Why We Invested in Vema
Vema is developping a breakthrough technology that would allow for Hydrogen to be extracted from the ground, now that's exciting Alchemy!
Feb 18, 2025
Gabriel Méhaignerie
At Pace, we invest in bold founders transforming industries with first-principle approaches. That’s why we’re excited to announce our investment in Vema Hydrogen, a company pioneering a revolutionary approach towards low-cost and low-emissions hydrogen production. They are developing a technology that would basically remove the input costs for making decarbonized H2, talk about that for a transformational change!
The Opportunity
Hydrogen is central to the global economy, playing a key role in refining, chemical manufacturing, and emerging energy applications. Its versatility as a clean energy carrier for transport, storage, and industrial processes makes it a cornerstone of decarbonization efforts. However, the viability of these emerging applications hinges on hydrogen being both very cheap and produced in a decarbonized way. This is particularly critical as many of these use cases have been championed by oil and gas lobbies, the primary producers of grey hydrogen, which remains cheap but highly polluting.
Despite its potential, hydrogen production faces significant challenges:
High Costs and Emissions: Today’s hydrogen production relies heavily on energy-intensive processes, with over 95% of output classified as “grey hydrogen”. It's produced from fossil fuels and emits >10kgCO2/kgH2 but remains incredibly cheap at $1.5/kgH2.
Limited Green Hydrogen Adoption: Green hydrogen, produced using renewable electricity, remains prohibitively expensive due to high electrolyzer costs and the vast energy required for production. It emits only 1kgCO2/kgH2 but has remained >$5/kgH2 in recent years.
The need for a scalable, low-cost, and sustainable hydrogen solution is immense—and that’s where Vema Hydrogen comes in.
Vema’s Solution
Vema Hydrogen is at the forefront of stimulated hydrogen production, also known as “Orange Hydrogen.” Instead of relying on natural hydrogen reservoirs or costly electrolysis, Vema uses a breakthrough method to generate hydrogen directly underground by stimulating iron-rich rock formations with water and catalysts under specific temperature, pressure, and pH conditions.
Key highlights of their approach include:
Subsurface Expertise: Leveraging advanced geological modeling, reaction kinetics, and drilling technologies to create optimal hydrogen-producing environments.
Cost and Emissions Advantage: Targeting hydrogen production costs below $1/kg and emissions as low as 0.5 kgCO₂e/kg, it's a game-changing improvement over existing methods.
Commercial Viability: With plans to deliver hydrogen to off-takers by 2028, Vema’s scalable approach could unlock widespread adoption and new applications across industries.
The Team
The Vema team combines deep technical expertise with operational experience:
Florian: A leading researcher in stimulated hydrogen production, Florian has been instrumental in advancing this emerging field.
Pierre: With extensive experience in oil and gas exploration and project development, Pierre brings practical insights into large-scale subsurface operations. Previously CEO of a natural hydrogen exploration company, he joined Florian to co-found Vema, recognizing the transformative potential of stimulated hydrogen.
Their exciting tech and shared passion for geology has already taken our team to twice to Orléans in the last couple of months to witness their groundbreaking work.
Vema’s Impact
Vema’s approach has the potential to reshape the hydrogen industry by addressing long-standing barriers:
Cost Competitiveness: Making clean hydrogen affordable, paving the way for decarbonizing existing uses, and enabling new applications in sectors like heavy transport, energy storage, and green ammonia production.
Scalability: Unlike traditional natural hydrogen exploration, Vema’s method is designed for consistent and reliable output, reducing risks associated with resource variability and transportation.
This innovation brings us closer to realizing a truly sustainable hydrogen economy—making concepts like hydrogen-powered vehicles and industrial decarbonization may be viable (although there are much more important priorities).
Our Co-Investors
We’re proud to join mission-aligned partners including Extantia, Propeller VC, Zero Carbon Capital, Grantham Foundation, and Marble in supporting Vema Hydrogen. Together, we are backing a team and technology that could redefine the future of clean hydrogen and clean energy.
At Pace, we invest in bold founders transforming industries with first-principle approaches. That’s why we’re excited to announce our investment in Vema Hydrogen, a company pioneering a revolutionary approach towards low-cost and low-emissions hydrogen production. They are developing a technology that would basically remove the input costs for making decarbonized H2, talk about that for a transformational change!
The Opportunity
Hydrogen is central to the global economy, playing a key role in refining, chemical manufacturing, and emerging energy applications. Its versatility as a clean energy carrier for transport, storage, and industrial processes makes it a cornerstone of decarbonization efforts. However, the viability of these emerging applications hinges on hydrogen being both very cheap and produced in a decarbonized way. This is particularly critical as many of these use cases have been championed by oil and gas lobbies, the primary producers of grey hydrogen, which remains cheap but highly polluting.
Despite its potential, hydrogen production faces significant challenges:
High Costs and Emissions: Today’s hydrogen production relies heavily on energy-intensive processes, with over 95% of output classified as “grey hydrogen”. It's produced from fossil fuels and emits >10kgCO2/kgH2 but remains incredibly cheap at $1.5/kgH2.
Limited Green Hydrogen Adoption: Green hydrogen, produced using renewable electricity, remains prohibitively expensive due to high electrolyzer costs and the vast energy required for production. It emits only 1kgCO2/kgH2 but has remained >$5/kgH2 in recent years.
The need for a scalable, low-cost, and sustainable hydrogen solution is immense—and that’s where Vema Hydrogen comes in.
Vema’s Solution
Vema Hydrogen is at the forefront of stimulated hydrogen production, also known as “Orange Hydrogen.” Instead of relying on natural hydrogen reservoirs or costly electrolysis, Vema uses a breakthrough method to generate hydrogen directly underground by stimulating iron-rich rock formations with water and catalysts under specific temperature, pressure, and pH conditions.
