Hydrogen Energy Start-up Epago Looks to Capitalize on Hong Kong’s Innovation Hub Status and Access China’s Massive Hydrogen Market
Epago Technologies, a hydrogen fuel cell technology company based in Hong Kong, has developed a groundbreaking new electrode that can significantly reduce the costs associated with producing hydrogen fuel cells. Funded through Hong Kong’s InnoHK initiative, Epago is the first spin-off of the government program supporting industrial research projects across various sectors including hydrogen energy.
With their proprietary technology developed from research conducted at both Hong Kong University and Caltech, Epago has found a way to restructure the critical membrane electrode assembly (MEA) component of hydrogen fuel cells. This innovation allows for up to 80% lower production costs and a manufacturing process that is 5 times faster than current methods that rely heavily on expensive platinum catalysts.
The company’s leadership sees Hong Kong as the ideal starting point – a hub for technical talent, government assistance for entrepreneurs, and access to Southeast Asia’s largest innovation cluster, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. From here, Epago aims to leverage partnerships in mainland China to benefit from lower operating expenses and sophisticated supply chains for their hydrogen fuel cell technology.
Already partnered with the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu province, Epago is working to establish prototype manufacturing in Italy this year. The young startup also has its sights set on expanding into major hydrogen markets like China, Japan, Germany and beyond over the next 5 years, with plans to produce 30,000 square meters of their breakthrough hydrogen-compatible electrodes annually.
As the world’s leading hydrogen producer and with ambitious national targets to deploy fuel cell vehicles and green hydrogen facilities, China presents a massive opportunity. By capitalizing on Hong Kong’s innovation powerhouse status and access to the Greater Bay Area ecosystem, Epago aims to be at the forefront of the hydrogen industry’s transformation.