Series—Week Three

In today’s fourth installment of highlights from the SEP report, we analyze the wide range of hydrogen leak rates, from the current estimate of approximately 2% to a high-end scenario of 20% for comparison.

Series—Week Three

In today’s third installment of highlights from the SEP report, we examine the sources of hydrogen released into the atmosphere.

Series—Week Two

In today’s second installment of highlights from the SEP report, we explore the sinks for hydrogen released into the atmosphere.

Series—Week One

This is SEP’s first entry in a weekly series highlighting key insights from our report. Today, we refine our understanding of hydrogen, greenhouse gases (GHGs), and their respective roles in atmospheric concentrations.

BOULDER, Colo. – February 18, 2025 –Industry leaders joined together on February 18, 2025, in Chicago for insights on hydrogen growth, data-driven opportunities, and market trends shaping the Midwest’s clean energy future.

SEP's Managing Partner Paul Nelson joined the Colorado Hydrogen Network HydrogenNow Podcast to discuss the SEP Hydrogen Data Map for hydrogen sector data as well as the H2 Newsfeed.

SEP's Managing Partner Paul Nelson recently joined other hydrogen market leaders at the VX2024 Conference to discuss the latest trends and advancements in the global hydrogen market.

SEP's Managing Partner Paul Nelson recently joined Stanford University's Hydrogen Innovators podcast to discuss SEP's data-driven approach to early-stage investing and more.

388 companies is an exceptionally large US early-stage market compared to other cleantech areas SEP has reviewed. These 388 companies have attracted 1,270 deals and 932 investors, and this sector is rapidly expanding.

Energy derived from the natural forces that act on the world’s oceans is evaluated in SEP’s latest IFR Topic Report. Development of energy capture devices for the four types of ocean energy, including tidal, wave, ocean thermal and salinity gradient, are low-to-mid stage TRL and are not yet being produced at scale. Considerable development of technology occurred about 15-20 years ago and recently there has been a resurgence of tech development at research institutions and by startups with notable concentrations in the Northwestern US and Scotland. While current estimates for the cost of ocean energy represent a broad range, the lower end of the spectrum is not far from the cost of large-scale intermittent solar PV with battery storage. Ocean energy has the technical potential to meet a large portion of the global energy needs, has much higher capacity factors (less intermittent) than wind or solar, and exhibits favorable green metrics.

Saoradh Enterprise Partners Joins Stanford University's Hydrogen Initiative and Precourt Energy Institute Corporate Affiliates Program

In 2022, global crude steel production was 1.9 gigatonnes (Gt) and contributed 5% to 7% of the anthropogenic CO2e generated annually in the world. On average, production of one metric tonne (mt) of steel generates nearly 2 mt CO2, and this footprint would need to decrease to 0.2 mt CO2 to limit global warming to 2℃ by 2050 stated in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Steel industry decarbonization discussions gained traction only 18 to 36 months ago, while historical innovation in iron and steelmaking focused on operational efficiencies and new types of steel. Decarbonization pathways clearly allow for the production of low carbon steel but are dependent on the adoption of renewable energy, green hydrogen, carbon capture, and scrap use. Research funding, government grants, and policy initiatives lag behind other cleantech sectors. However, recent US and European development of financial incentives are helping pivot the steel industry toward a lower CO2e future.

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) has a global warming potential nearly 300 times as potent as CO₂, and is the most significant contributor to stratospheric ozone depletion since the successful adoption of the Montreal Protocol. Mitigation measures are crucial to the path toward decarbonization. A new report from Boulder-based venture capital and research firm Saoradh Enterprise Partners (SEP) details the feasibility of hopeful new abatement technologies and investable opportunities.

Direct air capture (or DAC) technology – which removes CO2 directly from the atmosphere – has quickly become a cornerstone in plans to combat climate change. While DAC has widespread support from corporations and policymakers, it is still a nascent industry. Significant innovation is needed before DAC can make a substantial impact on global emissions. A new report from Boulder-based cleantech venture capital and research firm Saoradh Enterprise Partners (SEP) analyzes the DAC market and identifies the most investable companies.