Celebrity fund backs 19-year-old hydrogen innovator to challenge fossil fuels
In a new investment round, Swedish cleantech company Lavoit Technologies, led by 19-year-old Nils Samrud, has secured around SEK 13 million from, among others, the Project Europe technology fund. The fund is in turn backed by a number of high-profile names in the technology sector.
From chicken farm experiments to green hydrogen technology
Samrud’s interest in hydrogen started early. As a teenager, he converted an old chicken coop on his grandparents’ farm into a simple laboratory, cleaned it, repainted it and started experimenting with electrolysis of water.
Today, Lavoit is building an AI-powered plant to produce low-cost green hydrogen, that is, hydrogen produced via electrolysis using electricity from renewable sources (instead of fossil fuels) and supply this technology to existing electrolysis plants. One of Lavoit’s core messages: it is not enough to be climate smart if the technology cannot compete with fossil alternatives.
Being climate smart is not enough if the technology cannot compete with fossil fuel alternatives.
Together with its partners, Lavoit already has a test facility in Västerås. The company is in talks with several potential customers and aims to have 100 plants up and running with their system before the end of the year.
The investors behind
The money from the investment round comes not only from Project Europe, but also from investors such as Regen VC (Australia) and Wave VC (student-led Nordic venture capital fund), as well as via smaller tranches from US venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz. Swedish co-investors are mentioned: Anton Osika, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Johannes Schildt and Fredrik Hjelm, among others. Lavoit plans to use the capital to develop better software and components for its electrolysis systems.
Aiming to become the world’s largest producer of green hydrogen
Despite strong interest in hydrogen, the industry has not grown as expected. According to reports, a fifth of all hydrogen ventures in 2024 have been canceled or paused, partly due to slow infrastructure development and uncertain regulations. Samrud describes the situation as a ‘hydrogen winter’, but sees it more as a business opportunity:
“Many in the industry promote green and climate smart, but what actually matters is whether it is competitive with fossil fuels.”
If Lavoit’s technology can offer lower costs than today’s fossil-based hydrogen production, the company hopes its solution will become the new industry standard. The goal? To become the world’s largest producer of green hydrogen by 2030.
