The Offering was led by an affiliate of Toronto based Smoothwater Capital Corporation ("Smoothwater"), which has now become the Company's largest shareholder holding approximately 47.9% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares, ensuring that Next Hydrogen is Canadian owned and controlled.
This financing marks a decisive milestone as Next Hydrogen transitions into a commercially focused, capital-efficient business delivering its next-generation alkaline electrolyzers to market. With a strengthened balance sheet, a fully funded business plan and a proven commercial product now operating in a paying customer environment, Next Hydrogen is focused on becoming cash-flow positive and having broad market adoption of its hydrogen electrolyzer system.
Next Hydrogen intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to support growing sales and production of its commercially deployed NH-150 electrolyzer, along with the continued development of the larger NH-500 system which is expected to unlock substantial industrial opportunities. In addition, the net proceeds are intended to expand customer engagement and strengthen channel-partner relationships, along with general corporate purposes. Together, these initiatives reinforce a capital-light, scalable model in which Next Hydrogen focuses on electrolyzer stack design while leveraging strategic manufacturing and system-integration partnerships for high-volume deployment.
As a Canadian-controlled public company, Next Hydrogen has successfully developed, installed and is operating its NH-150 electrolyzer in a customer environment, validating its technology as a commercially deployable clean hydrogen solution. The Company's pressurized alkaline electrolyzers deliver world-class performance, including high current density operation, strong turndown and load following capabilities and cell performance that exceeds U.S. DOE targets, delivering industry-leading green hydrogen production economics.
Purpose-built for direct integration with intermittent renewable power sources such as wind and solar, Next Hydrogen's system enables true end-to-end green hydrogen production. The Company's modular architecture supports scalable deployment across a wide range of project sizes and allows the technology to be adapted for multiple applications and industries, including industrial decarbonization, energy storage, transportation and power-to-X solutions, resulting in lower levelized cost of hydrogen for customers. Together, these capabilities position Next Hydrogen as a Canadian clean-technology champion with the potential to support domestic energy security while enabling exportable, globally competitive hydrogen solutions.
The Offering enhances Next Hydrogen's ability to accelerate deployments with major Canadian and international customers while advancing its strategy to build long-term shareholder value and reinforce Canadian leadership in clean hydrogen technology.
Canadian federal and certain provincial governments continue to advance supportive frameworks and meaningful incentives for clean hydrogen, including an investment tax credit of up to 40% of the capital cost of an eligible clean hydrogen project. This creates a supportive regulatory environment, recognizing clean hydrogen's role in driving economic growth and energy security. This progress provides a strong foundation for scaling clean hydrogen solutions and building a globally competitive Canadian hydrogen industry, while ongoing policy development, collaboration and support for R&D remain key to fully realizing the sector's potential in a competitive global market.
Immediately after the closing of the Offering, Stephen Griggs, CEO of Smoothwater, joined the Company as Executive Chair of the Board, bringing deep experience in operational discipline, driving profitable growth across Canadian public companies and public company governance. In addition, Paul Currie, who has been advising the Company throughout this private placement process, has also joined the Board of Directors. Mr. Currie is a seasoned business executive with significant global experience from senior officer and director roles and was formerly a mergers and acquisitions and restructuring partner for one of the leading global accountancy firms. Susan Uthayakumar left the Board following the closing of the Offering.
"Next Hydrogen has entered a new phase," said Mr. Griggs. "By focusing on what we do exceptionally well - designing high-performance electrolyzer modules - and partnering with established channel partners and manufacturers for high-volume electrolyzer production and balance-of-plant, we will deliver superior products in a scalable, capital-light business model. Next Hydrogen will now pursue meaningful commercial opportunities with discipline and speed while continuing our innovations in water electrolysis."
Allan Mackenzie, who stepped down today as Chair of the Board and remains a director, ...
