Harnessing the power of breakthrough technology to tackle one of the planet's most urgent challenges – decarbonisation – H2SITE is redefining the hydrogen economy. As a deep tech scale-up in the Clean Fuels & Hydrogen market group, H2SITE’s proprietary membrane reactor technology provides on-site hydrogen separation and generation solutions from carriers such as ammonia or bioethanol.
We had the opportunity and pleasure of meeting H2SITE’s team in person during the Ambition Forum in Riga in September 2025 and interviewing the scale-up’s Strategic Director, Guillermo Garcia Miguel. Read the article and explore how H2SITE is revolutionising hydrogen transport and use with its cutting-edge membrane technology.
Don't feel like reading? Listen to the interview here!
Founded in 2020 in Bilbao, Spain, H2SITE specialises in manufacturing membranes for hydrogen separation, which addresses the critical challenge of hydrogen transport. Guillermo explains that while hydrogen can be effectively produced, often when renewables are in high supply, it requires efficient movement to the point of use. To facilitate this transport, hydrogen is typically stored in carriers like ammonia or within pipeline systems. H2SITE's role is to leverage its membrane technology to provide pure hydrogen at the final point of use, ensuring that the energy produced elsewhere is safely and efficiently utilised.
H2SITE originated as a high-potential spin-off, combining the deep-tech expertise of two leading research powerhouses: TECNALIA (Southern Europe's largest private research center, specialising in membranes and materials) and the Eindhoven University of Technology (TUe), a pioneer in process intensification. This partnership was forged over a decade of collaboration on large-scale stationary decarbonisation, resulting in the successful development of the integrated membrane reactor concept, backed by over €70 million in EU funding.
“We are very proud of our origin, because it has helped us create this ecosystem that supports the development of H2SITE.”
The scale-up’s founding team consists of experienced entrepreneurs who, as Guillermo says, “have been making startups from scratch” and individuals fluent in technology development. “The CTOs are the people who actually invented the technology, and they help us thrive and make it even better than what was designed at the beginning,” he explains.
H2SITE also takes great pride in its board, which is composed of cleantech industry leaders and VC professionals, all coming from companies committed to changing their business models and making them more renewable.
When asked about the company’s biggest hurdles, Guillermo highlights the industry's own immaturity. He clarifies that while hydrogen is not new, "Decarbonising using hydrogen is not the same as simply using hydrogen." This monumental shift requires far more than just technology. It necessitates a foundation of policy, significant investment, and a firm, long-term commitment to ensure the new hydrogen economy can fully scale.
“It’s not just creating one policy and forgetting about it. We need support from institutions, the European Union, the U.S., Japan, Korea, and others.”
Guillermo acknowledges that these regions are doing a good job developing their hydrogen paths, but as they learn and gain experience, policies inevitably change and adapt. This requires H2SITE to operate not just by expanding its technology, scaling production, and refining its internal roadmap, but also by continuously ensuring the company can align its growth strategy with the rapidly changing external environment of evolving regulations and shifting industry perspectives on hydrogen use.
Immediately after its establishment, H2SITE began building its production facility, located in Bilbao. “We now have a factory that produces thousands of membranes. So, in comparison to the lab scale, you can imagine that it is something completely different – a different way of manufacturing,” Guillermo shares one of H2SITE’s most significant milestones.
Moreover, the scale-up has attracted significant amounts of investments and found partners along the way. The company raised €12.5 million in a Series A funding round, led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures with participation from Equinor Ventures, ENGIE New Ventures, TECNALIA, and institutional investors from the Basque Country. “Those were people who really helped us thrive and get to the next level,” Guillermo comments.
Kicking off 2025 with significant momentum, H2SITE closed an astonishing €36 million Series B funding round – one of the largest deals within the scope of the EIC Scaling Club programme. This capital infusion was co-led by Hy24 and SC Net Zero Ventures, with key participation from a syndicate of major investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Enagás Emprende, Equinor Ventures, Exergon, Ezten, and MassMutual Ventures.
"Our early partners were instrumental in validating the business model, enabling us to establish a dedicated factory and scale the company," Guillermo asserts. "Today, our projects in the UK, France, and Belgium clearly demonstrate that our technology is ready to grow and keep scaling up.”
He adds that the company is actively working towards achieving some truly impressive milestones by the end of 2030.
Regarding H2SITE’s participation in the EIC Scaling Club, Guillermo notes that the scale-up uses every opportunity for exposure it receives. “If you do something behind the curtains, it doesn’t really happen. People need to be aware of it so they can believe and trust the technology you are developing,” he explains the company’s approach to visibility.
Guillermo confirms that H2SITE has a deliberate strategy for engaging with the EIC Scaling Club and the broader EIC community, noting that the company uses various resources within the Club for development support.
While the team attends many industry events and associations, Guillermo highlights the unique value of the Scaling Club:
"Having the key investors, key companies, and mentors helps us figure out and think through our challenges. [...] This team is unique."
Watch the full interview with Guillermo Garcia Miguel from H2SITE on YouTube!
The EIC Scaling Club is a curated community where 120+ European deep tech scale-ups with the potential to build world-class businesses and solve major global challenges come together with investors, corporate innovators and other industry stakeholders to spur growth.
The top 120+ European deep tech companies will be carefully selected from a pool of high-growth scale-ups that have benefitted from EIC financial schemes, other European and national innovation programmes, and beyond.
The EIC Scaling Club is an EIC-funded initiative run in partnership by Tech Tour, Bpifrance (EuroQuity), Hello Tomorrow, Tech.eu (Webrazzi), EurA and IESE Business School.
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