H2 Clipper’s patented “hydrogen ledger” uses blockchain technology to track purity and efficiency across the hydrogen supply chain

H2 Clipper, Inc. (“H2C”) announces receipt of its 13th patent focused on hydrogen delivery innovations. On August 20, 2024, the USPTO issued U.S. Patent No. 12,066,152, titled "Method and Apparatus for Delivering Hydrogen," which covers a unique, blockchain-enabled approach to ensure efficient hydrogen delivery, while adhering to the highest purity and production standards from production to consumption. In addition to complying with regulatory requirements, H2C’s patented technology also creates a more efficient supply chain payment system and facilitates the ability of stakeholders to earn and trade tax credits that are critical to hydrogen producers and end-users.

The patented system utilizes blockchain technology to create a comprehensive "hydrogen ledger" to record the provenance of hydrogen, including key measurements that are required to demonstrate the entitlement to receive tax credits, to avoid the risk of contamination, and ensure accurate accounting by all parties. Such capabilities are vital for maintaining stringent hydrogen quality standards, which is crucial in the face of increasing demands for cleaner energy solutions and broad climate change mitigation initiatives.

The system will ensure an immutable record of all transactions within the hydrogen supply chain. This level of transparency is essential for complying with strict regulatory requirements and enabling efficient trading within the burgeoning clean hydrogen market. The patented system also supports innovative financing models, including through decentralized finance and the use of smart contract-based payments.

The patent underscores H2C’s continuing commitment to a low-carbon economy and supports critical initiatives like the DOE’s Hydrogen Hub projects, among others. As described in the patent, hydrogen presents a number of unique challenges in providing assurances regarding its origin and chain of custody that are critical to certify its quality level; the qualification of entities involved in its production, transport and use for receiving financial support; and the requirements for receiving tax credits and other incentives. Collectively, these and related issues comprise the provenance of the hydrogen, and are essential to establishing an efficient supply chain and commercial market.

H2C’s patent provides for a “hydrogen ledger” -- a database, preferably employing blockchain or other technology to assure that entries cannot be changed once committed, that serves as a decentralized record of all transactions and related information related to hydrogen’s provenance. H2C recently licensed this aspect of the patented technology to h2onchain to build a platform for recording, tracing, and trading tax credits associated with hydrogen under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The platform will document tax benefits and subsidies of up to $3 per kilogram in the U.S. depending on compliance with specific requirements, thereby assisting in financing hydrogen projects. Some experts estimate that such credits will total over $100 billion over the next decade in the United States alone. The patented technology will reduce the cost and complexity of firms complying with the requirements to earn such incentives and receive timely payments.

“Since our inception in 2008, H2C has been focused on developing technologies that deliver hydrogen in the most effective, cost-efficient, and safest manner possible,” said Rinaldo Brutoco, H2C’s Founder and CEO, and a co-author of the patent. “This patent meaningfully extends H2C’s earlier patents on various midstream technologies for transporting hydrogen by disclosing how a data ledger can be used to assure hydrogen purity, comply with stringent regulatory standards, and facilitate transactions throughout the hydrogen value chain, making individual operations between producers, end-users, regulators, and other stakeholders more manageable and transparent.”