John Cockerill has raised about $250 million for its hydrogen business. The lead investor is SLB, a company better known for oilfield services than for electrolysers. The money is meant to build factories on three continents. Where the round sits against other hydrogen equity raises says more about the market than the number alone.
Key takeaways
- John Cockerill raised approximately $249.5 million in equity from a syndicate of investors led by SLB to support the global expansion of its hydrogen business, announced on 3 June 2024.
- SLB, SFPIM, Wallonie Entreprendre and several international industrial family offices participated in the John Cockerill round, which was expected to complete by the end of June 2024.
- John Cockerill Hydrogen makes pressurised alkaline electrolysers, has delivered 1,300 electrolysers worldwide, and offers 5 MW stacks and a complete 30 MW pressurised alkaline system.
- The John Cockerill proceeds will fund gigafactories and electrolyser production and service hubs in the USA, India and the UAE, with similar investments being considered in Morocco and Vietnam.
- Enerdatics records 38 hydrogen equity financings announced in 2023 and 2024, of which 31 carry a disclosed amount, and John Cockerill's $249.5 million ranks tenth among them.
What did John Cockerill raise, and from whom?
John Cockerill raised equity, not debt, from a mix of industrial and public investors. SLB led the syndicate. Alongside it sat SFPIM and Wallonie Entreprendre, two public investors, and a group of international family offices with an industrial focus.
That mix matters. Public investors and industrial family offices tend to back manufacturing for longer than venture funds do. And a lead investor from the oil and gas services world brings something other than cash: customers who already run large industrial sites and may one day need hydrogen on them.
The round was announced as being under way rather than closed. Completion was expected by the end of June 2024, so the figure is best read as committed capital rather than money already in the bank on the day of the announcement.
What does a pressurised alkaline electrolyser do?
An electrolyser splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. Alkaline electrolysers use a liquid alkaline solution between the electrodes. Running them under pressure means the hydrogen leaves the machine already compressed, which reduces the compression equipment a buyer needs downstream.
John Cockerill sells this technology in modules. Its building block is a 5 MW stack, and it offers a complete system of 30 MW. The company says it has delivered 1,300 electrolysers worldwide, which gives it a manufacturing track record that many newer entrants in hydrogen equipment do not have.
That history shapes what the money is for. A company with a proven product does not need cash to prove the technology. It needs cash to make more of it, closer to where the buyers are.
Why build factories in the USA, India and the UAE?
The use of proceeds is about geography. The funds will support John Cockerill Hydrogen's plan to establish gigafactories in key locations, and to build electrolyser production and service hubs in the USA, India and the UAE. The company is also considering similar investments in Morocco and Vietnam with major partners.
The company calls this a multi-local strategy. The logic is that electrolysers are large, heavy and need servicing for decades, and that the biggest hydrogen projects are being planned in places with cheap renewable power and supportive industrial policy. Building near those projects shortens delivery, makes local content rules easier to meet, and puts service engineers within reach of the plants.
The order of the list is telling. The USA, India and the UAE are committed locations with production and service hubs named. Morocco and Vietnam are still under consideration, and only in collaboration with major partners, which suggests John Cockerill wants a local anchor customer or co-investor before it commits capital there.
A service hub is as important as a factory here. An electrolyser plant is not a one-off sale. Stacks degrade and need refurbishment, and the supplier that is physically closest is usually the one that wins the long-term maintenance work.
How large is $250 million for a hydrogen equity round?
It is a large round, but not an outlier. Most hydrogen equity raises are much smaller, and the nine above John Cockerill are a mix of project developers, investment funds, industrial users and a few technology companies.
Enerdatics' data shows 38 hydrogen equity financings announced across 2023 and 2024, of which 31 carry a disclosed amount. Ranked by size, John Cockerill's $249.5 million sits tenth. The largest is Hygreen's $2.2 billion commitment to Coxabengoa for Spanish green hydrogen projects, followed by H2 Green Steel's $1.61 billion raise for a steel plant powered by an electrolyser in Sweden. Third is the $571.6 million that thyssenkrupp nucera raised through its 2023 initial public offering.
The closest comparisons are with other hydrogen technology companies. Electric Hydrogen raised $380 million in October 2023. Ohmium raised $250 million in April 2023, almost exactly John Cockerill's amount. Sunfire raised $233.28 million in a Series E round in March 2024, part of a funding stack that also included a European Investment Bank loan and a government grant. Below that, the amounts fall away quickly: Hysata raised about $111.3 million, Verdagy $73 million and Stargate Hydrogen about $44.8 million.
So John Cockerill raised roughly as much as Ohmium and Sunfire, about two thirds of what Electric Hydrogen raised, and well under half of thyssenkrupp nucera's listing. For an industrial group raising money for one division, that places it firmly among the best-funded equipment makers of the period.
What does the deal signal for hydrogen equipment makers?
It signals that capital for hydrogen equipment is moving towards companies that already manufacture at scale and towards investors with an industrial reason to be there. SLB leading the round is the clearest example. A services company for oil and gas producers backing an electrolyser maker suggests the electrolyser is being treated as industrial plant equipment rather than an early-stage technology bet.
It also signals that the next phase of competition is about location. Equity raised in 2023 and 2024 by hydrogen technology companies has largely gone into factories. John Cockerill's version is distinctive because it spreads production across several regions instead of concentrating it in one large European plant. If hydrogen projects in India, the Gulf and the USA reach construction, a supplier with factories and service teams in each of them will be well placed. If they do not, the same footprint becomes a cost.
The ranking adds one more point. Seven of the 38 hydrogen equity records carry no disclosed amount at all, so the true distribution is wider than the 31 priced rounds show. Even so, a quarter of a billion dollars in a single round puts John Cockerill in the top third of disclosed hydrogen equity raises across two years.
Frequently asked questions
Who led John Cockerill's 2024 hydrogen funding round? SLB led the round of about $249.5 million, with SFPIM, Wallonie Entreprendre and international industrial family offices also participating.
What will John Cockerill do with the money? The funds will support gigafactories and electrolyser production and service hubs in the USA, India and the UAE, with similar investments considered in Morocco and Vietnam.
How does John Cockerill's raise compare with other hydrogen equity rounds? Enerdatics records 31 priced hydrogen equity financings in 2023 and 2024, and John Cockerill's $249.5 million ranks tenth, level with Ohmium's $250 million and ahead of Sunfire's $233.28 million.
Ready to get deal-ready answers in seconds? Try Enerdatics Leap AI and access verified intelligence across M&A, financings, PPAs, projects, and energy market developments through natural language.
.jpeg)
