Hydrogen van maker gears up for London float

The maker of a hydrogen-powered van is aiming to raise up to £100 million in a London float next year.

Australia-based H2X wants to list on the London Stock Exchange’s junior market AIM by the spring to raise more cash for its pipeline of vehicles.

Co-founder and chief executive Brendan Norman said the company is targeting anything from £50 million to £100 million.

It wants to hit a series of short-term milestones before it goes public, including launching a prototype of its Darling Van – which the company has designed from the ground up rather than using an existing blueprint from another car maker – by around February.

Norman said H2X was looking to list on AIM because there has already been a lot of enthusiasm from potential backers in the UK.

‘London is still the centrepoint in Europe and in terms of the interest from investors,’ he said. ‘The best is coming out of London – more than anywhere else in Europe.’

He added that shareholders in London have a good understanding of green technology.

Norman’s support for the UK stock market follows a series of blows earlier in the year when the LSE was snubbed by tech giant Arm, which eventually chose to list in the US.

H2X is targeting ‘white van man’ with its hydrogen vehicles in the hope that they could replace traditional petrol and diesel models.

The company recently secured a £45 million investment from US group VerdeMobility, which will help it to expand overseas.