The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
Firm generates 400 new jobs
GEOPURA SEALS £56M INVESTMENT TO EXPAND PRODUCTION
AROUND 400 new jobs are coming to Newcastle after hydrogen specialist GeoPura sealed a £56m investment to ramp up growth.
The company, based at Siemens Energy in Newcastle, has been given £30m by the UK Infrastructure Bank as well as support from investors which will see it expand production of its Hydrogen Power Units (HPUs), which replace traditional diesel generators and emit zero harmful emissions.
The HPUs have been used for temporary and backup power and are used by customers including the Ministry of Defence, and National Grid, as well as by the BBC for its Springwatch shows.
The deal comes a year after the firm secured investment of £36m to scale up its work and the new investment will trigger huge growth in the manufacture and supply of its HPUs at Newcastle.
GeoPura says around 400 jobs will be created over the next five years, coming on top of a busy 2023 which saw it grow from 30 to 85 employees, win new customers and expand its reach into Europe. The company will mass manufacture HPUs alongside its partner Siemens Energy in Byker, increase the production of green hydrogen to fuel the units and drive green skills in the North East. It plans to have a fleet of more than 3,600 HPUs by 2033, displacing more than ten million tonnes of CO2 emissions over their life.
Andrew Cunningham, CEO of GeoPura, said: “Having experienced the hottest year on record in 2023, our need to combat climate change has never been more urgent. The challenge of replacing the estimated $300bn installed base of highly polluting diesel generators over the next 10 years is significant and requires the scale and commitment that investors and our shareholders and partners provide. We’re delighted to be taking this next step.”
John Flint, CEO at UK Infrastructure Bank, said: “By removing barriers to investment in the hydrogen sector we are creating a sustainable platform from which to finance additional green hydrogen projects in the near future.”