Estonia received a state aid permit from the European Commission to support hydrogen technology development projects of Skeleton Technologies with 18 million euros. The company’s investment in the Estonian development centre is a total of 33.7 million euros. The grant will be used for hydrogen-specific research and development and the development of a module production unit in the transport sector.
“The knowledge-based economy and the development of new technologies are the future direction of the Estonian economy,” said Tiit Riisalo, Minister of Economy and Information Technology. “It creates new knowledge, high value-added production and well-paid jobs. Skeleton’s investment in developing new hydrogen technology in Estonia will hopefully give impetus to further investments and the formation of a new type of business ecosystem in the field.”
“Skeleton’s planned development centre is a good example of an innovative clean industry, for which we are creating room for growth with the Climate Safe Economy Act,” added Climate Minister Kristen Michal. “The Skeleton solution contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector and provides exciting new opportunities for our smart engineers. Supporting such plans with CO2 funds is a smart use of money.”
While Skeleton also operates in Germany, Finland and France, its headquarters in Estonia play a key role in the company’s R&D activities.
“Skeleton has expanded to Europe, but we are and will remain an Estonian company,” underlined Taavi Madiberk, CEO and co-founder of Skeleton Technologies. “Estonia’s decision to join the hydrogen pan-European project provided competitive conditions for expanding our headquarters’ activities. We are participating in a hydrogen project with many of the world’s top companies, including BMW, Airbus and Michelin. If Europe wants to compete with the US and China, then pan-European cooperation is necessary. Estonian software and engineering talent, paired with the burgeoning hydrogen ecosystem, offers a great growth opportunity for us. We will build on our development and testing centre and software units in Tallinn, which already employ world-class electrical, mechanical, hardware and IT engineers.”
The state-aided project seeks to reduce the total cost of ownership of hydrogen vehicles and encourage their uptake. Skeleton will develop a pioneering high-power energy storage module that covers the functional shortcomings of a fuel cell (H2FC), extends its lifespan and increases efficiency. Skeleton’s innovative SuperBattery technology meets the energy and power density requirements of hydrogen fuel cells, enabling the development of a more efficient energy storage solution for hydrogen vehicles. Implementing this technology will also reduce the need for critical raw materials and alleviate the supply chain dependence on materials outside the European Union.
