HH2E faces insolvency due to lack of funding

Green energy firm HH2E AG, which is readying the construction start of a green hydrogen plant near the German Baltic Sea coast, is facing insolvency proceedings and will file for self-administration today after failing to secure additional funding.

The Berlin-based start-up announced on Friday that it has been in talks with the Foresight Group regarding the financing for its green hydrogen facility. Foresight Hydrogen HoldCo GmbH, an investee company of the Foresight Group, is the majority shareholder of HH2E.

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Final agreements resulting from the talks were supposed to be concluded this week.

"However, as of yesterday, Foresight Group reinformed HH2E AG that its Investment Committee had ultimately decided against providing the necessary financing," the German company said.

As a result, HH2E and its subsidiary HH2E Werk Lubmin GmbH, had to initiate insolvency proceedings under German law. The company said its management was prepared and has taken proactive measures.

The self-administration approach enables the management team of the company to directly oversee and continue business operations within the insolvency proceedings instead of an insolvency administrator. The restructuring is overseen by a court-appointed insolvency monitor.

During the restructuring process, HHE2 will focus on securing a new investor.

“We remain committed to maintaining continuity and stability in our operations as we work toward a long-term solution,” said chief executive Alexander Voig.

The project in Lubmin, which was nearing construction, plays a central role in HH2E's strategy to develop scalable hydrogen production facilities across Germany. The plan is to start with an initial capacity of 100 MW at each site, with the possibility of scaling up to 1 GW. The company's objective is to reach at least 4 GW of green hydrogen production capacity in Germany by 2030.

The announcement comes at a time when several green hydrogen projects have been cancelled or delayed as the industry faces challenges like slower-than-expected demand growth, high costs, and regulatory uncertainty.