Hy24 was awarded the Market Innovation of the Year award, with judges impressed by its range of solutions in a new market.  

Hy24 is a joint venture between Ardian, a world leading private investment house, and FiveT Hydrogen, a hydrogen investment specialist. It is now in charge of €2 billion ($2.12bn), across 2 funds – Clean Hydrogen Infrastructure Fund and Clean Hydrogen Equipment Fund.  

Judges said they were impressed with Hy24’s ability to scale a crucial industry needed for decarbonising the economy and noted Hy24’s pioneering of a venture-to-infrastructure investment approach that enables it to strategically invest in breakthrough technologies while providing the long-term financial backing to scale them. 

One judge said: “This submission clearly demonstrates innovation in terms of addressable markets (hydrogen for steel, transport and energy) as well as funding solutions (debt, VC and equity). The approach taken will undoubtly set a new market standard not only in terms of the hydrogen sector but potentially emerging sectors in energy transition.” 

“A very impressive range of solutions,” another member of the judging panel said. “Hydrogen needs a lot of innovation and Hy24’s activities are key.” 

According to the submission: “Hy24’s unique venture-to-infrastructure strategy, which combines early-stage venture capital with infrastructure investment, presents its own set of complexities: 

“Financing: H2’2023 and H1’2024 were historically difficult financing environments due to continued inflation, rising interest rates and a slow-down in M&A activity. In this period Hy24 committed approximately a quarter of its flagship Clean H2 
Infra Fund across 4 investments while simultaneously catalyzing over €5bn of capital from debt financiers, co-investors 
and industrial partners. 

“Nascent Technologies: Hy24 has balanced the inherent risks of nascent technologies by structuring bespoke financial models that accommodate the high-risk, high-reward nature of innovative ventures while securing the necessary long-term capital to deploy infrastructure to scale these technologies. 

“Regulations: Hy24 has navigated a diverse regulatory landscape which includes the CBAM, EU ETS and RFNBO. Our internal expertise in global regulations has allowed us to successfully comply to ever-changing standards, and when necessary, quickly manoeuvre.” 

Judges particularly marvelled at the success of H2 Green Steel. Hy24 has set a precedent for future investments in decarbonizing the steel sector, judges said.  

H2 Green Steel’s innovative structure attracted a diverse group of investors. This approach secured €6.6 billion - €4.2 billion in debt and €2.4 billion in equity – enabling up to a 95% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to traditional methods.