently developing 250 kW single stacks at a claimed per-kW output cost lower than that currently available on the market. “HYDGEN is the first team we've seen that can scale AEM electrolyzers to true industrial levels while maintaining cost leadership,” said Mohamed Shoeb Ali, Managing Partner at Transition VC. “This is not a research project anymore, it's a commercially ready platform for industries already spending billions on hydrogen.”

Market Validation and Expansion Plans

Over the past year, HYDGEN has launched pilots across India, Singapore, and Southeast Asia, with several partners now scaling deployments. This activity has validated both market demand and technology readiness, according to the company. “What impressed us was HYDGEN's ability to combine high-purity output with a low-CAPEX modular design,” said Mahir Sahin, Founding Partner at Cloudberry Pioneer Investments.

“That combination is exactly what industrial users need to decarbonize today.” The new funding will support several strategic initiatives. HYDGEN plans to upgrade its current manufacturing facility in Mangalore, India, to a semi-automated assembly line, establishing a cost-efficient manufacturing hub for Asia and global markets. The company will also work to increase single AEM stack capacity to 250 kW, positioning itself as a leader in industrial-scale AEM electrolyzers.

International expansion represents another key focus area, with HYDGEN planning to expand its presence in global markets including Japan, Europe, and the Middle East, where policy incentives and industrial hydrogen adoption are accelerating. The funding will also support commercialization efforts for on-site hydrogen generation for industrial users.

Policy Environment and Market Position

HYDGEN operates within a supportive policy environment that includes global initiatives from India's National Green Hydrogen Mission to Canada's Clean Hydrogen Investment Tax Credit. Across Europe and Asia, governments are offering grants and subsidies for industrial decarbonization. However, the company positions its value proposition as standing independently, with replacing trucked-in cylinders with on-site generation delivering immediate cost and reliability benefits, while incentives serve as additional acceleration.

“Hydrogen is central to the world's industrial and energy transition, yet much of today's supply remains carbon-intensive and costly to transport. We believe decentralised hydrogen production will reshape the USD 260 billion global hydrogen market. HYDGEN's scalable AEM technology puts them ahead of that curve, solving industrial challenges while accelerating the clean transition, an innovation we're proud to back at Moringa Ventures,” said Theodora Lai, Partner and Co-founder, Moringa Ventures.

HYDGEN was spun off from the National University of Singapore and has since established operations across multiple countries, including extensive product engineering and manufacturing in India. The company's proprietary stack designs range from 1 kW to 100 kW and scale to 250 kW, delivering ultra-high-purity hydrogen in a modular, low-CAPEX system designed to provide industries with a resilient, cost-effective on-site supply.

“Our mission is simple: make green hydrogen cheaper, purer, and always available where industries need it most,” said Dr. Goutam Dalapati, Co-founder and CTO of HYDGEN.

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