INSIGHTS / News

Hydrogen and Sustainable Transport Economy Accelerator member PuriFire Energy has successfully closed a £2.7m seed round investment led by HICO Investment Group and with participation from Bulnes Capital, R&R Investments, and Abhishek Desai.

In 2019, Dr Matthew Pearce founded PuriFire, a climate-based start-up, to commercialise his early research into hydrothermal treatment technologies. PuriFire aims to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy by scaling green hydrogen, biomethanol, and sustainable fuel production to be cost-competitive with fossil fuel alternatives.

PuriFire will combine the seed investment with a £525k grant from Innovate UK to set up a unique pilot project by mid-2025 to convert anaerobic digestion liquid digestate and other wet feedstocks into green methanol using PuriFire’s patented technology. As part of this round of investment, Chris Hartnoll, CEO & MD at HICO Investment Group, will join PuriFire’s Board.

Neel Shah, CEO and Co-Founder at PuriFire, said, “We are very excited to have HICO’s insight and expertise as we continue our journey to transform green methanol and sustainable fuel production. PuriFire’s technology offers a strong value proposition, as it can scale green methanol and sustainable fuel production without expensive electrolysers or carbon capture systems.”

Chris Hartnoll, MD at HICO Investment Group, mentioned, “One of the key attractions was the potential of PuriFire’s technology to convert wet waste into sustainable fuels such as green methanol. By targeting feedstock that doesn’t necessarily compete with other technologies, we believe PuriFire can significantly reduce the levelised cost of methanol production.”

HICO Investment Group sees significant demand for PuriFire’s green methanol in the shipping industry. Since the beginning of 2024, leading shipping companies such as Maersk, Evergreen, Costco, and CMA-CGM have placed orders for 23 methanol-powered ships, bringing the total number of new methanol-powered vessels on order to over 200. This investment is part of HICO Investment Group’s investments in the energy transition.

In the current market, about 99.3% of methanol produced comes from fossil-based sources, with only 0.7% being renewable or green. Green methanol can reduce CO₂ emissions by 60-95%, reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 60-80% and almost eliminate sulphur oxide and particular matter emissions. Alongside this, green methanol can be blended with traditional gasoline or diesel fuel, offering a seamless transition for shipping owners and minimising the need for infrastructure upgrades.

Find out more about the investment and R&D support available through the Hydrogen and Sustainable Transport Economy Accelerator