Key highlights of their approach include:
Subsurface Expertise: Leveraging advanced geological modeling, reaction kinetics, and drilling technologies to create optimal hydrogen-producing environments.
Cost and Emissions Advantage: Targeting hydrogen production costs below $1/kg and emissions as low as 0.5 kgCO₂e/kg, it's a game-changing improvement over existing methods.
Commercial Viability: With plans to deliver hydrogen to off-takers by 2028, Vema’s scalable approach could unlock widespread adoption and new applications across industries.
The Team
The Vema team combines deep technical expertise with operational experience:
Florian: A leading researcher in stimulated hydrogen production, Florian has been instrumental in advancing this emerging field.
Pierre: With extensive experience in oil and gas exploration and project development, Pierre brings practical insights into large-scale subsurface operations. Previously CEO of a natural hydrogen exploration company, he joined Florian to co-found Vema, recognizing the transformative potential of stimulated hydrogen.
Their exciting tech and shared passion for geology has already taken our team to twice to Orléans in the last couple of months to witness their groundbreaking work.
Vema’s Impact
Vema’s approach has the potential to reshape the hydrogen industry by addressing long-standing barriers:
Cost Competitiveness: Making clean hydrogen affordable, paving the way for decarbonizing existing uses, and enabling new applications in sectors like heavy transport, energy storage, and green ammonia production.
Scalability: Unlike traditional natural hydrogen exploration, Vema’s method is designed for consistent and reliable output, reducing risks associated with resource variability and transportation.
This innovation brings us closer to realizing a truly sustainable hydrogen economy—making concepts like hydrogen-powered vehicles and industrial decarbonization may be viable (although there are much more important priorities).
Our Co-Investors
We’re proud to join mission-aligned partners including Extantia, Propeller VC, Zero Carbon Capital, Grantham Foundation, and Marble in supporting Vema Hydrogen. Together, we are backing a team and technology that could redefine the future of clean hydrogen and clean energy.
At Pace, we invest in bold founders transforming industries with first-principle approaches. That’s why we’re excited to announce our investment in Vema Hydrogen, a company pioneering a revolutionary approach towards low-cost and low-emissions hydrogen production. They are developing a technology that would basically remove the input costs for making decarbonized H2, talk about that for a transformational change!
The Opportunity
Hydrogen is central to the global economy, playing a key role in refining, chemical manufacturing, and emerging energy applications. Its versatility as a clean energy carrier for transport, storage, and industrial processes makes it a cornerstone of decarbonization efforts. However, the viability of these emerging applications hinges on hydrogen being both very cheap and produced in a decarbonized way. This is particularly critical as many of these use cases have been championed by oil and gas lobbies, the primary producers of grey hydrogen, which remains cheap but highly polluting.
Despite its potential, hydrogen production faces significant challenges:
High Costs and Emissions: Today’s hydrogen production relies heavily on energy-intensive processes, with over 95% of output classified as “grey hydrogen”. It's produced from fossil fuels and emits >10kgCO2/kgH2 but remains incredibly cheap at $1.5/kgH2.
Limited Green Hydrogen Adoption: Green hydrogen, produced using renewable electricity, remains prohibitively expensive due to high electrolyzer costs and the vast energy required for production. It emits only 1kgCO2/kgH2 but has remained >$5/kgH2 in recent years.
The need for a scalable, low-cost, and sustainable hydrogen solution is immense—and that’s where Vema Hydrogen comes in.
Vema’s Solution
Vema Hydrogen is at the forefront of stimulated hydrogen production, also known as “Orange Hydrogen.” Instead of relying on natural hydrogen reservoirs or costly electrolysis, Vema uses a breakthrough method to generate hydrogen directly underground by stimulating iron-rich rock formations with water and catalysts under specific temperature, pressure, and pH conditions.
Key highlights of their approach include:
Subsurface Expertise: Leveraging advanced geological modeling, reaction kinetics, and drilling technologies to create optimal hydrogen-producing environments.
Cost and Emissions Advantage: Targeting hydrogen production costs below $1/kg and emissions as low as 0.5 kgCO₂e/kg, it's a game-changing improvement over existing methods.
Commercial Viability: With plans to deliver hydrogen to off-takers by 2028, Vema’s scalable approach could unlock widespread adoption and new applications across industries.
The Team
The Vema team combines deep technical expertise with operational experience:
Florian: A leading researcher in stimulated hydrogen production, Florian has been instrumental in advancing this emerging field.
Pierre: With extensive experience in oil and gas exploration and project development, Pierre brings practical insights into large-scale subsurface operations. Previously CEO of a natural hydrogen exploration company, he joined Florian to co-found Vema, recognizing the transformative potential of stimulated hydrogen.
Their exciting tech and shared passion for geology has already taken our team to twice to Orléans in the last couple of months to witness their groundbreaking work.
Vema’s Impact
Vema’s approach has the potential to reshape the hydrogen industry by addressing long-standing barriers:
Cost Competitiveness: Making clean hydrogen affordable, paving the way for decarbonizing existing uses, and enabling new applications in sectors like heavy transport, energy storage, and green ammonia production.
Scalability: Unlike traditional natural hydrogen exploration, Vema’s method is designed for consistent and reliable output, reducing risks associated with resource variability and transportation.
This innovation brings us closer to realizing a truly sustainable hydrogen economy—making concepts like hydrogen-powered vehicles and industrial decarbonization may be viable (although there are much more important priorities).
Our Co-Investors
We’re proud to join mission-aligned partners including Extantia, Propeller VC, Zero Carbon Capital, Grantham Foundation, and Marble in supporting Vema Hydrogen. Together, we are backing a team and technology that could redefine the future of clean hydrogen and clean energy.