Natural hydrogen exploration startup Mantle8 raises €3.4m seed

Mantle8, a French natural hydrogen exploration company, has raised a €3.4m seed round with investment from Kiko Ventures and Breakthrough Energy Ventures Europe (BEV-E), with participation from angel investors.

The funds will be used run a pilot to image and quantify hydrogen systems in the ground. Mantle8 will also further develop the cross-border scalability of its technology and expand its team by hiring new AI and geochemistry experts.

Mantle8’s proprietary technology combines geophysics, geochemistry and seismic data to accurately detect natural hydrogen locations so that it can be extracted. The company visualises the entire hydrogen generating system to evaluate the amount and quality of hydrogen present. 

Natural hydrogen is produced by nature when water reacts with iron rich rocks underground. Unlike conventional hydrogen production methods, natural hydrogen does not require energy-intensive separation processes. While low-carbon alternatives such as electrolysis from renewable energies have emerged, they remain costly. As industries worldwide seek sustainable alternatives for hard-to-decarbonize sectors like steel, cement and aviation, natural hydrogen has the potential to eliminate the green premium and become the sustainable solution for achieving net-zero goals.

Some companies experimentally drill for natural hydrogen based on surface or former drill hole indications. But Mantle8 believes it will be more effective to analyse the Earth’s subsurface to evidence the resources available beneath.

Mantle8 believes that its technology is scalable for the assessment and exploration of the entire planet. By 2030 Mantle8 aims to find 10Mt of natural hydrogen, complementing the EU goal of producing and importing the same amount of hydrogen generated from renewable energy.

“Our science-first approach represents a paradigm shift in hydrogen exploration. It makes hydrogen discovery more scalable, accurate, faster and profitable,” said Emmanuel Masini, Founder and CEO of Mantle8. “Our technology was founded on broad and intimate collaboration with the scientific community. The next step was finding the right partners that would enable us to deliver this technology boldly. With the support of our investors, we now have the fuel to move at the necessary pace.”

“Most existing approaches to natural hydrogen extraction are based on trial and error, but Mantle8’s proprietary technology is based on rigorous science,” added Rob Trezona from Kiko Ventures. “We are big believers in the hydrogen economy and exited our last investment in hydrogen at over a billion; this could be even more valuable.”

“Mantle8’s expansive regional knowledge and geology-based approach to natural hydrogen exploration puts the company in a strong position to make affordable hydrogen a reality in Europe,” said Carmichael Roberts of Breakthrough Energy Ventures. “With its team of experienced geologists and its bottom-up exploration approach, Mantle8 will have a significant impact on transforming hydrogen discovery.”