H2Apex, based in Rostock, Germany, is strengthening its focus on chemical hydrogen storage via its subsidiary Akros Energy. According to the company, Johannes Emigholz was appointed CEO effective May 1, 2025. Together with CTO Jonas Massa, he will lead the management of Akros Energy.
Emigholz brings over ten years of experience as an entrepreneur and executive in the software industry. He co-founded Silexica, which was successfully acquired by AMD, and led the transformation of Planet AI, which was later acquired by Bechtle.
"With Akros Energy's chemical hydrogen storage technology, we are on the brink of a revolution in energy storage," Emigholz stated. The next step, he said, is to scale this innovative solution with his team.
Bernd Althaus, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of H2Apex, added: "We are confident that the chemical hydrogen storage technology developed by the Akros Energy team in collaboration with the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis will make a significant contribution to the development of the hydrogen market. We are pleased to have Johannes Emigholz on board—an experienced entrepreneur who will ensure that this technology reaches industrial application."
Since its founding, H2Apex has included the development of chemical hydrogen storage systems as part of its research activities. In 2024, this R&D division was spun off into a dedicated subsidiary, Akros Energy. Since then, six patents related to chemical hydrogen storage have been filed, two of them in collaboration with the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis in Rostock (LIKAT).
According to the company, the developed processes offer key advantages over other chemical storage methods: they are free of hazardous substances, require low energy input, and are easy to store. The company is currently working on a chemical storage system specifically designed for large-scale, long-distance hydrogen transport.
H2Apex was founded in 2000 in Rostock/Laage, Germany, and has focused exclusively on the production, storage, and distribution of green hydrogen since 2012. The company develops, builds, and operates facilities with an electrolysis capacity of under 1 GW to support the decarbonization of industrial value chains. H2Apex is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Luxembourg-based H2Apex Group.
