2 minute read - 15th August 2023
Bramble Energy opens new headquarters in Crawley
Bramble Energy, the fuel cell technology specialist, has opened its new state-of-the-art headquarters in Crawley, West Sussex. The new facility, which includes a hydrogen research, development and testing hub, is a multi-million pound investment representing the company’s impressive growth since launching in 2016.
Founded as a university spin-out, then developed in the garage of co-founder and CEO Dr Tom Mason, Bramble Energy has gained momentum with its hydrogen fuel cell technology based on printed circuit board (PCB) technology. The firm’s growth has led to the demand for a larger facility that can accommodate Bramble Energy’s projected expansion and support the scale up of its technology.
The facility, Atrium Court, spans almost 34,000 square feet, more than three times the size of its previous premises. It will accommodate Bramble Energy’s growing workforce, which has increased tenfold from just eight staff in 2020 to over 80 today.
Bramble Energy has opened its new headquarters in Crawley. The new facility houses a hydrogen fuel cell research, development and testing hub / Picture: Bramble Energy
At the heart of Atrium Court lies the Hydrogen Innovation Hub, a research, development, and testing facility dedicated to hydrogen fuel cells, electrolysers and sensors. The facility can support every element of its technology development and critically, scale it up. Concepts can be taken through from the R&D phase all the way up to production-ready technology, as well as test fuel cells producing single digit Watts up to multi kW sizes required to service the heaviest of mobility industries.
Dr Tom Mason, Bramble Energy co-founder and CEO, said: “We are extremely proud to move into our new, state-of-the-art headquarters, which represents a major milestone for Bramble Energy. Our success and growth has been phenomenal in a very short amount of time, which is in no small part to our technology but also the support we have received and having a talented and dedicated team. Our world-leading Hydrogen Innovation Hub at Atrium Court will significantly contribute to levelling up the UK’s hydrogen and fuel cell testing capability. It will play a crucial role in our future development as we revolutionise the shift towards cleaner and sustainable energy solutions.”
Bramble Energy’s breakthrough innovation in hydrogen fuel cell technology and design utilising its PCB-X™ Platform, is solving the key challenges in the production of hydrogen fuel cells and accelerating the hydrogen mobility industry with the world’s first printed circuit board (PCB) hydrogen fuel cell. The patent-protected solution means it can design, manufacture, test, and ship a PCB fuel cell in a matter of weeks, at a significantly lower cost than the typical industry standard.
Financial support has been instrumental in Bramble Energy’s growth trajectory. As well as raising equity finance through VCs, UK Government-funded initiatives have been well received. Bramble Energy successfully secured £5m in funding in July 2020, raised an additional £35m in February 2022, and in May 2023, was awarded £12m in funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre to provide its fuel cell technology to a hydrogen bus project.