During her PhD studies in electrolysis at DTU, Sarah Groot Shapel, founder and CEO of the electrolysis company Nordic Hydrogen, decided, after a short time as an employee in a company that was not her own, to start her own company. That company became Nordic Hydrogen, and the company saw the light of day based on a plan to rethink the technology for producing green hydrogen.
- I had a feeling that my idea could optimize a lot of parts of the electrolysis process, as it more traditionally works in the current market, says Sarah Groot Shapel in a press release from Energy Cluster Denmark, she continues:
- I was impatient with the green transition, and thought that I would regret it if I didn't take the plunge. So I founded Nordic Hydrogen and a team where we have literally turned the well-known Power-to-X technology upside down, says Sarah Groot Shapel, who together with her colleagues at Nordic Hydrogen uses a modular design of alkaline electrolysis for hydrogen production, where the cylinder in the technology – unlike other manufacturers in the market – is vertical.
Green hydrogen at half the price
According to Sarah Groot Shapel, the technology allows the company's price for producing green hydrogen to be halved compared to other manufacturers in the market, especially due to the product's low weight and limited size.
Nordic Hydrogen's long-term plan is to build a four MW plant in a forty-foot container – a plant that, after prototype testing in two years, will be scalable and ready for the market.
- Now I look forward to testing our prototype on land, so that we can later scale up to a technology that will be plug-n-play – also offshore, where we will implement it in direct connection with wind turbines, on floating foundations or other places where we can produce cheap, green hydrogen for the benefit of our climate, says Sarah Groot Shapel.
Has received support from the startup program
In the latter part of 2023, Nordic Hydrogen was part of the Danish accelerator program Beyond Beta Energy for three months, which supports Danish entrepreneurs in working with new green technologies for the global market. During the course, Sarah Groot Shapel received sparring on business development and networking, including through an advisory board consisting of experienced industry professionals.
- By signing up for Beyond Beta Energy, Danish companies like Nordic Hydrogen can get help with increased market insight and networking for the best conditions for growth. We are happy to have helped Sarah's startup on the path to increased innovation and business understanding, and are ready to help others who, like Nordic Hydrogen, want to move forward quickly, says Søren Røn, CEO of Next Step Challenge, which manages Beyond Beta Energy on behalf of Denmark's national energy cluster, Energy Cluster Denmark.
Beyond Beta is funded by the EU's Social Fund and the Danish Business Development Agency and consists of a collaboration between Danish business houses, Danish cluster organizations and Accelerace. Energy Cluster Denmark and Next Step Challenge manage Beyond Beta Energy.
According to Sarah Groot Shapel, the Beyond Beta course has been a good help in moving her company.
- As a physicist and researcher, my core competence has not been to pitch my product to investors and other business-related contacts. My primary focus is on technology development, but Beyond Beta Energy has given me new knowledge about business and contacts that have moved my company faster towards the market, says Sarah Groot Shapel.
According to Glenda Napier, CEO of Energy Cluster Denmark, the development of companies like Nordic Hydrogen is crucial for the Danish energy cluster's continued success in a competitive global market for climate-friendly energy technologies.
- Beyond Beta Energy has been established to increase the pace for companies like Nordic Hydrogen – and I would recommend everyone with ambitions for green growth to apply for possible participation in the process, says Glenda Napier.
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