H CYCLE, LLC ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF SERIES A FINANCING TO FUND EXPANSION

CONCORD, Calif., April 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- H Cycle, LLC, is pleased to announce the closing of Series A funding led by Azimuth Capital Management's new Azimuth V Energy Evolution Fund and ENEOS Innovation Partners LLC. Azimuth launched H Cycle in mid-2021, with additional backing from the Larsen Lam Foundation, to meet growing demand for low-carbon fuels while at the same time re-purposing significant amounts of organic waste materials otherwise destined for landfills. In developing its green hydrogen projects, H Cycle is not only serving overarching climate decarbonization goals, but also meeting growing regional calls for better waste management.

"The purpose of this funding round is two-fold – aligning with strategic partners that can provide operating experience and securing growth capital to accelerate H Cycle's path to market," said Rob Morgan, CEO of H Cycle. "We are confident that our partnership with Azimuth, its fund investors and ENEOS achieves both objectives."

Azimuth is a North American private equity firm with 20 years of experience investing in the energy sector, having invested over $3 billion of cumulative capital in its four prior funds. Azimuth V Energy Evolution Fund was launched in 2022 with Idemitsu Americas as the lead investor. Idemitsu has already entered a full-scale feasibility study with H Cycle exploring the production of green hydrogen using waste in Japan as announced on April 13^th (https://www.idemitsu.com/en/news/2023/230413.html).

"We know that demand for clean hydrogen assets is poised to grow exponentially over the next decade. The climate benefits of H Cycle's approach, particularly avoided landfill methane emissions, align very well with Fund V's key decarbonization objectives," said Jeff Van Steenbergen, Managing Partner, Azimuth Capital Management. "We believe that H Cycle is exceptionally well-positioned as a leader in this space."

H Cycle was advised by Marathon Capital the world's largest independent advisory bank serving the global sustainable energy, technology and infrastructure markets

"H Cycle's process technology ties directly to Marathon's purpose of facilitating a more sustainable energy future, and we are pleased to have supported H Cycle throughout this important process with Azimuth and ENEOS," said Jonathan Hough, Managing Director of Marathon Capital. "Their commitment to the platform's expansion will support our global economy's rapid transition to produce cleaner forms of energy molecules." 

Through its partnership with H Cycle and strong market presence in Japan, Idemitsu is seeking to support the decarbonization of Japan's energy supply while improving waste utilization. Deploying H Cycle's solution on a regional basis in Japan will be a key priority in an effort to reduce transportation needs for both waste feedstock and hydrogen output.   

"We are pleased to hear the closing of Series A funding of H-Cycle as the lead investor of Azimuth V Fund as well as the business partner of H-Cycle in Japan. Our primary goal is to develop a locally produced, locally consumed hydrogen supply base," said Motohiro Suzuki, President, Idemitsu Americas Holdings, Inc. "To achieve this in a timely fashion, we are presently accelerating engagement with key government agencies and potential project partners. The H Cycle solution will be a material contributor to not only Idemitsu's own commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, but also to the same for Japan at large."

With a market capitalization of nearly $11B USD and a significant presence in the traditional energy sector in Japan, ENEOS is now emerging in the supply of clean electricity and green hydrogen.

"This investment by ENEOS demonstrates our commitment to expand our presence in the green hydrogen sector," said Yasunori Yazaki, Chairman of ENEOS Americas, Inc. "We see H Cycle's approach as a model that can be applied in other markets – including Japan. We look forward to working with H Cycle and its partners to pursue these market development opportunities."

About H Cycle LLC
H Cycle will produce renewable, low-carbon hydrogen using an innovative waste processing system and thermal conversion, redirecting municipal and organic waste away from landfills. The company's principles include: 1) recycle what is recyclable; 2) divert local, unrecyclable waste away from landfills – avoiding harmful methane production; and 3) extract renewable hydrogen to de-carbonize local and regional transportation, thereby reducing local air emissions. H Cycle has multiple projects in development in the Western United States, along with partnership activities in Japan and Korea, representing a US $2 billion portfolio of prospective capital investments.

For more information, please visit www.hcycle.com

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SOURCE H Cycle, LLC