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Baker Hughes bought about 20% of Ekona Power in Vancouver, a growth company that develops turquoise hydrogen production technology. The value of Ekona's acquisition and the exact size of the equity were not disclosed.
Baker Hughes said it will use its investment to enhance its hydrogen and natural gas decarbonization technology portfolio. This investment will give Baker Hughes a place on Ekona's board of directors.
Turquoise hydrogen is made from methane through pyrolysis (also known as cracking or cracking). Ekona's methane pyrolysis technology uses the combustion and high-speed gas dynamics in the reactor to separate the raw methane into hydrogen and solid carbon, which greatly reduces carbon dioxide emissions compared to more traditional steam methane reforming processes.
Baker Hughes said the process is designed to easily integrate with standard equipment for natural gas and hydrogen applications, including carbon separation and hydrogen purification.
The two companies will work together to accelerate the scale and industrialization of the technology by identifying suitable pilot projects and leveraging Baker Hughes' turbomachinery product portfolio and technical expertise in modular and scalable solutions for hydrogen and natural gas projects.
Rod Christie, Executive Vice President of Baker Hughes Turbomachinery and Process Solutions, said: "This strategic investment further demonstrates our commitment to advancing the frontier of new energy by accelerating the pace of new technologies to the market. "
"Ekona Power's methane pyrolysis platform for the production of cleaner, lower-cost turquoise hydrogen is built on our growing and diverse portfolio of decarbonization technologies, including blue hydrogen and green hydrogen, CCUS and emission management solutions ,"He said.
Ekona is a joint venture established in Vancouver by Evok Innovations and Innovative Breakthrough Energy Technologies.
"Our innovative technology has the potential to produce hydrogen at a cost comparable to traditional steam methane reformers, while drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions," said Chris Reid, CEO of Ekona. "In addition, our solution does not rely on carbon dioxide storage, so it has the potential to be quickly and widely deployed in various industries and market regions."
He said that Baker Hughes' investment will help Ekona commercialize its technology.
Together with major investor Baker Hughes, Ekona has received support from many Canadian federal and provincial partners, including the BC Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund, National Research Council (NRC), Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Canada Breakthrough Energy Solutions (BESC) Alberta Emission Reduction Program (ERA), Natural Gas Innovation Fund (NGIF) and Canadian Pacific Economic Development Department.
BDC Capital's clean technology practice is also investing in 2020 to help fund Ekona's technology development plan.