Durham University spinout H2CHP has secured £1.5m in funding to scale-up its clean energy technology.
This support strengthens the company’s advances to be a leading provider of flexible, clean power.
H2CHP is developing next-generation distributed electric generators for use in data centres, ports, construction, back up power, and microgrid development.
Its fuel-flexible technology means the high-efficiency generators can be run on hydrogen, ammonia, biofuels, and e-fuels. Crucially, this helps mitigate supply-chain risk, cut carbon emissions, and improve performance. In doing so, the company aims to disrupt the multi-billion-dollar global generator market, aided by rising pressure to reduce emissions and persistent grid reliability challenges.
Investment breakdown
The £1.5m of funding includes £700,000 from Innovate UK’s investor partnership programme, £500,000 from Blackfinch Ventures, and £300,000 from the North East Spinout Inspire Fund.
The £22.5m North East Spinout Inspire Fund is backed by the universities of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside and the North East Combined Authority (via the North East Fund). It has been set up to commercialise the research and innovation emerging from North East England’s five universities. The Fund is being managed by Northstar Ventures.
From research to real-world impact
H2CHP’s technology builds on more than a decade of research led by Professor Tony Roskilly, who is part of Durham University’s Department of Engineering and Co-Director of the Durham Energy Institute.
Prof. Tony Roskilly, Chairman and Co-Founder of H2CHP and Professor at Durham University:
“From the outset, H2CHP has been about translating advanced research in free-piston engine systems into a commercially meaningful power generation technology. This support is a strong endorsement of the progress the company has made and of the wider potential for high-efficiency, fuel-flexible generation to play an important role in the transition to lower-carbon, more resilient energy systems.”
Stephen Hampson, Co-Founder of H2CHP:
“This support is an important step for H2CHP as we continue to develop and demonstrate our free-piston linear generator technology. We believe there is a major opportunity for high-efficiency, low-emission and fuel-flexible local power generation in applications such as microgrids, EV charging, ports and data centres, where resilience, cost and decarbonisation all matter.”
Tom O’Neill, Investment Manager at Northstar Ventures:
“We are very pleased to complete our investment in H2CHP, which is the first in a Durham University spin-out from the North East Spinout Inspire Fund. We have been consistently impressed by Tony, Stephen and the rest of the team as they tackle a growing and serious challenge in supplying clean, flexible power to a rapidly expanding market. The market is driven by organisations seeking to decarbonise their existing operations in difficult sectors such as Maritime, as well as growth in new sectors such as data centres fuelled by the growth of AI and associated energy needs.”
Northern Accelerator support
H2CHP has benefited from dedicated Northern Accelerator support. Stephen Hampson joined the business through the Executives into Business programme, bringing extensive engineering and venture capital experience.
In addition, the company accessed support through the Future Founders programme, helping to strengthen its commercial foundations
H2CHP continues to generate accolades
The business has achieved several significant milestones. This includes being accepted to the Hydrogen Innovation Initiative organised by Connected Places Catapult. H2CHP has also received the TechX Accelerator Award for Economic Impact.
Growing recognition and momentum
Given the company’s progress, it is not surprising that the UK’s leading growth platform, Tech Nation, has selected H2CHP to join its 2026 Climate Programme as one of 25 leading climate tech startups in the UK.
What’s next for H2CHP
The company is now entering a critical phase of pre-deployment testing. With strong academic foundations, an experienced leadership team and growing interest from industry, H2CHP is well positioned to scale as a leading provider of flexible, clean power.
With demand for reliable, low-carbon power growing, H2CHP is set to play a key role in the future of distributed energy.
