Hgen, a clean hydrogen company focused on decarbonizing heavy industry, has secured $5 million in seed financing. The funding round was led by Seven Seven Six, with additional participation from Founders Fund and Fontinalis Partners. The investment will help Hgen accelerate the deployment of its advanced electrolyzer technology at customer sites.

Founded in 2021, Hgen aims to disrupt the $100 billion hydrogen market by producing clean hydrogen from water and electricity using its proprietary alkaline electrolyzers. These electrolyzers are designed to achieve the lowest cost targets in the industry, making them well-suited for decarbonizing the nearly 100 million metric tons of fossil-fuel-derived hydrogen produced annually.

Hgen’s electrolyzer is notable for its 20x higher volumetric power density compared to conventional alkaline systems, resulting in a significantly smaller footprint while maintaining the same hydrogen output. The company’s hydrogen-generating cells are 9% more efficient and 6x thinner than standard alkaline cells, reducing both size and cost.

Hgen’s CEO, Molly Yang, emphasized the cost-saving advantages of their pre-assembled modules, which avoid the expensive custom designs typically required in hydrogen projects. Hgen has scaled its technology from a prototype to an industrial demonstration at its Hawthorne facility and is now focused on customer site deployments.

Seven Seven Six founder Alexis Ohanian highlighted Hgen’s team, which includes experts from SpaceX and Tesla, and praised their ability to develop cutting-edge technology faster than incumbents. Katelin Holloway, a founding partner at Seven Seven Six, also expressed confidence in Hgen’s commercial success and superior technology.

Hgen is currently hiring for positions in Los Angeles.