Hexagon Purus, which among its portfolio offers hydrogen high-pressure Type 4 cylinders and storage systems, has entered into an agreement to acquire 40% of Cryoshelter GmbH’s liquid hydrogen business. The transaction is in conjunction with Hexagon Composites’ acquisition of a 40% stake in Cryoshelter’s liquid natural gas (LNG) business.

Cryoshelter’s liquid hydrogen tank technology is in the early stage of development and builds on superior and differentiated LNG technology that provides more fuel capacity and higher hold times (a critical requirement for cryogenic storage) than competing offerings.

The transaction brings early-stage expertise in liquid hydrogen tank technology for zero-emission mobility applications and could potentially result in a future complementary offering to Hexagon Purus’ compressed hydrogen cylinder technology.

Key terms and structure of the transaction:

• Initial investment of €3.5 million for 40% of the shares in Cryoshelter’s liquid hydrogen business.

• The transaction contemplates a split of Cryoshelter into separate legal entities for the liquid hydrogen and liquid natural (renewable) gas businesses, enabling Hexagon Purus’ direct investment in early-stage liquid hydrogen tank technology.

• The separation of Cryoshelter’s liquid hydrogen and liquid natural gas businesses recognizes the different phases of market and product development—there is an established market for liquid natural gas mobility solutions and Cryoshelter’s technology is already at a pre-commercial stage, while the market and products for liquid hydrogen storage are in the early stage of development with longer runway to commercialization.

• Synergies between the separated business entities are expected to be maintained in key functional areas, sharing resources where possible.

• Hexagon Purus and Cryoshelter will further develop the technology and business over the next few years.

• Hexagon Purus has options to buy remaining interests in Cryoshelter over the next 5 -10 years.

Closing of the transaction is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2022, subject to fulfilment of certain closing conditions and customary regulatory approvals.

Cryoshelter is a cryogenic storage technology company founded in 2008 in Austria by Dr. Matthias Rebernik (currently holds approximately 80% of the shares in the company) whose PhD thesis was part of the LH2-tank project for the BMW Hydrogen 7 (earlier post). The company has developed and secured patented technology for heavy-duty trucks and buses using liquid storage solutions for natural gas and hydrogen based on the same technology platform.

Using proprietary designs, Cryoshelter’s commercialized liquid natural gas tanks allow for maximum utilization of frame rail space to give industry-leading performance (e.g., 20-50% better fuel storage and 2-4x improved hold time versus competitors).