36. Oort Energy – making the UK a world leader in green hydrogen

Founders: Dr James Dodwell, Dr Dan Brett, and Dr Nick Van Dijk
Year founded: 2021
Website: oortenergy.com

Green hydrogen will play a pivotal role in decarbonising some of the world’s biggest industries. But, steel, fertiliser, food, and chemicals are all difficult to decarbonise without clean hydrogen, and the vast majority of hydrogen production worldwide is reliant on non-sustainable energy sources.

That’s where Oort Energy comes in. The founding team has a clear-sighted company mission of making green hydrogen accessible and scalable. Their solution is hydrogen produced by electrolysis, via a system that can work with virtually any renewable energy source.

Oort’s latest development is its ‘Off-Grid Commercial Electrolyser Stack.’ It looks, well, a little like a small shipping container. And it’s every bit as portable. In fact, their tech means that an Oort electrolyser can match the efficiency of a competitor product, while being far smaller and requiring far lower operating and capital expenditure. 

“It became clear that if somebody could re-engineer electrolysers to be more cost-effective and efficient, the world could unlock the true potential of green hydrogen on a global scale,” the founders told us. 

The team have filed two patents so far, with more on the way, and most excitingly, they’ve already raised £6m in seed funding and secured £2.5m in revenue from customer orders.

Last year, Oort Energy became the first UK company to produce green hydrogen entirely off-grid. In April 2024, the company’s 250kW demonstrator in Harlaxton was announced as running continuously on solar power, marking a historic milestone in the hydrogen sector. 

This achievement represented the first instance of a UK-based company achieving direct solar-powered hydrogen production at a commercial scale. 

The Oort Energy team are confident their tech can play a major role in the world’s must-win priorities for decarbonising the economy. “Green hydrogen is a clean source of energy that will lead to a meaningful reduction in greenhouse gas emissions,” they tell us.

“With our wealth of experience and knowledge, we knew we could contribute to the fight for net zero, and we felt a responsibility to do so — for science, for humanity, and for the future.”