First Hydrogen Applies for UK Government Net Zero Funding

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 5, 2022) - First Hydrogen Corp. (TSXV: FHYD) (OTC Pink: FHYDF) (FSE: FIT) ("FIRST HYDROGEN" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its' subsidiary, First Hydrogen Limited, has submitted two Green Hydrogen production projects for the initial round of funding thru the UK Government's Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF) Strand 1 program. The program is funded by the Ministry of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for £240 million. The NZHF is part of the UK Government's initiatives to promote the production of home-grown green hydrogen and is a means to achieving the ambitious 10 GW of domestic production by 2030, or which 'at least' 5GW will need to be from electrolytic sources.

The Company's two projects will have an initial capacity of 40 MW each and are to be situated in Carrington, in Greater Manchester, and in the Thames Estuary area. The sites are in two regions with hydrogen growth strategies, with letters of support received for both projects from leading strategic stakeholders and the landowners for the projects in such regions.

The Thames Estuary Growth Board (TEGB) issued a letter supporting our application for Strand 1 funding, highlighting the regional demand across the Estuary for green hydrogen, endorsed in the TEGB Hydrogen Route Map document. First Hydrogen has also received a letter of support for its projects from INOVYN, a subsidiary of INEOS, one of the key hydrogen producers in the EU.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has approved and adopted a regional Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Strategy in the pursuit of net-zero by 2038, supported by Manchester Metropolitan University and the Fuel Cell Innovation Centre, creating a Greater Manchester Hydrogen Partnership.

These Strand 1 submissions are the first stage in obtaining financial support from the UK Government, providing grant funding to undertake Front-End Engineering and Design work, planning, and will progress the projects to the pre-construction phase. Additional Strands will provide support for construction and business model support.

The two projects in Carrington and the Thames Estuary will, once operational, provide the Company's automotive customers with a substantial part of their green hydrogen needs to operate their fleets of First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Light Commercial Vehicles, and in combination will produce an excess of 7,100 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.

Nicholas Wrigley, Chairman of First Hydrogen Ltd., stated: "Having received support from respected economic and energy authorities for our projects, we are hopeful that our applications will secure funding to finance our first green hydrogen production sites. These sites will ultimately supply our automotive customers with a guaranteed supply of green hydrogen, which is critical to the adoption of hydrogen mobility and creating a zero-emission transport sector. First Hydrogen recognizes the role it will play in achieving these targets and meeting fleet demand and building upon the first submission, is working to identify additional production sites for future funding rounds."

About First Hydrogen Corp. (FirstHydrogen.com)

First Hydrogen Corp. is a Vancouver and London UK-based company focused on zero-emission vehicles, green hydrogen production and distribution and supercritical carbon dioxide extractor systems. The Company is designing and building hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered light commercial demonstrator vehicles ("LCV") under two agreements with AVL Powertrain and Ballard Power Systems Inc. The LCV will have a range of 500+ kilometres. At the same time, the company has launched its bespoke vehicle design phase which will develop its fleet of proprietary zero emission vehicles. First Hydrogen is also developing refueling capability working with FEV Consulting GmbH, the automotive consultancy of FEV Group of Aachen Germany. The Company is also pursuing opportunities in green hydrogen production and distribution in the UK and elsewhere.

About Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF)

The Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF) aims to support the commercial deployment of new low carbon hydrogen production projects during the 2020s. The Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF), worth up to £240 million, will fund the development and deployment of new low carbon hydrogen production to de-risk investment and reduce lifetime costs. Both strands are designed to support multiple low carbon hydrogen production technologies that meet the eligibility criteria.

About INOVYN (Inovyn.com)

Part of INEOS, INOVYN is Europe's leading producer of vinyls and in the top three worldwide. With an annual turnover of €3.1 billion, INOVYN has circa 4,200 employees and chemical manufacturing, sales, and marketing operations in 8 countries across Europe. INOVYN's portfolio consists of an extensive range of class-leading products arranged across General Purpose Vinyls; Specialty Vinyls; Organic Chlorine Derivatives; Chlor Alkali; Hydrogen and Vinyls Technologies. INOVYN's annual commercial production volume is circa 10 million tonnes.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

FIRST HYDROGEN CORP.
"Balraj Mann"
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

Contact:
Balraj Mann
First Hydrogen Corp.
604-601-2018
[email protected]

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains information or statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or developments to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by words such as "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" occur.

Forward looking information may include, without limitation, statements regarding the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, ongoing objectives, milestones, strategies and outlook of First Hydrogen, and includes statements about, among other things, future developments and the future operations, strengths and strategies of First Hydrogen. Forward-looking information is provided for the purpose of presenting information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results.

The forward-looking statements made in this news release are based on management's assumptions and analysis and other factors that may be drawn upon by management to form conclusions and make forecasts or projections, including management's experience and assessments of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. Although management believes that these assumptions, analyses and assessments are reasonable at the time the statements contained in this news release are made, actual results may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. Examples of risks and factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from forward-looking statements may include: the timing and unpredictability of regulatory actions; regulatory, legislative, legal or other developments with respect to its operations or business; limited marketing and sales capabilities; early stage of the industry and product development; limited products; reliance on third parties; unfavourable publicity or consumer perception; general economic conditions and financial markets; the impact of increasing competition; the loss of key management personnel; capital requirements and liquidity; access to capital; the timing and amount of capital expenditures; the impact of COVID-19; shifts in the demand for First Hydrogen's products and the size of the market; patent law reform; patent litigation and intellectual property; conflicts of interest; and general market and economic conditions.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of First Hydrogen as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. First Hydrogen undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

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