For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20241114:nRSN1585Ma&default-theme=true
RNS Number : 1585M HydrogenOne Capital Growth PLC 14 November 2024
LEI: 213800PMTT98U879SF45
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION
14 November 2024
HydrogenOne Capital Growth plc
("HydrogenOne" or the "Company")
Portfolio Update - HH2E
HydrogenOne, the first London-listed fund investing in clean hydrogen for a
positive environmental impact, updates on HH2E AG ("HH2E"), a German green
hydrogen project developer.
Following the Company's announcement on 8 November 2024, the local court of
Berlin-Charlottenburg has now approved the applications of HH2E and HH2E Werk
Lubmin GmbH for self-administration proceedings. HH2E has also appointed
restructuring experts to assist with the self-administration process and to
seek a buyer for the business.
HydrogenOne has invested a total of £7 million in HH2E, valued in the 30
September 2024 unaudited results at £11 million of NAV (8.4 pence per share,
8% of NAV). HydrogenOne has an 11% shareholding in HH2E, with the remainder
held by funds managed by Foresight Group ("Foresight"), the founders and HH2E
employees.
HH2E had been following a strategy of investing in long lead-time equipment to
prepare for the Final Investment Decision ("FID") of its first project, at
Lubmin, ahead of securing bankable offtake agreement for the hydrogen
production, and at the same time seeking additional equity funding and bank
debt for the construction of the project. To this end, a total of c. £59
million of shareholder loans had been provided to HH2E, including c. £1
million from HydrogenOne.
On 7 November 2024, following a prolonged external funding process without
securing additional investors, an investment proposal to provide further
funding for HH2E was not approved by Foresight funds, a development not
expected by HydrogenOne, prompting the Company's announcement on 8 November
2024. No recovery of the Company's investment is anticipated through the
insolvency process.
A number of individual hydrogen production projects have seen delays and
cancellations in 2024, against the backdrop of evolving regulations and a
challenging funding environment. However, the board of directors of the
Company believes that the investment fundamentals for the hydrogen sector
remain positive. At the end of 2023, 1.4GW of green hydrogen was in production
worldwide. The International Energy Agency recently updated expectations for
green hydrogen capacity worldwide to increase to 5GW this year, and that a
further 20GW of green hydrogen production has now reached Final Investment
Decision ("FID").
In the UK, the new Labour government has committed over £6 billion to fund
hydrogen and related projects in the recent Budget. In Germany, the Federal
Network Agency recently announced approval of a 9,040-kilometer core hydrogen
network, which is set to become Europe's largest hydrogen pipeline system with
a planned investment of €19 billion, targeting completion by 2032.
HydrogenOne has a portfolio comprising meaningful investments in six
high-quality companies that cover an array of supply chain and applications
across the hydrogen industry. These include electrolysis, fuel cell and
transportation equipment and clean flight innovation. These companies
delivered an aggregate £75 million in total revenue in the 12 months to 30
September 2024, an increase of 19% compared to the 12 months to 30 September
2023. Order books in these businesses reflect the on-going growth of the clean
hydrogen industry.
Following the recently announced successful exit from Gen2 Energy, the Company
expects to have sufficient funding to meet its investment commitments and
current working capital requirements for at least 12 months. Four of the six
portfolio companies, or 71% of the NAV, have attracted external equity funding
in 2024, totalling £237 million. In addition, portfolio companies have
attracted £257 million of non-dilutive grant funding and £96 million of
committed debt in 2024. All of these factors support the Company's valuation.
- Ends -
Notes
For further information, please visit www.hydrogenonecapitalgrowthplc.com
(http://www.hydrogenonecapitalgrowthplc.com) or contact:
HydrogenOne Capital LLP - Investment Adviser +44 (0) 20 3830 8231
Dr. JJ Traynor
Richard Hulf
Eva Roberts
Barclays Bank PLC - Corporate Broker +44 (0) 20 7623 2323
Dion Di Miceli BarclaysInvestmentCompanies@barclays.com
Stuart Muress
James Atkinson
Burson Buchanan - Public Relations +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
Henry Harrison-Topham HGEN@buchanancomms.co.uk (mailto:HGEN@buchanancomms.co.uk)
Henry Wilson
Samuel Adams
About HydrogenOne:
HydrogenOne is the first London-listed hydrogen fund investing in clean
hydrogen for a positive environmental impact. The Company was launched in 2021
with an investment objective to deliver an attractive level of capital growth
by investing in a diversified portfolio of hydrogen and complementary hydrogen
focussed assets. INEOS Energy is a strategic investor in HydrogenOne. The
Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange's main market (ticker code:
HGEN). The Company is an Article 9 climate impact fund with an ESG policy
integrated in investment decisions and asset monitoring.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of
an offer to acquire or subscribe for, shares in the Company in any
jurisdiction. The distribution of this announcement outside the UK may be
restricted by law. No action has been taken by the Company that would permit
possession of this announcement in any jurisdiction outside the UK where
action for that purpose is required. Persons outside the UK who come into
possession of this announcement should inform themselves about the
distribution of this announcement in their particular jurisdiction.
This announcement contains (or may contain) certain forward-looking statements
with respect to certain of the Company's plans and/or the plans of one or more
of its investee companies or projects and their respective current goals and
expectations relating to their respective future financial condition and
performance and which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The Company
cautions readers that no forward- looking statement is a guarantee of future
performance and that actual results could differ materially from those
contained in the forward- looking statements.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, as it forms part of UK domestic law ("MAR"). Upon
publication of this announcement, the inside information is now considered to
be in the public domain for the purposes of MAR. The person responsible for
arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is
HydrogenOne Capital LLP. HydrogenOne Capital LLP (FRN: 954060) is an appointed
representative of Thornbridge Investment Management LLP (FRN: 713859) which is
authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
. END PFUFFSFWDELSEIF